Givi Airflow vs Honda Tall Windshield

[hfnut]

Well everyone I have installed the new Givi Airflow and have taken the Forza on a test ride so I will give you my initial impressions of it and the differences between it and the Honda Tall windshield in case anyone out there has the same questions that I had concerning these two windshields. Remember, this is only an initial testing and impressions are only after a test ride. I am 5'7" tall and weight roughly 145 lbs. I don't know what that is in metric but you all that use that system can calculate what that is to you. I have been riding various motorcycles and scooters since 1984.

I installed the Givi AF1123 on my 2014 Honda Forza so if you have a PCX this probably won't apply to your bike. I removed the Honda Tall screen and installed the Givi then I rode the Forza on a 10 mile test circuit including city streets, 55mph roads and on the interstate (freeways, motorway). I will not be comparing these two windshields to the standard Honda short windshield that comes standard on the Forza in the USA as I have never ridden with this windshield installed. I had the Honda tall windshield installed on the Forza before I took delivery of it.

Honda Tall Windshield: looks good on the bike like it's supposed to be on there, make of very good plastic, has good airflow to the sides of the rider, easy to place bike cover on bike with this windshield installed. Pretty easy to install. Does not distort when you look through it.

The bad: this windshield is about two inches too short for me, I imagine that you can always install a lip on the top of it if you so desire. The wind blast strikes the top of the helmet and bit along the sides so it is quite a bit noisier than the Givi. IMHO you need a quieter helmet to ride with this windscreen. Does nothing to protect you hands from the wind blast.

Givi AF1123: much quieter than the Honda Tall, protects you from the wind blast much, much better than the Honda Tall, it's adjustable so you can find the sweet spot that you like, fairly easy to install like the Honda Tall, pretty easy to fit a bike cover over it although not as easy as the Honda Tall, made from good plastic although I think that the Honda Tall may be somewhat better (I'm not a plastic expert so I could be wrong on this but the Honda one feels a bit higher quality to me), protects your hands from the wind (outstanding quality of this windshield, one of its really strong points), much taller than the Honda Tall (easily a couple to three inches taller with the upper screen in the fully extended up position so I don't have any sort of problems looking through it), reflects the turn signal indicators in a really cool way at night so it gives you a sort of heads up display thingy. I have not found this windshield to distort although some have complained about that with the Givi.

The bad: well I'm gonna go ahead a say it...it looks well....different. Some would say downright goofy but it looks somewhat better on the bike than it does in the pictures of it that I have seen. I'm a older guy and quite frankly don't really care what people think so I'm ok with it. The beauty of this thing is in its function not its looks. You will be able the hear the scooters engine with this windshield that could be a good thing or bad depending upon your perspective. Be careful with your speed with this windshield as it is easily to speed and not really tell how fast you are going. The upper shield could stand to be somewhat wider as the is some slight wind blast coming along your ears but that could just be my helmet I will try different ones and see what I can determine here.

The verdict: well.... first of all let me say that motorcycles/scooters and their windshields are a very personal thing what works for one may not work for another. Motorcycles/scooters are not cars where one size can fit all. Having said that, I like the Givi AF1123. Yeah, it looks kinda quirky and the upper shield could stand to be slightly wider but overall it works really well and frankly I don't think that you can do much better on the Forza if max wind protection is your goal. The design of the Forza places you pretty far from the windscreen so there is only so much wind blast that you can be shielded from on this bike. I do think that the Honda Tall windscreen will probably work for most people and the way that they like to ride and it looks better too! I had eye surgery a couple of years ago so I find it difficult to be exposed to the wind like I used to be so tend to like larger windshields.

Hope this helps answer some questions and I'm sure I'll have some updates as I use the Givi more.

[beegmouse]

Thanks, I wish I'd seen this before I ordered the Honda one, I'm making my own lip for it at the moment, but I doubt it will be as good.

[bearcat]

i'm new to this forum, but have been riding bikes since '73. First motorcycles then scooters because of arthritis in my hands making holding the clutch in painful. i've loved my scooters, but especially my new Forza that i only bought 5 days ago & took position of 3 days ago. i've had 2 other scooters that were mine & 3 others that are/were my husbands...he's been riding motorcycles since the late '60's. my last scooter, that i traded in on the Forza, was the 400 Burgman which was the most comfortable ride i've ever had. On my Burgman i had the Givi Airflow windshield. Like everyone else i thought it was funny looking, but i totally loved that windshield, so much so that i ordered one for the Forza & it's already in. Can't wait to have it installed. It protects not only your head/upper body, but also your hands & the great thing is that when it's hot you can lower it & catch some breeze. Let me add that the Forza has better pickup than the Burgman which i loved, but is not as good on gas & is expensive to service especially if you have a problem. i'm looking at the Forza being better than that.

[homie]

Sorry to distract from topic but how is Givi pronounced? Is it slang, abbreviation or just the only company that makes luggage for scooters? This forum is my first introduction to the word and online dictionaries have no clue.

[SECoda]

Givi is an Italian name, "I" sound like "E" ... so it would be be Gee-Vee.

