My +4" CeeBailey cracked while I was riding to Texas for my ex-mother-in-law's funeral last Thursday. I was on the Cimmaron Turnpike about 50-60 miles NW of Tulsa. I was running the speed limit, 75mph and riding pretty much straight into a strong wind (35-45mph?). When I first noticed it, which must have been fairly soon after it started, I had a 4" long crack centered on the upper inside corner of the left-side (from the saddle) mounting bracket. As I rode, it spread within 15-20 minutes to the left edge of the screen, and then over the next 30-40 minutes, arced down to the center between the two brackets. Both sides were still bolted on, but the big piece flopped back toward me and probably would have broken pretty soon.
I stopped at a convenience store and bought some genuine imitation duct tape. 120 miles later, on the Indian Nations Turnpike, that was peeling off the windshield. I stopped again and learned that they carried the same great stuff. There was a highway patroman there and I asked him if he carried duct tape in his emergency kit. He didn't. But the store had something called "Nashua Tape," which is silvery, impossible to tear, and backed by a blue vinyl strip to keep it from sticking it to itself.
The patrolman had a knife that would cut it and fingernails that would peel the backing off. He ended up taping the screen back together while I held the tape and threw away the backing. His tape job lasted till Wichita on the way back. Before leaving Wichita, I retaped the screen and that job lasted the rest of the way home (including 84 miles on a trailer behind a Suburban).
I talked to CeeBailey today. I had bought this screen from them on September 29, and Tom told me he was sure they would replace it, but they needed an explanation of what had happened and pictures. I sent that to them and got a response that said I'd hear their decision soon.
I expect a replacement.
Here are pictures, so you can see where the crack was. It didn't start in a mounting hole, which is what I would have expected. You may remember that this area of the screen seemed slightly thinner. When the mounting bolt snugged down, there was a teensy bit of looseness. I took somebody's suggestion (it might have been Katherine) to shim it with a couple of layers of material from a nitrile work glove. That seemed to eliminate all the looseness, so I don't know if it contributed to this failure.
Here are some pix:
I stopped at a convenience store and bought some genuine imitation duct tape. 120 miles later, on the Indian Nations Turnpike, that was peeling off the windshield. I stopped again and learned that they carried the same great stuff. There was a highway patroman there and I asked him if he carried duct tape in his emergency kit. He didn't. But the store had something called "Nashua Tape," which is silvery, impossible to tear, and backed by a blue vinyl strip to keep it from sticking it to itself.
The patrolman had a knife that would cut it and fingernails that would peel the backing off. He ended up taping the screen back together while I held the tape and threw away the backing. His tape job lasted till Wichita on the way back. Before leaving Wichita, I retaped the screen and that job lasted the rest of the way home (including 84 miles on a trailer behind a Suburban).
I talked to CeeBailey today. I had bought this screen from them on September 29, and Tom told me he was sure they would replace it, but they needed an explanation of what had happened and pictures. I sent that to them and got a response that said I'd hear their decision soon.
I expect a replacement.
Here are pictures, so you can see where the crack was. It didn't start in a mounting hole, which is what I would have expected. You may remember that this area of the screen seemed slightly thinner. When the mounting bolt snugged down, there was a teensy bit of looseness. I took somebody's suggestion (it might have been Katherine) to shim it with a couple of layers of material from a nitrile work glove. That seemed to eliminate all the looseness, so I don't know if it contributed to this failure.
Here are some pix:
