AdamJ
Active member
I noticed there's a bunch of mentions of the fairing whistle issues on the '06's but no single rollup on what people have done to fix the issue, so I'll take a stab at reporting what worked\didn't work.
While waiting for the engine to cool after doing the 600m throttle body sync I took some time to fart around and disassemble the windshield mounting brackets. I tried adding self adhesive weather stripping to fill the gap between the two mounting brackets (one which the windshield is fastened to, which in turn is secured to another bracket which connects to the movable arms sprouting from the fairing). Result: do not bother trying to fill this gap -- it has no effect on the whistle whatsoever, in fact filling the gap seems to make the whistle more pronounced.
After a disappointing test ride, the next thing I tried was to use duct tape to smooth out the leading edge between these two brackets, with the tape completely spanning the 'W' section between the inner adjusting arms (use two pieces of tape, overlapped in the middle...). Not only did this eliminate the whistle, but it also smoothed the airflow over the windscreen significantly. I wear prescription glasses, and prior to placing the tape, if I rode with my visor up, the turbulence would cause my eyes to tear up at any speed above 45mph, even with the windscreen in full up position. With the tape in place I have no problems riding with visor up even at highway speeds. I'm 5'10.
All of this is pretty much in line with what you'll find has worked for others. It's definitely an easy fix, and if you use black tape it's barely noticeable since it's on the underside of the windshield mount brackets.
What I'm curious about now is whether there's room for even more improvement in the airflow with a nice custom formed trim piece to make the flow around the brackets as smooth as possible. I have some experience with composites and may do some experimenting if time permits.
While waiting for the engine to cool after doing the 600m throttle body sync I took some time to fart around and disassemble the windshield mounting brackets. I tried adding self adhesive weather stripping to fill the gap between the two mounting brackets (one which the windshield is fastened to, which in turn is secured to another bracket which connects to the movable arms sprouting from the fairing). Result: do not bother trying to fill this gap -- it has no effect on the whistle whatsoever, in fact filling the gap seems to make the whistle more pronounced.
After a disappointing test ride, the next thing I tried was to use duct tape to smooth out the leading edge between these two brackets, with the tape completely spanning the 'W' section between the inner adjusting arms (use two pieces of tape, overlapped in the middle...). Not only did this eliminate the whistle, but it also smoothed the airflow over the windscreen significantly. I wear prescription glasses, and prior to placing the tape, if I rode with my visor up, the turbulence would cause my eyes to tear up at any speed above 45mph, even with the windscreen in full up position. With the tape in place I have no problems riding with visor up even at highway speeds. I'm 5'10.
All of this is pretty much in line with what you'll find has worked for others. It's definitely an easy fix, and if you use black tape it's barely noticeable since it's on the underside of the windshield mount brackets.
What I'm curious about now is whether there's room for even more improvement in the airflow with a nice custom formed trim piece to make the flow around the brackets as smooth as possible. I have some experience with composites and may do some experimenting if time permits.
