The Word from Yamaha

I took Fred's challenge a while back and rode with one side open and the other closed, then switched them just for grins and also tried w/ both open and both closed. I noticed that during the day in this 95-100 degree heat it was real hard to distinguish any kind of difference but at night when it was in the 80's, it was a whole lot easier to tell. My results were opposite of Yamaha's techy dude. My opinion: Out = cooler; In = warmer. I agree w/ dhalen that he might have it backwards. In fact, with the right side closed, my right leg was down right burnin hot.

Fred, I'll help w/ 1/2 box of Krispy Kremes.

On Yamaha's web site, it appears that they are saying the purpose of being able to adjust the cowlings is to direct heated air either on or away from the rider.

The web page is: https://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/am_inset9.aspx

It says:

"Allows warm air to be directed on or away from the rider, depending on outside temperature."

To me this sounds like open or out is supposed to be cooler for the rider. Closed or in is warmer for the rider.

I tried it both ways today, with the temp in the 90s, and I can't tell much difference. Maybe in cold weather the difference will be more noticeable.

I already said something to this effect in a different thread several weeks ago, but I'll repeat it here (with some extra clarification)....

If you do the old "ride with them in, stop and change them to the out position and then ride it some more" you lessen your ability to directly compare the temps since the time between your measurements lessens your ability to accurately estimate what you're feeling. Likewise if you have one side in and one side out you're using 2 different measuring devices (2 different legs), so again it's not much of a direct comparison.

But there is a simple test that I suggested in the other thread, and I believe that Fred also meantioned it earlier in this thread. Since the effect of having the panels in or out merely changes the airflow and not the temperature of the air it's simple for anyone to test the effect in real-time. Here's how I determined weeks ago that there was NO WAY that I was going to ride here in the Texas heat with the panels in:

1) Put the panels in the out position.

2) Ride out on the freeway in the heat of the day, and let the FJR get good 'n' hot, keeping your legs tucked in tight.

3) Open your legs up a bit to put them more fully out into that air stream that you would otherwise have directed at you. Do your shins feel cooler or hotter?

Tell you what - last week when I was riding home and the indicated air temp was 111F I stuck my legs out there into that air flow and within 30 seconds I was thinking "why would ANYone want that on their legs?" It's a simple 'speriment, so go forth and try it! If you still think that that air-flow cools your legs then you've proven that your situation is different from mine and we can know that there's a big "it depends" on this particular subject.

Please note: It never bothered me to have the panels in the inward position until it got into the 100's around here and my shins started to bake. Once I moved the panels into the outter position the evening ride home became a bit more comfortable again (though I can still feel some of that heat on the outer part of my shins because the air stream still hits there a bit).

Once the temps get back down into the lower 90's or into the 80's I'll move the panels back in since I agree that they look fugly in the out position. I think the effect of the panels isn't too dramatic until you get into the upper 90's and the 100's. In any case, and no matter what you guys feel if you do the above experiment, I'm SO glad I've got them in the out position right now.

Ray

DrBunsen said:

I already said something to this effect in a different thread several weeks ago, but I'll repeat it here (with some extra clarification)....
Once the temps get back down into the lower 90's or into the 80's I'll move the panels back in since I agree that they look fugly in the out position. I think the effect of the panels isn't too dramatic until you get into the upper 90's and the 100's. In any case, and no matter what you guys feel if you do the above experiment, I'm SO glad I've got them in the out position right now.

Ray

Click to expand...

JohnB said:

...When the vents are OPEN (or OUT), more warm air will reach the rider.When the vents are CLOSED (or IN), less warm air will reach the rider.

The vents do this by controlling the cool air flow which is used to neutralize the warm air reaching the rider from the engine bay.

When the vents are open, cool air is deflected away from the rider thus allowing more of the warm air to be felt.

When the vents are closed, more cool air is allowed to neutralize the warm air that reaches the rider.

So, in case you were keeping score, the winners in the debate were:

cota95, fjrrider, mjs, paste007, DrBunsen, ScrapeApe and KYFJR. KYFJR was the person whose analysis came the closest to the actual design intent.

Click to expand...

:huh: woops

So, I called Yamaha and consulted a tech specialist again just to see if they could have made a mistake. I spoke to Steve, explained the debate, he put me on hold for a while to consult w/ the almighty Yamaha motorcycle specialist God and the result was: vents open directs warm air away from the rider.

Donuts for everyone!!!

Thanks, now at least I know I am not crazy. Well, maybe anyhow.

I want sprinkles on my donughts.