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@gildod avatar
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Hooked
2020 GTS 300
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Hooked
@gildod avatar
2020 GTS 300
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Location: Seattle
UTC quote
This GTV is so hard to find any parts for.

I am in need a medium size windscreen for my Cannonball bike this summer. I currently have a tall Cuppini windscreen 28 inches or so. I am looking to make or buy a 22in mid size windshield. (I don't want to cut this one, because I use it in the winter months, (Seattle))

I purchased a large piece of plexi, but it is 5mm thick. I am going to return it and get a 3mm one, as I believe Piaggio OEM windscreens are this thickness.

I am planning on using the Cuppini mounts, which should line up, and give me good strength.

I am wondering if any MacGyver's on this forum have formed their own. I would really love some pointers.
@jimc avatar
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The Hornet (GT200, aka Love Bug) and 'Dimples' - a GTS 300
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@jimc avatar
The Hornet (GT200, aka Love Bug) and 'Dimples' - a GTS 300
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UTC quote
Years ago I made a boat windshield from Lexan (polycarbonate) - easy to bend to shape and extremely strong, at least 30 times tougher than acrylic. More expensive though.
@cdwise avatar
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
GTS 300, Buddy 125
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
@cdwise avatar
GTS 300, Buddy 125
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UTC quote
I wish I could get a midsize for the 2023 or a blank with a large enough headlight cut out I could make holes in to fit the supports foe the fluscreen currently installed.
@adri avatar
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Atypical Canadian
2009 Vespa S50(LX150 motor swap), 2006 Vespa GTS250ie
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Atypical Canadian
@adri avatar
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UTC quote
My local dealer Vespa Toronto West has a OEM Vespa GTV wind screen for $750 canadian (550 usd), but they also have a cuppini GTV wind screen for $195 CAD which is only about $143 USD. Doesn't seem that bad vs trying to make one and still have to source mounts for it?
@bobo avatar
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'70 Super 150, Medley 150S, '23 Ducati Monster SP
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UTC quote
I remember awhile ago a guy on the NSM side made a screen from an open faced helmet visor. It looked great if you're after a small screen.
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2018 Vespa GTS 300 ABS- Bianco
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2018 Vespa GTS 300 ABS- Bianco
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UTC quote
Given I own a woodshop, the cutting would be relatively easy, curving the material to suit me would be an issue I'll certainly avoid. Pick your parties wisely when DIY'ing. You need Flea mkt, ebay, FB marketplace, scoot dealers, etc..
@slowpoke avatar
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1952 allstate (early), 1958 allstate, 2009 S150, 2001 ET2
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UTC quote
Kantuckid wrote:
Given I own a woodshop, the cutting would be relatively easy, curving the material to suit me would be an issue I'll certainly avoid. Pick your parties wisely when DIY'ing. You need Flea mkt, ebay, FB marketplace, scoot dealers, etc..
When you want to curve plexiglass you use a heat gun and heat both the top and bottom side. Have the shape already that you want it to conform to on the table. When you heat plexiglass it will bend and when cool keep that shape. If you overheat the plexiglass bubbles will form in it. It's relatively easy to do. Just do your cutting of the plexiglass prior to bending. If you are to drill holes in it use a slow speed on your drill and also have a piece of wood under it to back up where the drill bit will drill through onto. You can use a regular hand file to take down the sharp edges after you've made a cut.
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UTC quote
Thanks for the tips..

I was thinking, if I lay a wet towel and some tin foil over the Cuppini Windscreen, then form the new plexiglass to it (After cutting it to size), using the desired cut height, could potentially make the medium size screen that I desire for the long ride. I will be transferring the Cuppini HW since it is already set up on the bike.

Problem is I don't want to bend or ruin the original one by over heating it.
I also saw some people put the sheet in the over, like on a cookie sheet, and heat it up at 250 degrees for a few min. It does not seem that difficult, so far the hardest part is finding 3MM Lexan Polycarbonate sheet, which Jimc mentioned. I returned the 5mm Plex because the thickness seemed to be overkill.
@slowpoke avatar
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Hooked
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UTC quote
Gildod wrote:
Thanks for the tips..

I was thinking, if I lay a wet towel and some tin foil over the Cuppini Windscreen, then form the new plexiglass to it (After cutting it to size), using the desired cut height, could potentially make the medium size screen that I desire for the long ride. I will be transferring the Cuppini HW since it is already set up on the bike.

