Madstad Engineering
352-608-4069 (Mon. - Fri., 9 am - 5 pm Eastern)
support@madstad.com
I just received the first release of the Madstad brackets with a smoked grey screen for the FZ9. Unfortunately, my seat is being modified, so it will be another week before I can test it out. It appears the bracket will support a broad range of screens if your willing to drill new mounting holes or you can use the screen supplied by Madstad. The Madstad screens have a attractive FZ9 logo on the bottom and the optics are excellent. I will add better pictures next week during my test ride.
Installation takes about 15 minutes for the Madstad bracket. It is very easy to install. You basically remove the four bolts from flat section above the light. Then attach the base plates using the OEM screws, tighten according to specs and then install the supplied screen with T screws.
To attach the shield to the brackets, take one of the T screws and slide a hard rubber washer on it, then slide it through the windshield hole and slide a soft rubber washer on the back side. This will keep the T screw in the windshield hole so that it does not fall out. Repeat for the other three windshield holes, so when you are done you will have a windshield with four T screws sitting in it with a slightly larger harder rubber washer on the outside of the shield, meaning the front side, and for soft rubber washers pushed up on the back. Then you can lay the windshield gently over the brackets and push the four T screws into the four rubber well nuts and screw them in. You may need to do one side first, for example the left side upper and lower T screws, gently get them started then wiggle the windshield over to get the other two T screws started. Once all four are in, then you can finish tightening them up but don't tighten them too hard. Once the screw tip starts protruding through the backside of the rubber well not, you are done tightening.
By the way, make sure the brackets are set evenly before you start attaching the windshield. If one is a little higher or little lower or tilted a little differently than the other one you might have a bit of a tougher time getting the windshield screws in.
Once the shield is attached to the brackets you are ready for a test ride. Tilt the shield approximately the same angle as your forks, and that should put you close to 60°. The top edge of the shield should be around your chin level so raise it up to that point just for starters. All you need to do to allow movement in the brackets is loosen the black knob on each bracket one or two times and that's enough to free them up for both tilting and sliding up and down. Make sure you read tighten them both before you take off. You don't have to over tighten these knobs either, just make them snug and the whole assembly will stay in place.
Once you go for a test ride, try and see where the airflow is going and how it's clearing your head, your arms, and if any airflow is coming up from underneath the forks of the bike. If you want to make a change such as an angle adjustment or a height adjustment, pull over, come to a stop and then change only one of the two parameters. If you change both the height and the angle at the same time and it gets worse, you won't know which of the two caused the problem, so only change one parameter at a time. You have almost six inches of up and down adjustment range and about twenty five degrees of screen rake adjustment too. I am about 5-9' and in the upper most setting of the brackets, the top of the screen comes to just slightly below my chin. For those opting for even more aggressive wind protection can select a larger screen if you are so inclined from Madstad. The screen can be removed quickly for those days in which you want to ride "naked" style.
352-608-4069 (Mon. - Fri., 9 am - 5 pm Eastern)
support@madstad.com
I just received the first release of the Madstad brackets with a smoked grey screen for the FZ9. Unfortunately, my seat is being modified, so it will be another week before I can test it out. It appears the bracket will support a broad range of screens if your willing to drill new mounting holes or you can use the screen supplied by Madstad. The Madstad screens have a attractive FZ9 logo on the bottom and the optics are excellent. I will add better pictures next week during my test ride.
Installation takes about 15 minutes for the Madstad bracket. It is very easy to install. You basically remove the four bolts from flat section above the light. Then attach the base plates using the OEM screws, tighten according to specs and then install the supplied screen with T screws.
To attach the shield to the brackets, take one of the T screws and slide a hard rubber washer on it, then slide it through the windshield hole and slide a soft rubber washer on the back side. This will keep the T screw in the windshield hole so that it does not fall out. Repeat for the other three windshield holes, so when you are done you will have a windshield with four T screws sitting in it with a slightly larger harder rubber washer on the outside of the shield, meaning the front side, and for soft rubber washers pushed up on the back. Then you can lay the windshield gently over the brackets and push the four T screws into the four rubber well nuts and screw them in. You may need to do one side first, for example the left side upper and lower T screws, gently get them started then wiggle the windshield over to get the other two T screws started. Once all four are in, then you can finish tightening them up but don't tighten them too hard. Once the screw tip starts protruding through the backside of the rubber well not, you are done tightening.
By the way, make sure the brackets are set evenly before you start attaching the windshield. If one is a little higher or little lower or tilted a little differently than the other one you might have a bit of a tougher time getting the windshield screws in.
Once the shield is attached to the brackets you are ready for a test ride. Tilt the shield approximately the same angle as your forks, and that should put you close to 60°. The top edge of the shield should be around your chin level so raise it up to that point just for starters. All you need to do to allow movement in the brackets is loosen the black knob on each bracket one or two times and that's enough to free them up for both tilting and sliding up and down. Make sure you read tighten them both before you take off. You don't have to over tighten these knobs either, just make them snug and the whole assembly will stay in place.
Once you go for a test ride, try and see where the airflow is going and how it's clearing your head, your arms, and if any airflow is coming up from underneath the forks of the bike. If you want to make a change such as an angle adjustment or a height adjustment, pull over, come to a stop and then change only one of the two parameters. If you change both the height and the angle at the same time and it gets worse, you won't know which of the two caused the problem, so only change one parameter at a time. You have almost six inches of up and down adjustment range and about twenty five degrees of screen rake adjustment too. I am about 5-9' and in the upper most setting of the brackets, the top of the screen comes to just slightly below my chin. For those opting for even more aggressive wind protection can select a larger screen if you are so inclined from Madstad. The screen can be removed quickly for those days in which you want to ride "naked" style.