[Product Review] Asahi Windshield for the Kawasaki W800! A windshield with a classic design to easily give your bike that retro look!

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Hi! I'm Yu Nakamoto, a filmmaker who loves motorcycles. Here's a quick question. Have you ever heard of Asahi Windshield?

I used to ride a Kawasaki W650, and my favorite windshield was from Asahi Windshield. I used to put this windshield on every winter because it was much more affordable than other windshields and cowls.

This windshield is very useful, but another point is that it makes your bike look like a classic in no time. Some cowls for café racers cost more than 100,000 JPY, but this windshield can be purchased for around 10,000 JPY, so you can easily give your bike a makeover. I am currently riding not a W650 but its successor model, the W800, and it has been a while since I started riding it, so I thought it was time to change the look a little. In this article, I, an Asahi Windshield enthusiast, will talk about how to install this windshield, its charm, and its wind protection effect!

What is Asahi Windshield?

Asahi Windshield (Asahi Fuubou in Japanese) is a brand of plastic products such as windshields and boxes manufactured and sold by Asahi-Seiki Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Founded in 1955, the company is known for the quality of its products, which are "a fusion of technology and stylish design," and are used by many Japanese motorcycle manufacturers for stock parts. Incidentally, they unified their products into the brand name "af" in 2014.

When you think of Asahi Windshield, this windshield with a khaki-colored cloth attached comes to mind! This windshield, which is nostalgic for the older generation, and retro for the younger, is a very long-selling item that can still be purchased today.

Installing an Asahi Windshield on the W800!

Now it's time to install this Asahi Windshield on the W800! The windshield I purchased this time is a model called "No.99 Mini". Compared to the "No.99 Sport", which is another model, the shield is shorter.

First, in order to attach the cloth to the shield, we need to make holes in the cloth for the screws. Since I had a Makita Impact Driver, I used that to drill the holes. If you don't have a drill, don't worry, you can easily make the holes with a sharp tipped tool like an ice pick. By the way, if you make a hole in the wrong place by mistake, there's no going back, so be careful where you drill the holes!

Next, attach the mounting brackets to the handlebar. When tinkering around the handlebars, it is recommended to cover the fuel tank with a towel or something similar to prevent damage, such as scratches.

Fasten the brackets to the windshield, tie the string that goes under the headlight and adjustment accordingly, and you're done!

It is also great that no special tools are required and it can be installed with just a screwdriver and wrench. In my case, I use it every year, and since I've done it so many times, I can install it in about 15 minutes.

Retro style windshield with cloth headlight curtain!

What do you think? Isn't it extremely stylish? I love this design, which is one of a kind among current windshields. It is perfect for neo-classic bikes like the Kawasaki W800 and vintage bikes like the Z1 and CB750FOUR.

Some people don't like the look because they think it looks like the bikes ridden by old-fashioned biker gangs in Japan, but I personally think it looks more like the classic bikes ridden by "press riders" that delivered scoops to newspaper agencies, which gives it a super cool retro feel. Let's all imagine ourselves not as a biker gang, but as hardboiled veteran riders of the good old days, and make sure to ride with good manners!

It looks old-fashioned but has great wind protection!

Next, let's take a look at the windshield's effectiveness by actually riding with it installed! Some readers may think that since this windshield looks old-fashioned, that it is just for looks and won't have much effect, but it is, on the contrary, perfectly good at it's original purpose, to protect you from the wind!

It is warm this time of year, so you may not feel the wind shielding effect that much, but when you are riding in the middle of winter, you will appreciate it a lot! Especially with the long version, the "No.99 Sport", I hardly feel the cold at all on my upper body! By the way, I have already reached the level where I can't ride a bike in midwinter without this Asahi Windshield.

Comparison of Asahi Windshield Sport (long version) and Asahi Windshield Mini!

As an Asahi Windshield collector, I also own the "No.99 Sport" model with a longer windshield, so I took some comparison photos. The length of the shield is quite different.

This long version offers great wind protection, but the shield is scratched up from years of use, so it is a little difficult to see. Also, the longer windshield weighs more, so the handlebars feel a little heavier. But once you get used to it, it's not that big of a deal.

I found a picture of the long windshield on my other bike, a Kawasaki 650RS-W3, so I'll put that here as well. I'd say both the Mini and Sport versions look cool!

A windshield that takes you back to the 70's!

What do you think? This is a highly recommended item for riders who go on long-distance tours or who want to give their bike a classic custom look! It also provides great wind protection, so riders who find it hard to ride in the middle of winter because of the cold should definitely consider purchasing this item!

Thank you for reading to the end! Why not install an Asahi Windshield to give your bike a cool retro look? I plan to introduce more Asahi Windshield brand items in the future, so if you found this review article helpful, I'd appreciate a share!

Asahi Windshield video review!

I run a YouTube channel for motorcycle product reviews called "Nakamoto Motors" and will be uploading a video review of this product soon, so please check it out and subscribe if you would like to see it in action! See you soon!