Problem is I don't want to bend or ruin the original one by over heating it.
I also saw some people put the sheet in the over, like on a cookie sheet, and heat it up at 250 degrees for a few min. It does not seem that difficult, so far the hardest part is finding 3MM Lexan Polycarbonate sheet, which Jimc mentioned. I returned the 5mm Plex because the thickness seemed to be overkill.
Heat up your new windscreen and put it on top of the original to get the bend close. The heat of the one on top will not deform the one underneath it. Thin sheets don't need alot of heat. I would highly recommend a heat gun and not putting it in the oven.
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UTC quote
I have a good heat gun I can use, I used it to heat up metal for body work I had to do on my Vespa. It has multiple temp levels.

You don't suggest the oven technique huh.. I was a little nervous about not being able to control the amount of heat to a specific area.

I suppose being methodical and working from the Middle out in one direction then another is the desired method?
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Red Devil SH150i (11,000)
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UTC quote
I've made 9(5 prototypes) windshields. I prefer Acrilite Resist 65. Standard plexiglass is 10 X more fracture resistant than glass. Resist 45 is 10 X more fracture resistant than plexiglass. Resist 65 is 10 X more fracture resistant than resist 45. Per memory of website. Only problem with this material is it gets cloudy when it gets hot but you can see thru it.
If your going to bend it with heat, you need felt. You can get some from a fabric store. Anything else will show flaws big time.
I have a bending fixture that's wood covered with felt. Find something that won't melt with the desired curve. Cover with felt. Put in cold oven. Align fixture and shield. Turn on oven to 350, shield should start to bend when the preheat alarm goes off.
After the bend has about 1 inch gap on each side, remove from oven. lay another piece of felt on top and smooth it out.
Yes the shield in my avatar I made it.
@jimc avatar
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The Hornet (GT200, aka Love Bug) and 'Dimples' - a GTS 300
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The Hornet (GT200, aka Love Bug) and 'Dimples' - a GTS 300
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UTC quote
Gildod wrote:
so far the hardest part is finding 3MM Lexan Polycarbonate sheet, which Jimc mentioned. I returned the 5mm Plex because the thickness seemed to be overkill.
Surely there's a TAP plastics in Seattle? Yup... https://www.tapplastics.com/about/locations/detail/seattle_wa

So order the right size - if you have a shape template they can cut it and drill it for you as well.

https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/polycarbonate_sheets/516
@slowpoke avatar
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Hooked
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UTC quote
Gildod wrote:
I have a good heat gun I can use, I used it to heat up metal for body work I had to do on my Vespa. It has multiple temp levels.

You don't suggest the oven technique huh.. I was a little nervous about not being able to control the amount of heat to a specific area.

I suppose being methodical and working from the Middle out in one direction then another is the desired method?
My reason for saying use a heat gun is it takes a large amount of heat over what is needed to make it bubble. You can bend lightly with moderate force and it starts to bend back, heat more and it bends fairly easily and want to stay but with a little bending back, heat it more and it gets floppy and any more heat it bubbles. The short is that it gets sloppy before it would bubble. If your new to bending plexy just start off with some heat and try the bend. Add more heat if needed. You won't go over unless your being impatient.
I have used plexy to make tons of guards and gotten good with it, it really is not that difficult. Try it and see. Any questions take a bit of scrap and heat it till it bubbles you will then know what it is like then.
@slowpoke avatar
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UTC quote
Biggest thing. Heat both sides, if you don't it will bubble and not like bending.
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2018 LIBERTY 150S, 2013 Kymco LIKE200iLX
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@oldschooot avatar
2018 LIBERTY 150S, 2013 Kymco LIKE200iLX
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UTC quote
I found it safest to sandwich plexi between 2 pcs of wood when drilling hole ....and cutting larger holes. (teller windows, ticket seller windows, etc.)
O.S.
@adri avatar
UTC

Atypical Canadian
2009 Vespa S50(LX150 motor swap), 2006 Vespa GTS250ie
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Location: Toronto, Canada
 
Atypical Canadian
@adri avatar
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UTC quote
If you already have one but it's too big could you not just have it cut down to size? On my V-Rod I took my obnoxiously big OEM one to a custom chopper place and they cut it down to size so perfectly you would have thought it came like that from factory
@motovista avatar
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
GT 200
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GT 200
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UTC quote
adri wrote:
My local dealer Vespa Toronto West has a OEM Vespa GTV wind screen for $750 canadian (550 usd), but they also have a cuppini GTV wind screen for $195 CAD which is only about $143 USD. Doesn't seem that bad vs trying to make one and still have to source mounts for it?
Now price shipping one to the US. 30x30x5 inches, 10 lbs, more or less.

The Cuppini flyscreen is more like a midsize shield than like a vespa flyscreen, but it's not quite high enough.

