his is one great looking windscreen, isn’t it? It’s the Flare, just out from Klock Werks, and it’s about more than just looks. This windscreen was built for performance and at that it shines. Here’s how it all came about, and what the Flare is all about.
     A couple years ago at Bonneville Laura Klock felt her motorcycle start to shake and wobble once she got up to about 120 miles an hour. The Klock Werks “World’s Fastest Bagger” went on to set some amazing records, running up kissin’ close to 150 MPH, but not without drama. “I had to do something about that,” says Brian Klock, obviously concerned about the safety of his wife as she piloted that racing Harley.      “And since I always thought that stock Harley windscreen was pretty ugly I took a commonsense approach to designing a replacement that would do a better job of directing the wind out and away from the rider and smooth out the ride.” The Flare accomplished both goals. Where other windshields can create unnecessary turbulence and lift, Brian wanted just the opposite–smooth air and downforce. The Flare windscreen delivered, and what worked at Bonneville is now working just as well out on the highways at 70 miles an hour. The Klock Werks Flare is available right now.
     The Flare was two years in the making. With applications for the Road Glides and most FLHTs these windshields combine custom styling with true, race-derived function. The first test versions were made in a Rapid Prototype Machine with everyone in the Klock Werks Design Team taking turns riding around town and evaluating what they’d made. As it turns out it was something pretty special, and that was confirmed when Brian brought that prototype Flare to the A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, North Carolina. This is the same facility top NASCAR teams use and in the A2 wind tunnel the Flare removed 12 counts of drag, a “count” being the term used to express a measure of coefficient of drag. More than that, the new Klock Werks windshield added 15-pounds of downforce to the front of the bike. Gone was that light, unstable feeling. Back-to-back comparisons with a stock windshield and the Flare were dramatic. “As the bike would approach a simulated 70 MPH you could actually see the front rise up with the stock windshield in place,” Brian says. Rise up with a corresponding unloading of the front wheel, which leads to nothing good, handling-wise. “Switching to the Flare and making no other changes you could actually see the front of the bike settle down,” he goes on. “When I walked back into the control room after that final test the engineers at A2 all broke out in applause. Most of them are riders themselves and they told me I’d just made that motorcycle safer for everyone who owns one.” Incidentally, that wind tunnel testing showed a Harley-Davidson dresser to have the same coefficient of drag as a NASCAR series truck. That’s how much air a big Harley pushes as it rolls down the highway. But back to the Flare.
Besides its distinctive flip at the top to direct the airflow up and over a rider’s head, the Flare also features what Klock Werks calls “hips” to push the air off to the sides. This is the first time any of this has been used in a motorcycle application. “We weren’t trying to build a ‘boy in a bubble’ windshield here,” Brian explains. “This isn’t total coverage, you still feel the wind. But there’s a lot less turbulence in the rider’s ‘pocket,’ and it sure looks sexy and makes the bike safer to ride.”
     Originally designed for the Road Glide, the Flare is also available for the FLHT models, the old ones right up to the 2008s. For the Road Glide there are 8-in.and 12-in. sizes, for the Street Glide and FLHT there’s a 6 1/2-in. version, a size pretty much equivalent to the short screen that comes stock on a Street Glide. The windshields are all direct replacements and installation is as simple as it gets. They’re bolt-ons. All the windshields are made of a hard-coated polycarbonate, the same quality material used in all OE windshields, and they’re all made right here in the USA. There’s a Black version, a Dark Smoke, a Light Tint and a Clear. The 8-in. version is great for solo riders, the 12-in. version is better suited to taller riders and it’s great for passengers. It throws the air up and over them, too.
The Klock Werks Flare is just out and everyone who’s seen it and tried it has loved it. Some insiders in the aftermarket call it the coolest thing to come on the market in five years. The Flare brings good looks to a windshield, it creates beneficial downforce, it cuts drag and improves handling characteristics while also providing a much improved air pocket for the rider. And it looks great! “Standard Road Glides are hardly the sexiest motorcycle on the road,” Brian Klock says. “They get sexy in a hurry with the Flare.” The Klock Werks Flare is priced at $169.95 retail and Drag Specialties has them all.


The new Klock Werks Flare windscreen was originally designed to improve the performance of Laura Klock’s motorcycle running down the salt flats at Bonneville. Now all of that testing and design is available for the everyday rider.


This technically advanced windscreen was tested and developed in the A2 Wind Tunnel in Mooresville, NC…the same facility that the top NASCAR teams use.