P500 DIY half windshield

[AlR]

When I bought the P500 I got the short wind deflector. It's cold up here and it wasn't deflecting enough wind. Decided to build my own 1/2 windshield. Nice to be out of the wind and still be able to look over the top when the windshield gets muddy etc. It's also the best set up for hunting.

I bought an off-cut of 3/16" Lexan MR10 'Mar-Guard' 24" x 48" (off-cuts were discounted 40%). Decided to mimic the dimensions of the Honda wind deflector so made the bottom width 43". Went up 18" (should have gone 17"...). The pipes narrow about 3/4" per side so I tapered the piece abit. I cut the Lexan on the table saw. If you go slow, it won't chip. YouTube's 'The Emporium' used a heat gun to bend his windscreen. Lexan can be bent cold so I took the sheet to a metal fabrication shop. They used their big press and put a 2" upper and 4" lower bends in (charged me $20). I gave them my Honda wind deflector to get the proper angles for the bends. I believe they were 30 degrees. It looks just like Honda OEM.


I then clamped the Honda wind deflector onto the bottom 4 inches and traced out the contour of the front hood. This was a lot easier than tracing it off the actual hood and avoided all that fiddling around. It worked well. 'The Emporium' on YouTube does a good job of showing how to trace the contour out if you don't have a template like I had.


I used a jigsaw with a fine blade to cut the bottom contour out. Important to clamp the Lexan sheet to your workbench or it'll jump around. Again, if you go slow, the Lexan won't chip.


I used a belt sander to clean up the edge of the Lexan. It did a good job. Then used an orbital palm sander to knock the sharp edges off. I got some 1/2" rubber fuel line, split it and used it as a gasket between the Lexan and the front hood.


I bought four Honda ROPS Clamps from the dealer.


I could have used velcro, or pipe clamps to secure the windshield, but these ROPS Clamps are very elegant pieces of hardware and the windshield can be removed in 30 seconds without tools.


I used stainless steel fasteners. There's a rubber washer under the metal washers; to give the Lexan alittle cushion and hopefully prevent cracking. The Honda wind deflector is painted black around the edge. It makes for a clean look. I'll try to figure out how to paint Lexan (any ideas ?).


Final result is a nice, almost stock-looking windshield. When it comes time to replace the Lexan, I'll have all the hardware. I put the red tape at the top of the Lexan so it would show up on the image. Without the tape, you wouldn't see the edge. Job took about 3 hours not including the travel time to and from the metal shop, plastic shop and fastener shop.

 

[Admin]

 

[Eltobgi]

Nice Craftsmanship! Total cost including hardware

 

[AlR]

Ok local prices will vary and remember I'm in Canada so we get screwed on prices alot. In US dollars the Lexan was $125. The Honda ROPS Clamps were $75. The cost to bend the Lexan was $15 and the stainless fasteners were $5. That puts me at $220.

Now some guys will say they can Amazon a windshield for $125 blah blah blah. I'd say that the OEM Honda clamps are the best. My unit looks stock. Also I set the windshield at the height I wanted it. It fits like a glove. I really enjoyed the build. When this lexan is ready for replacement in afew years it'll be a snap to swap out.

 

[Eltobgi]

Very Reasonable! Something about the satisfaction of doing it yourself just increases the value I'm thinking its about time you started on your matching rear window...Peer Pressures a b****, lol

 

[AlR]

Ay caramba, you read my mind.

 

[ncred02]

I have had my glass in my garage for the rear window since last April. Now just gotta get my glass in gear and fabricate it. Thanks for the tips . Nice job

 

[AlR]

UPDATE:
The stock Honda windshields have black paint around the perimeter of the Lexan. I liked that look and wanted to mimic it. Couldn't find any paint that would stick to Lexan, so I bought a little sheet of flat black vinyl. Got the vinyl at a sign shop. You spray water with a couple of drops of liquid soap onto the Lexan, then lay down the vinyl. It's sticky, but you can shift it into place. Then use a little squeegee to press out any bubbles. It's hard to capture the result in an image, but it looks great. I know that it's all about function, but I do appreciate the look.