What is different about the GTV screen compared to the GTS screen is the lack of a cutout for a headlight. You can go to Amazon and search for scooter windshield, find something in the size you want, and drill your own holes. They're $25-40. Universal windshields usually mount to the mirrors, and you can seal the factory mounting holes and drill your own for the Cuppini mounts, since it's going on a cannonball bike and likely to be less than mint when that's over. Or also use the mounts on the windshield for added stiffness.

Or you can get this. I'm not sure WTF it is, but it's $30 and it would be fun to see what it does at 80mph.
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
@adri avatar
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Atypical Canadian
2009 Vespa S50(LX150 motor swap), 2006 Vespa GTS250ie
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Atypical Canadian
@adri avatar
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UTC quote
Oh I wasn't thinking he should order it internationally. I agree, that probably wouldn't make sense.

My thought process was more like... if my little dealer way up in Canada where we have like 16 people riding Vespas, I'm pretty sure you can find something down there.
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UTC quote
Its a delicate balance for Cannonball, needs to block bugs and rain, but in Winslow it may be 105f we will also need some air coming through the helmet.

The Full size is too big, and the Cuppini fly screen is too short. I have also considered the universal ones off of AMZN, but I am going to give making one over the weekend a shot. Need to stop by TAP plastics today and get their recommendation.

I will post updates.
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UTC quote
I've thermoformed RC bodies in a machine I built, and put straight bends in clear polycarbonate plates/screens, also using equipment I built.
Polycarbonate plastic is easily shaped while at right temperature. It will keep that shape when cooled.
For windscreen material you need to look at is how opaque the the plastic is, how easy it is to thermoform, and how it resists scratches and breaking.
Lexan is a trademark of plastic that is well suited to this. There are others that are very similar.
I've had motorcycle windscreen (OEM) that was dangerous in the dark because oncoming traffic lights would make it light up, and I couldn't see clearly through it.

If making compound curve (like RC body) you need to heat the plastic evenly, preferably in an oven.
If making straight bend you must only heat the part of plastic you want to bend.
Many plastics will have high moisture content that will cause bubbles to form inside it. Storing them in a dry place and heat up slowly will reduce that.
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UTC quote
My hat is off to you. I tried to work with Polycarbonate and failed.
I was told that some states won't allow standard Acrylic as motorcycle shields. Rather than research the law, I went with the Resist 65.
While I was driving the 7 mile bridge, two quarter sized rocks hit my shield from a truck and trailer ahead of me. From the chips on the shield, standard Acrylic wouldn't have survived. This is why I'll never ride without a shield. Those rocks would have hit me in the chest or neck.
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@gildod avatar
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Hooked
2020 GTS 300
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Location: Seattle
 
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UTC quote
Well the project did not go as well as I would have liked. Heating the Poly with a heat gun was hours upon hours of Heating. I got some bubble on the bottom of the screen. Overall it came out OK. The bend was not as good as I had hoped, it definitely was not as easy as I initially thought it would be.

I wanted to preheat it in the oven, but our oven is too small for this size screen, I thought about using torch, but 100% I would have gotten many more air bubbles.

I am not giving up yet I am going to give curving it another shot, because at 75MPH the windscreen seems to have too much give to it, so with a little more bend I think it just might do the trick.

I am thinking I should go with a thicker 5MM thickness Poly. I am afraid that heating and shaping it will be a challenge.

In the end I am leaning on sticking with the tall shield and dealing with the lack of air flow around me.
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
Forum member supplied image with no explanatory text
@srd0060 avatar
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2022 Super tech/ 91 PX 200e/97 PX 200e
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@srd0060 avatar
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UTC quote
Hey Gildod,

Many years ago i made fog light covers for my car out of Perspex which involved heating the Perspex with a gas torch and then laying over the lights just like you have done. If you heat lexan in a oven and lay it over the top of your screen it should have the same effect.
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Red Devil SH150i (11,000)
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@breaknwind avatar
Red Devil SH150i (11,000)
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UTC quote
Gildod wrote:
In the end I am leaning on sticking with the tall shield and dealing with the lack of air flow around me.
Your biggest hurdle is the hand guards. Shortening the tall screen won't change air flow around your body. Most of us shorten our screens to see over the screen in bad weather.
Keep the large screen for winter and make a screen without hand guards. It should fit in the oven without them.
OP
@gildod avatar
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Hooked
2020 GTS 300
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UTC quote
I do like the idea of removing the Hand guards. For the summer it should not make a difference. I just don't want to get blown out while trying to ride 9000 miles in June.

I am going to try your suggestion, and trim up the sides, if I can get it in the oven I think I may be able to get it formed the way I want.

Thanks!
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