ordering from europe

Hi again. Trying to get my hands on a givi airflow windscreen. All the usual suspects in canada are out of stock. Directly from italy however, they have plenty- at a reasonable price with exchange and shipping. What scares me is other possible costs i could incur. Ive bought from the u.s. before with no added charges. Anyone aware of downfalls to ordering from europe?

I'm wondering something similar as well. But my concern is with shipping time. I do hope that you searched ebay for a Kappa Air Flow windscreen. They seem to be half the US price of a Givi.

Tim

From italy, your only looking at a 40 dollar-u.s. saving. Ill pay the 40 just for the givi label. Any more and i would re-consider. Still-those under the bed hidden costs worry me.

Call GIVI USA ---they do sell direct and ship and probably have in stock in one of their two US warehouses.

John-253 U.S. + shipping-looking at probably 350 cdn. Italy-200 cdn including shipping. Kind of a steep price to ease my worry. 2nd gear in calgary will stock them- just uncertain when( much, much cheaper) . Usually when something gets me this frustrated i say f... It and just pay the piper. Trying to show some restraint and common sense- very unusual for me.

By the by- givi canada sells them for 249 cdn- i'm boggled

The extra expense of ordering from Europe is no different than if myself or other Brits were to order a screen or some other piece of kit from a USA manufacturer. Very few if any at all Brits will have a Clearview fitted, similarly Cee Bailey's, Madstad, or 7Jurock. In fact I've never read any posts on here about any member on either side of the Pond fitting a screen from 7Jurock. Just like all the other US manufacturers they offer them in custom heights and widths.

Give this site a try for a Kappa Air Flow.....

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Outlet-Ricambi/_i.html?_nkw=Kappa+KAF214&submit=Search&_sid=1053276889

I ordered from here and received my screen well packed and saved around a third of the cost of a GIVI here in England. My total cost including postage was £103 (UK pounds). At the moment the exchange rate to US $ is around $1.56 to a UK pound so you work it out.

My screen is EXACTLY the same as a Givi and even has the Givi trade mark hidden under a "Made in Italy" sticker. It took around 3 weeks to arrive from the date of ordering.

Riggers.

I post a little warning for the less financial-aware amongst us:

I was watching a 'Consumer' programme on TV during the week.
There was an article about a couple in England who had tried to buy goods in the US - a Harley-Davison bike, in fact - for a coast-to-coast trip there.
They were using their Bank to transfer the money.
There was a technical problem in the transfer so instead of being done almost immediately, there were several days delay.
In the meantime, the rate of exchange had changed as it very frequently does.
As a result, they lost almost £1000.

Be aware!

Thought about this for awhile-----based on 60 years of spending money (over 75 new bikes) on motorcycle/scooter accessories, many that did not fit or function right.

#1 Givi adjustable windshield is absolute necessity for SilverWing to ENJOY riding it. Stock shield=too much head buffeting.

Just spend the extra $100 and get it from GIVI US and enjoy the ride.

The GIVI works as good as it gets for SilverWing---On 2 new SilverWings, I have tried Clearview/7Jurock/Cee Bailey, always ended up enjoying the GIVI. GIVI is good stuff. To me enjoying the ride is what is important and not being miserable in all weathers!

Note: what works are Harley stuff/Italy stuff for big frame Vespas and GIVI.

John-your the little guy, with horns,dressed in black on my left shoulder saying " do it, do it, do it. I like that guy. The runt, on my right shoulder, makes a good arguement tho. The guy in the middle feels like hes getting screwed.

I can't help myself but make a comment about the Givi windscreen. I have the fixed Givi Screen (214DT) on my SW and couldn't be any happier with it. I my opinion it looks better than the airflow, it works perfectly for me and I won't have to worry about pieces flying off. Needless to say, it was a fair bit cheaper too!

Whichever screen you choose in the end Gary has got to be an improvement over the stock screen. The mystery to me in all this is why Honda never improved it in around 13 years of manufacture.

Before buying a Silverwing I owned a Burgman 650 which, with its large adjustable screen, was a treat to ride at high speed - 80 to 90 mph cruising (illegal in the UK) being easily within its capabilities. The B's massive weight ruled it out for me in the end. However by comparison the Silverwing, in stock form, is hopeless above about 60mph and (is that respect) very disappointing.

After fitting an AF214 screen I think the bike is completely transformed and liberated into a reasonably good higher speed cruiser, sustaining 80mph stretches easily within its capabilities.

I can't speak for other screens but my advice to anyone thinking of fitting either the Givi or Kappa AF214 is to go for it.

Riggers.

