National Cycle Hand Deflectors - Deflector Clear — Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom, Sportster 1200 Low, Sportster 883 Custom (2004-2011)

a good hypothesized concept or idea... but it's not real

Write your review here. It must be at least 25 characters long. Consider whether you would recommend this product and what yI've been using these deflectors all through the cold season so far, and I admit I've been putting in a lot of effort in to finding any reason to rave about how great they are and accepting them as useful; however, I'm embarrassed to admit I went along with the hype (reviews) and wasted good money on them. I'm sorry to those who honestly swear by it, but I think most of them research and read all the other reviews about "deflecting rocks...protecting hands" and "deflecting wind...keeping hands warm" and end up having a sort of placebo effect. I certainly fell for it, too, had faith, and tried to fool myself. <br />Sure, perhaps if you put this product up against some wind testing machine there is a small percentage of wind being deflected, but speaking from experience, the deflection is so negligible, I'd say they do not deflect wind at all. Thus, they do nothing to keep hands warm. Seriously, if you want to warm hands in the cold, save your money to invest in heated gloves. <br />Protection for your knuckles? Maybe. But, what are the chances a rock can fly up (over your clutch/brake lever) and hit your knuckle dead on to cause real damage? In my opinion, you need these deflectors as much as you need late night informercial products, in that sense. <br />(More cons) At 70-80 mph, strong winds press up against the "shield", and they'll start to get pushed back (no matter how hard you tighten them, which you shouldn't because you do not want to torque it beyond recommended specs). This results in your mirror getting pushed back. And either your clutch or brake levers will get pressed. When brake lever gets pushed back, they set off brake light and you get an error code light. That's happend to me so frequently, I ended up taking off one deflector, and that's when I discovered I felt an equal amount of wind and cold on my hands.ou like or dislike about it.

Good Idea...not so good execution!

I bought these to avoid having to buy heated gloves as I ride all year around in NYC. The concept is good, but because of the shape the end results are not as good. These a bit too straight up (they are a bit curved, just not enough) and with the mirrors up and not alligned with the shields it acts as a vacuum for air to come straight down your hands as it ricochets off the mirrors. But they help a bit with the wind.<br /><br />Now, I had an incident where my bike's front brake locked on me (luckily only doing like 10 mph in heavy NYC traffic) skidded off some dirt on the side of the road and this shield protected my hand. It broke off as the screws sent are plastic.<br /><br />Will I buy them again? Nah.

Great Idea, Poor Results - Just Buy a Batwing Fairing

Bought these to give my hands a little more wind protection, rather than buying thicker winter gloves. On my 2008 Sportster XL1200C, they provide a slight bit of wind protection, but far less than you would think.<br /><br />Installation was fairly simple, just remove the nut from the bottom of your mirror assembly, add the bracket for these, and re-tighten.<br /><br />However, if you want these to stay on your bike, you’re going to need to replace the nuts, and/or use some blue Locktite when you put the shields on the brackets. The first time I set these up, I didn’t do either of those things. Vibrations knocked the shields loose after a couple of weeks. The second time I put some Locktite on the screws, and tightened them down hard. No good either, I put too much torque on the Lexan shields, and now they’re spiderwebbed with cracks! At least I know they won’t end up bouncing down the road this time.<br /><br />Learn from my mistakes. If you simply must have these (and don’t mind that your bike is going to look a bit silly) buy some nylon insert lock nuts. Make sure you’ve got at least three threads through the nut once you tighten things down, but no more than that lest you crack the shields.<br /><br />I’m not going to waste money on a replacement set. I’ll just save my money for a proper batwing fairing instead.

They offer wind deflection with no interference to the hand controls. Similar protection as motocross hand deflectors. There is still buffeting around the deflectors but they do cut down the direct air hitting my hands during cold riding weather. I have a 2006 Harley Sportster custom 1200. that being said, I needed to notch out the mounting brackets on the bar end where it bolts on to the lower mirror bolt to clear the stem for my turn signals.

Awsome product.

Great product, easy ot install

2015 Sportster 1200 72 Handguard install

One of the best upgrades we have done to this bike, she loves them.

Good for chilly, not so much cold.

These DO cut down on the wind that hits your hands. They do not stop it. They aren't good for much colder than about 35-40, but at those temps, good gloves are a must anyway. Will they keep your hands warmer in a New York winter? No. Will they help tremendously with southern AZ and central FL on those few days that are actually cold? Absolutely. I've had a these for years- just keep having to replace the shields for reasons unrelated to the product itself (operator error). You do need to make sure and locktite the shields, or they will rattle off. That was a surprise one day at 80. But don't tighten them too much, as when the locktite dries and pulls everything closer, the shields will spiderweb and then shatter when hit. Oh, and do they look silly? A little. But if you don't like (or can't afford) full fairings, or already have a windshield, they're not bad. Pretty unobtrusive imo.

This was easy to install, but the plastic screws break easily. Also, I am not sure it helps all that much keeping my hands warm.