Suzuki GSX650F Forum - www.GSX650F.biz

http://www.helmetheadcycle.com/

I ordered a Givi D270S windshield from these guys back June. The item listing on their website does not mention that the windshield is not stocked by them and, in fact, is not stocked anywhere in the U.S.: Givi ships them as they are ordered from Italy. In any event, HelmetHead Cycle notified me after I had placed the order that shipping would be delayed and would be shipped directly by Givi USA when the product arrived on our shores.

That sounds reasonable on the surface and since the listing didn't say explicitly that the item was in stock, I left the order standing. They charged my card immediately, which raised my eyebrows. After a month and three days of waiting, I cancelled the order because I was wasting summer; I had wanted to make a road trip with the Givi to test it and for an extra $20 I could have it from eBay right away. HelmetHead was prompt with answering emails during this time when I'd check back weekly for an update: it was always that the shipping container was in customs, it should be released this week, etc. When I tired of platitudes and cancelled the order I was told it would be no problem although the container had been released and the order should ship soon. I was unambiguous about my desire to cancel the order and ordered the windshield from eBay instead.

Two days later, they had not refunded my credit card. I placed a chargeback with my credit card company. The next day, the order ships from Givi USA. I wrote HelmetHead who claimed the order should have been cancelled and there had been a mistake: please send the windshield back. I ignored this request because I had already placed a chargeback on the grounds that the product had not shipped a month after payment and I reasoned that if the vendor argued with the credit card company and pointed out that the order had been shipped, I would then be without my $108USD and the windshield. I told HelmetHead that if they refunded my money for the order that they had failed to cancel I would happily return the windshield to Givi USA. They danced around the issue and claimed that they would refund the money after the windshield shipped. I let the matter rest there until the credit card company resolved the issue.

Fortunately, the credit card company awarded my money back. HelmetHead sent me a snarky email insinuating that I was trying to scam them but I pointed out that I was patient with the original order, the failure to cancel the order was not mine, and that they had kept my money and waited to see if they could keep the profit (and interest on my money) from doing nothing more than selling a drop-shipped item that they did not stock or probably even have to pay for until it shipped; if they have a problem with the time it takes me to return the windshield now, they know what to do with the complaint. I haven't heard back from them so I guess they have taken my hint correctly.

I will not do business with them again and I would not recommend them to anyone. Always, always use a trustworthy credit card online: not PayPal! I highly recommend American Express as they have now corrected two problems with merchants online (one on Craigslist) with no hassle.

Hammmy
Thank you for letting us all know, I am sorry to hear of your difficulties.
I myself have bought several things from HHC and have never had any problems whatsoever and would not hesitate to order from them again. It is a shame that not every order from them goes as smoothly as possible

If you still have the windscreen you failed to let us all know how well it works. It is slightly higher than the original right? Does it reduce the buffeting much? Would you recommend it?

FYI, a friend of mine had an issue with a company sending him a product that did not work as specified in the item description (from ebay of course). He contacted Paypal to file a complaint and Paypal told him that they only deal with shipping issues and not with product issues. He has since filed a complaint with the credit card company he used to pay for the purchase through paypal. They are working with him and pursuing the company that sent him the defective product. (I guess I also need to mention that he tried to contact the company on several occasions via phone (which was not in service) and via emails (that were not responded to). So if you do use Paypal, use a credit card, dont link to your checking account, and don't expect Paypal to do anything when it comes to product issues. I personally use Paypal, but I will not "link" any of my personal accounts to them and I only use my credit card when paying a company through them.

Dang! Couple weeks ago bought set of PR2 tires from HelmetHead. They are suppose to ship mid-Oct.
Hope I don't have your issues!!

I incorporated my review of the Givi D270S into a road trip thread:

850-mile-1368-kilometer-trip-t3260.html

The upshot is that I need to test on another trip with the stock shield for comparison but the Givi is better for bugs. It is quite a bit taller. The packaging for the shield is terrible: the two boxes I have seen have taken a beating and although the shields are encased in bubblewrap, they aren't secure in the boxes and move around quite a bit.

Oh, and HHC sent the UPS guy to my house to pick up the package without my consent and have yet to apologize for failing to cancel the order/not refunding my money/insinuating I was a thief, other than for my "inconvenience" after I pointed this out to them, following the UPS episode.

Thank you Hammy, I had not seen that road trip thread
May I ask why you said earplugs are a must? I find there is a lot of wind noise with the stock screen, is there more with the Givi or is it just at a different frequency?
Also I was wondering if you have a photo of the handlbars?
Or could you tell me how much higher they are?

Here's a thread that I posted in with the Bikemaster Daytona handlebar dimensions:

atv-handle-bars-t3187.html

I don't have a picture of the bar. I tried to find the dimensions of the OEM bar for comparison but no joy. My description of the difference between the two bars is that the Daytona bar rises back towards you an inch or two further and more importantly for me, the grip area is closer to perpendicular to the bike rather than sweeping back at an steeper angle that hurt my wrists. My guess is that the Daytona bar does not come back as far as the OEM bar would with the TwistedThrottle risers, so if you're looking to get the bars closer to you, the Daytona alone is not the best option. I do not believe the Daytona would accommodate the risers; rather, the cables would be too short.

With the OEM shield and the Laminar touring lip, the noise at freeway speeds was not unbearable. Later, after my Laminar lip flew off on another ride, I found that the ride was quieter. After I installed the Givi, I found that after a four-hour freeway ride (the same length as I took with the OEM shield and the lip) my ears hurt enough that I knew I had been stupid to not use earplugs. I recall a bass booming frequency behind the Givi that I don't recall with the OEM shield.

I was thinking I should organize this more properly into threads specific to each topic (shield, bar, etc.) but the search function can't find Daytona aside from eight mentions of Daytona bike week. I had to use hunt through my posts to find the above thread. I suppose organization is a moot point.

Thank you for more good information Hammmy

I purchased the Givi D270S wind screen from HelmetHead Cycle,I did call to make sure they had it in stock and the man gave me a phone# to the Givi distributer in the U.S..I called and a guy there told me they had 2 on a trailer they were unloading and that they were short on help but I ordered it and it took 6 days to get to me and it looks really good with nice packing.I have not installed it on my 2008 GSX650F yet so I'm not sure of how its going to fit but I will reply when I get it done.

I ordered a Givi D270S from Premier Cycle Accessories (www.premiercycleaccessories.com). Price was $113.40 with $14.08 shipping. I received it in just a few days. I was pleased with the service provided by Premier. I installed the D270S on my bike and really like it. I wear ear plugs, so I can't comment on noise, but the airflow is definitely improved over stock. I'm 5' 11" and also use bar risers, so I tend to sit upright with just a slight forward lean. I agree with most of the points hammmy makes in his road trip thread referenced above.

Along with the D270S, I also have a Holeshot/Corbin seat. I also experienced the sliding forward 'discomfort' mentioned by hammmy about his Sargent seat. However, most recently I've seen this lessened as the seat gets broken in, so I'm hoping that 'feature' will be eliminated as the dense foam takes on it's modified form from use.

Also, +1 on the Cortech Sport saddlebags that hammmy mentioned. I got the 3-piece saddlebags/tailbag combo. They work very well and fit the 650F nicely.

WOW I really really like the GIVI windscreen not just because it looks good but works perfect for me at 5'7" tall.I will say I didn't care to have to take all the pieces off the bike just to get to the bolts,it sucked to say the least but its done and I'm very pleased.