Looking at the screen height for both the Givi DT 214 and the Airflow AF 214, the DT has a fixed height of 63 cm which is fine if you're tall enough, but screwed if you find out you're looking through it and have to ride in the rain and at night. A lot of Givi screens are too tall and that's why there's plenty of forum topics and YouTube clips about trimming a few inches off them, which again is fine if you manage to do it right but some poor souls have ended up with cracked or broken screens for their efforts.

Cue the Givi Airflow, none of this faffing about with masking tape, hacksaws, and sandpaper, just a straight forward installation and then a couple of rides to find out the screen height that suits you best. In heavy rain you can add a bit more height if needed, and lower it to get a bit more breeze in hot weather.

Yes one or two of us have lost top sections, personally I found it more of an annoyance than a worry and there's certainly no need for this paranoia about it happening to you, and if you are then do something about it. Apart from two top sections, over the years I've lost two Throttle Rockers, a plastic press on km/miles converter, and a Helix silencer heat shield out on the road, unfortunately **** happens.

Guys......Just to add a little bit of info to this topic. I ordered a Kappa Airflow through Ebay from a seller in Italy on Oct 10th and it arrived today Oct 19th. What fantastic service and very fast delivery and it only cost £86 including delivery. I can highly recommend this seller. Can't wait to get it fitted and give the bike a spin.

Den

What was the site?

Am I being unreasonable? Just spent 10 minutes talking to cust. service at e-bay about import/custom charges that are possible when purchasing from italy andimporting to canada. There response was to phone customs and find out-they did not have that info. Ive gone online to research this and dont find it an easy read at all. Such a huge organization with sellers and buyers from all over- yet, what you agree to pay might not be the end story. Im lazy, sure, but when i click that pay now button- i want that to be the end of my part. Im getting to be a very grumpy old man.

I think being in the UK it's easier for us buying from other EU countries. I didn't have any other charges extra to what I paid for the screen. Here's the site http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Outlet-Ricambi?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Den

terrier wrote:

I think being in the UK it's easier for us buying from other EU countries.  I didn't have any other charges extra to what I paid for the screen.  Here's the site  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Outlet-Ricambi?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

That site isn't at all easy to negotiate, but thank you for posting it. 

There are several Italian sources for Kappa windscreens showing on US eBay. Do you recall the source for your KAF214 screen?

Tim

Yes, I got mine from the above link that I posted. Only 9 days from ordering to delivery. Of course that's in the EU so to the US may be different.

Den

I have had both the DT214 and the AF214. Without doubt, the AF is superior, but it costs more.

With the DT, I was looking through the top edge of the screen. Around town it was no problem, since I could look over the top. On the open road, I had a seat cushion that I had purchased At Wal-Mart that provided improved riding at both ends. It provided just enough increase so that I was looking over the top of the screen.

Just ordered a givi 214 from italy( only place i could find one) 206 cdn-inc shipping. Checking on-line with customs the worst case scenario is 29.95cdn duty and 9.95 for cda post. So- besides maybe longer shipping time, transit risks and maybe paying the few extra bucks- looks to me like a good deal. Wouldve waited around for a more " local" supplier but givi usa says it will be 1-2 months for the backorders. Not much lee time if i want to leave in jan. What an ordeal-i know its not over yet and there might be more consequences( pls dont tell me them) i just want it over. Will let you all know the final outcome. Whew

If you ordered on e.bay from 'outlet-ricambi' you shouldn't have a delivery problem. Mine took around 10 days to arrive here in England (admittedly we're a bit nearer), but there weren't any snags or nasties.

Good luck! :-)

Just watched a you tube video on its installation. Is it as complicated as he made it look? He removed the whole front cowling section with some very tricky manouvers. Looked for a post that might help-will keep looking. Have you installed yours-tips are appreciated.

Found pictorial-looks pretty simple-cant wait

gary c wrote:

<> Not much lee time if i want to leave in Jan<>

You're riding from Canada in Jan? Or are you going to incur the wrath of our Mr Grinsel and other purists here and trailer your SW somewhere? 

Where ya goin', huh, huh, where ya goin?

Tim

Trailering to san diego area, riding into baja

Mr Grinsel replies: Riding out of Canada in Jan. not fun but can be done, 2 days and you are into warm stuff. slippery=does a lot for good riding skill/technique, could make you well prepared for Baja. I've started Daytona trip several times from N Wisconin.


Danger I see from trailer bikers: they are not warmed up/practiced for what can be difficult ride on scooter.

gary c wrote:

Found pictorial-looks pretty simple-cant wait

Bubba's famous last words: "Shoot, that don't look hard."


Seriously, I have found that while looking at the pictorials is helpful, reading others comments in the post often alerts me to problems and solutions that were found. Good luck with your installation.

Me and Bubba did it, so anybody should be able.

Just received my airflow windscreen. Had to pay 17.50 import duty. So 224 cdn total and only 2 week delivery- I'd say a good deal.