Cleaning A Motorcycle Windscreen
I'm sometimes surprised (read discouraged) by how quickly the front line of defense against wind and bugs, the motorcycle windscreen, gets dirty. It seems that only minutes into my ride with a clean windshield that bugs, pollen, dust and dirt pelt and flow across the Lexan shield. Keeping your motorcycle windscreen relatively clean means frequent washings.
The phrase "It's not rocket science" is a pretty good fit for this task. But there are some tricks that will make cleaning your dirty windscreen easier.
Do not use any kind of detergents or harsh cleaners on your windscreen, as it could damage or discolor the Lexan.
Lexan has some remarkable properties, including weatherability, heat resistance, scratch resistance, toughness and high optical clarity. It's no wonder the engineers at Harley Davidson chose Lexan over various Plexiglass components for their motorcycle windscreens. Lexan is also expensive, so why risk damaging it with chemicals?
Okay, now to the part you came here for. Since chemicals are out, how do you get all that crap off your windscreen? Good old H2O, served up hot.
Hot Paper Towels on the Windscreen
Since I have a quick release windscreen, I like to bring the detachable closer to the source of hot water for easier cleaning. The steps are easy:
- Soak sheets of paper towels with hot water - as hot as you can stand
- Lay the hot paper towels across the motorcycle windscreen as shown in the picture.
Once the windscreen has been covered with hot paper towels, let it soak for a good ten minutes or so, depending on how many bugs you're trying to remove. The hot water will penetrate, soften and loosen any debris that is stuck to your Harley's windscreen.
After soaking, use the wet paper towels to wipe away all the crap that cover your windscreen. A little elbow grease may be required, but most objects will come off easily. Once the windscreen is clean, be sure to dry it adequately to avoid water spots. If you're looking for a lint free finish, try using coffee filters to dry your windscreen.
I like to apply a little WD-40 to the acorn nuts holding the frame to the windscreen. Since the acorn nuts are not stainless steel, they will rust, and the WD-40 helps prevent this.