Honda Shield VS Givi Shield

First topic message reminder :

My Silverwing has it's OEM windshield still on it and I have been very happy with it so far. This is the first bike I have ever owned fitted with a windshield and I never really want another bike without a windshield after getting used to it. I see more and more Silverwings fitted with what I think is known as a Givi windshield. Some I've seen actually have another smaller shield attached at the top as well. In your opinion is one really any better than the other or is it just a financial decision? Your input, as always, will be appreciated.

I installed the Givi 214 DT today and took a short ride to the grocery store. This is not a thorough evaluation of the screen, but here are some early thoughts: First thing I noticed and accepted before buying was that I am looking through the screen, not over it. Will it be a pain in rain? Maybe no more than my helmet face shield, but the extra protection from rain, hail, wind, bees, birds, and tobacco spit could be an advantage.

The second thing that surprised me is that I can hear more of the Swing's engine whines, revs, etc., that I never heard before. That got me to thinking that If I can hear more of the engine, maybe I will be protected more from helmet wind noise, which is a real bother. I will need to give it a good test at highway speeds.

A third observation is that because the screen is bigger, it has a bigger sail area. I will be testing it on the Susquehanna River bridges pretty soon. That's where all bets are off when on a motorcycle. The wind on these bridges shows no mercy to lighter bikes; the Swing performs very steadily in wind on these bridges. The only thing on the Swing that the wind pushes is my body. But will the Givi be different? We'll see. I have to get some speed and wind miles clocked before making more observations.

So far on this mildly windy day, I am really satisfied. If I thought about sawing the 214 DT down, I would stick to the stock screen, which is exactly the height that I would saw the Givi.

Great input here. Thanks.

I am still waiting for mine to come in. Thanks for the input on it.

bikehiker wrote:

 Will it be a pain in rain?  

Yes & it will be even worse than that if you ride in fog, trust me, been there done that

Anything is better than OE windshield. I have the GIVI adjustable and like it.

I've been down your way a few times been exploring that area its about 90 miles from Allentown.
West shore not far from 3 mile island. 322-22 bridge 81 83 30 river is wide 3/4 mile for sure.
Carlisle south 34 at Hunters Run over to 233 down to 30 is nice. Gettysburg ok

Nice ice jam this winter. Took a few pictures north of 81 at train bridge. It will be warm soon.

Snow, too, dust, rain at nite---get out the saw. Givi adjustable, works better with SilverWing. I had both.

Cut it down if you want to look over.  It is pretty easy to do and you can do a professional looking job with a jig saw and a sanding block to "recurve" the edges. NOTE: Do not try to use a sanding sponge.... use a sanding block. That will allow you to take out and small imperfections of the jig saw cut. The sanding sponge will follow the imperfection and not allow you to work it out.  

Sit on the bike and pick out an object 75 yards away.  Mark that spot on your windshield.  Use blue masking tape and tape it off.  Draw a curved line right below the mark you put on the tape and cut it.

By all means, you should take the shield off the bike, but it is not necessary to do so.  Use a drop cloth to keep all of the cuttings from filling all of the voids on your bike.  Find a buddy who is willing to hold the part that you are cutting off...... you don't want it to "finish ahead of your saw."  

I am sure there are plenty of youtube videos that show how to cut down a motorcycle shield.

If you live in an area that gets lots of rain, you can't have that "looking through the shield deal."  Headlights at night in the rain will blind you.

Hope this helps. I know.... how can someone cut into a $200 shield. If you really need to see over it, this is how it is done.

Of course, you could take it to a glass shop and they would cut it down for a fee.

I recently installed the Givi 214DT windshield after having purchased it from Cycle Gear for about $90. I have only ridden behind it for about 100 miles or so, but I can say that I truly enjoy the lack of buffeting and quietness compared to the OEM shield. I don't have to ride the SW in rain, fog, or other adverse conditions - it is a purely pleasure ride for me. I have no problem looking thru the windshield and didn't mind looking thru the over-size windshield (Cee Bailey?) on my GL1500 when the wife and I toured over most of the U.S.  I have ridden all day long in the rain on the Goldwing and can't say I remember the windshield as being much of an issue. I do take pleasure rides to the local ice cream stand at night, but I tried not to be a night-rider when touring. I have no intention of cutting down my Givi 214DT. THE AF model is well thought of, but it is well over $100 more expensive. So far, I'm happy with my decision.

BTW, I have had the shield up to 90mph with no adverse flexing, buffeting, or other issues.

Years ago I changed the OE screen on a 400 Burgman to a Biondi screen and that was a bit too tall for me. It was fine looking through in it daylight, but at night I got the glare of oncoming headlights on it. Then if it was raining all the water droplets on the screen were like micro prisms making vision worse. It's harder for rain to clear off your visor too.

Inevitably you'll get micro scratches on the screen from cleaning off road crud and bug splat, and that'll distort that crystal clear view in the wet and at night too.

It's all right saying you don't have ride in the rain, fog, at night or whatever, but there's times when you inevitably get caught out by changing weather conditions.

Having that 100 miles ride or roughly 2 hours riding time behind that DT 214 only demonstrated the obvious, the Honda OE screen is rubbish.

Reading between the lines, I'd say you'd have preferred the adjustable AF 214 but didn't want to pay the extra money for it.


Sooner or later you'll realise that looking through the DT 214 isn't a good idea and you'll have to shorten it (and possibly break it) or replace it.

Mech 1 twa wrote:

Anything is better than OE windshield.  I have the GIVI  adjustable and like it.

I've been down your way a few times been exploring that area its about 90 miles from Allentown.
West shore not far from 3 mile island.   322-22 bridge 81 83 30 river is wide 3/4 mile for sure.
Carlisle south 34 at Hunters Run over to 233 down to 30 is nice.  Gettysburg ok

Nice ice jam this winter. Took a few pictures north of 81 at train bridge.  It will be warm soon.

From Carlisle North or South is a guaranteed fun ride. You found some good routes. A little south of Carlisle is Pine Grove Furnace State Park, the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail. Route 30 is always a pleasant east-west strip across PA.