 

[Montecresto]

UPDATE:
The stock Honda windshields have black paint around the perimeter of the Lexan. I liked that look and wanted to mimic it. Couldn't find any paint that would stick to Lexan, so I bought a little sheet of flat black vinyl. Got the vinyl at a sign shop. You spray water with a couple of drops of liquid soap onto the Lexan, then lay down the vinyl. It's sticky, but you can shift it into place. Then use a little squeegee to press out any bubbles. It's hard to capture the result in an image, but it looks great. I know that it's all about function, but I do appreciate the look.
View attachment 28892

Looking very good!

 

[Travissf]

I'm looking at doing about the same thing, except I have 2 sheets of 1/4" Polycarbonate that I got for $8 at work.
I want to do a 2 piece with a removable upper portion so I can switch to a full or half windshield quickly.

 

[JCart]

Nice work AIR! Looks really sharp. I made somewhat the same using Lexan and 3mm thick UHMW. Also made a rear cab using 3mm UHMW with OTH trucker tarp that attaches to base of seat to keep dust/snow/wind from entering via the back. The Honda clamps are top drawer gear I order some out of the Eastern USA and as I remember landed to my door was $10 per.... iirc ordered a dozen of them.

j

 

[luger1]

Nice work AIR! Looks really sharp. I made somewhat the same using Lexan and 3mm thick UHMW. Also made a rear cab using 3mm UHMW with OTH trucker tarp that attaches to base of seat to keep dust/snow/wind from entering via the back. The Honda clamps are top drawer gear I order some out of the Eastern USA and as I remember landed to my door was $10 per.... iirc ordered a dozen of them.

j

How did the factory short Honda wind deflector work looking at buying one but not sure if the cost is worth it for the short height but I do not want a full windshield when riding in dusty conditions does dust swirl and collect behind the wind deflector I have been in a pioneer 500 with the full windshield on a gravel road and the dust collected on the backside of the windshield

 

[iowaguy]

How did the factory short Honda wind deflector work looking at buying one but not sure if the cost is worth it for the short height but I do not want a full windshield when riding in dusty conditions does dust swirl and collect behind the wind deflector I have been in a pioneer 500 with the full windshield on a gravel road and the dust collected on the backside of the windshield

I have the short Honda windshield and yes you still have a dust problem,I then got the back panel and that took care of most of it, you might want to look at the post A THREE WAY (windshield)

 

[JCart]

How did the factory short Honda wind deflector work looking at buying one but not sure if the cost is worth it for the short height but I do not want a full windshield when riding in dusty conditions does dust swirl and collect behind the wind deflector I have been in a pioneer 500 with the full windshield on a gravel road and the dust collected on the backside of the windshield

For me at the time I purchase my P5 it was late 2014 and there were really no aftermarket products in Canada and Honda prices in Canada for roofs, front windows was cost prohibitive for me. So I put the dollars I'd spend into tool and supplies and made my own. The dust swirl is problematic for sure, thats why I fabricated a rear cab, still can be dusty but no near what it used to be. I have pix in my link signature for ideas on what I did.

j

 

[luger1]

For me at the time I purchase my P5 it was late 2014 and there were really no aftermarket products in Canada and Honda prices in Canada for roofs, front windows was cost prohibitive for me. So I put the dollars I'd spend into tool and supplies and made my own. The dust swirl is problematic for sure, thats why I fabricated a rear cab, still can be dusty but no near what it used to be. I have pix in my link signature for ideas on what I did.

j

Thanks for the info not sure what I want to do now

 

[JCart]

Thanks for the info not sure what I want to do now

More selection for P5's now for sure. If you're handy with tools it's pretty easy to design and make something. Lexan and UHMW are fairly forgiving to work with and most wood working tools will do the job. I didn't need a welder or anything other than drill, skill saw, scroll saw, cardboard to make templates and a few other hand tools. I prefer to fab stuff if I can, and put the dough into tools and supplies that I would have otherwise spent on the item.