[Vesper2112]

Thanks for posting the comparison. I've been looking to get a taller shield and I've been interested in the alternatives to the Honda tall. I'm told I the Honda tall can be delivered to my dealer in a couple days, but after your review, I think I'd like to hold out for the AF1123 or even the GIVI D1123ST. Where did you get yours from?

[you you]

Sorry to distract from topic but how is Givi pronounced? Is it slang, abbreviation or just the only company that makes luggage for scooters? This forum is my first introduction to the word and online dictionaries have no clue.

It's just a(n) Italian company name, but God bless you for recognising that there must be another language other than (North) American.

[Vesper2112]

Got the GIVI D1123ST in last Friday (ordered from http://www.sporttour.com on Tuesday!). It was pretty easy to instal, mainly due to reading the blog at http://www.myhondaforza.com/. Anyway... LOVE this screen. I'm 5'11" and I can easily see over the top but can see where I could crouch down a little to look through the shield if necessary. I can tell quite a difference in how much the wind is affecting me with the new shield in place. I was perfectly fine at 40-45 mph with the original shield, but I'm now getting that same "feel" at 60 mph. I haven't had a chance to go faster than that yet as I don't need to get on the highway to go to work, but I feel a WHOLE lot better knowing that if I had to use the highway, I can probably keep up without feeling like I'm going to blow off the side of the road at any time (not counting 18 wheelers, of course).

Here's a side by side comparison of the stock Honda screen and the Givi D1123ST.

[supermattyp]

Vesper, Interested in selling me your stock windshield? My forza came with the Givi adjustable and I hate it. I'd rather have an OE short and a tall like your new one so I can swap them out as I want. I'm in alabama so shipping shouldn't be much. Let me know if you want some cash.

Also, I'm going to be selling the factory rear package tray adapter plate and mount that came on my bike as well. If you're interested in adding a top box this plate will replace the section on your back spoiler making it a breeze and won't require drilling into your stock spoiler.

Also, going to be selling the RAM ball mount that come on this bike. Not my style. 2 1" balls for mounting cell phone/gps on brake res.

Let me know if either of these interest you.

Cheers,
Matty

[hfnut]

Got the GIVI D1123ST in last Friday (ordered from http://www.sporttour.com on Tuesday!). It was pretty easy to instal, mainly due to reading the blog at http://www.myhondaforza.com/. Anyway... LOVE this screen. I'm 5'11" and I can easily see over the top but can see where I could crouch down a little to look through the shield if necessary. I can tell quite a difference in how much the wind is affecting me with the new shield in place. I was perfectly fine at 40-45 mph with the original shield, but I'm now getting that same "feel" at 60 mph. I haven't had a chance to go faster than that yet as I don't need to get on the highway to go to work, but I feel a WHOLE lot better knowing that if I had to use the highway, I can probably keep up without feeling like I'm going to blow off the side of the road at any time (not counting 18 wheelers, of course).

Here's a side by side comparison of the stock Honda screen and the Givi D1123ST.

I like your windshield Vesper. I wonder how tall and wide it is compared to the Givi Airflow....

[Vesper2112]

@ supermattyp: Sorry... I actually already have the smaller screen sold.

I honestly was under the impression that the GIVI Airflow (AF1123) was taller when the screen was in its highest position, but everything I can find says that it has a max extension of 71cm (28" - which then can be lowered ~4.7") and a width of 58cm (22.8").

The GIVI D1123ST has a 28.7" height and a 23.2 width.

[SECoda]

I just ordered the GIVI D1123ST for my new Forza. It should be more protection than the mid-Givi on my PCX.

[SECoda]

So has anyone gone with the Honda Tall windshield? I know it is about 1" shorter than the Givi D1123ST and a bit narrower. I could have purchased the Honda tall for less money and free installation at the dealer but I read in only one post the guy preferred the Givi tall so I went with that. It also matches the Givi shape on my PCX.

[Mortimer]

I had GIVI AF1123 windshield installed last week in my Forza. I rode in in cold and dry weather and in cold and wet weather (thanks to the heated grips). In the wet weather I adjusted the height of the wind shield to a minimum, so that I can see over the windshield and not be bothered by the rain drops on the windshield. Of course, in the dry weather the wind shield is adjusted to its maximum height.

Overall, very pleased with the shield.

I must also point out that I have a PCX125, that has the tall GIVI windshield. The shield is not the prettiest, but is a very effective one.

I can consistently maintain 55 mph in my PCX. I will find out, with the new shield in place, whether I can maintain 70 mph in the Forza.

[Dink99]

My bike came with the tall windscreen and it is pretty good, I am 5'8" and although it's noisy I don't get any helmet buffeting. I have a spoiler on my BMW bike and tried it on the Forza but it didn't really make any difference so it's back on the original bike.

Some years ago I bought an Airflow for my BMW and didn't get on with it, I assume it is a similar design for the Forza. I kept getting dirt trapped in the overlapping screens and like 'hfnut' I used to get (head)light reflection which I found a bit annoying at night. I also found it a bit ugly (and I favour functionality over looks) and not smooth to adjust, so I wouldn't pay out again as Givi stuff (although good) isn't cheap. Saying this everybody is different and if it works for you then it's a good buy. I like the idea of the hand protection on the D1123ST, but I don't think it is worth me changing to a Givi so my next purchase is going to be hand muffs.