3rd Gen Windshield Tuning

[Kaelaria]

Great job!! I'm also 6'2" 32" inseam and know that if I sit up real tall, like if I had a taller seat, I get the buffeting with the touring screen on you mentioned. Luckily the LAAM only raised it slightly from stock and it's still a silent bubble, just barely, for me. I would totally try that mod though if needed!

 

[xcsp]

Interesting... I purchased the Yamaha Touring Screen because I was coping a fair whack of buffering with the standard screen. I'm non-tall (5'6") but still don't find the Touring Screen perfect, especially as it is so susceptible to vehicles in front of the bike causing turbulence.
I'll be following this topic with interest!

I've had a Cee Bailey, VStream and now a Yamaha touring screen on my bike and none cure the issue of turbulent air when behind a vehicle.

Not sure if you can cure that other than either by getting in front of said vehicle or dropping back to find "clean" air.

Fred W, can you tell us if you noticed any improvement when behind other vehicles?

 

[Fred W]

You are correct that you can't "cure" the turbulent air that exists behind other vehicles, especially big trucks. No amount of windshield angling is going to do that. And one thing that I have noticed on the interstate is that the turbulence builds up throughout the day as truck traffic builds, to the point that you don't even have to be directly behind a truck to be in relatively turbulent air.

What increasing the angle of the windshield does is reduce the turbulence that the shield itself creates, which only adds to and focuses that truck turbulence at your head, causing buffeting. So yes, it is a little better in that regard.

It also allow you to put the shield down low enough that the wind blast off the top of the shield hits you in the chest instead of the head, which is real handy on days like yesterday when the mercury hit 90 in New England for the first time this season. With your head up in the un-faired wind the turbulence from trucks has less effect on your noggin.

 

[CA G-Man]

You are correct that you can't "cure" the turbulent air that exists behind other vehicles, especially big trucks. No amount of windshield angling is going to do that.

Bang-on Fred. Yet another good reason to get the hell out from behind big trucks!

 

[NightShine]

After a few days of mixed use, on and off the highway, I can say there is definite improvement on both ends of the shield's range.

I concur! It passes a bunch more air in the down position, and noticeably reduces turbulence in all positions. This farkle is a keeper. Looking forward to eventually seeing a more elegant spacer, but as Fred said, no hurry...

Thanks, Fred!

 

[hppants]

Redfish Hunter was nice enough to let me try a 5 mile slab run on his '15 with the Cee Bailey Sport (tinted for good measure). I followed a couple of trucks at speed, and passed several others at "well past 85". While it's not perfect, it is INCREDIBLY better than the stock Gen III screen, or anything I've tried or seen on the Gen I.

I went home and ordered the Cee Bailey sport screen (in tint BTW) immediately. It's due at my house tomorrow. Can't wait to install it.

 

[Ian Stephens]

I was watching this thread with great interest as my brand new '14 was almost un-rideable due to the extreme buffeting with the stock windscreen at any height and at pretty much any speed, (I'm 5'11", 32" inseam).

I was optimistic though, because I had the same issue with my 2009 FJR in 2010 - getting a nice big Rifle barn-door solved the buffeting problem nicely then.

My 23" Cee Bailey screen arrived at work yesterday and I bolted it on in the parking lot.

WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

I may still experiment with the spacers to see if I can create the smooth bubble for my head with the screen a bit lower than at full up.

Thanks for the info Fred!

ian

 

[bigjohnsd]

Fred, maybe i missed it, but how did the ride test work out with the stock windscreen?

 

[Fred W]

I haven't tried that yet. I'm so happy with the added air flow running the Touring screen with spacers I may never bother going back to the shortie shield for summer.

Who am I kidding, I'll just have to try it someday. Why? Because it is there.

 

[snikr]

Are we going to have to start calling you "Tinker Bell" Fred??

 

[Fred W]

Not to my face...

 

[red2kcbr]

Interesting discussion. I'll be doing this fix on a stock windscreen soon, not for buffeting but to reduce wind noise. Never had wind noise like the FJR. Honda 929 with the stock bubble had much less wind noise for me. Plan is to try this change, then a different wind screen, finally to lose the flip-up helmet for a normal full-face. Thanks, Fred, for the procedure and parts list. I already did your safety pin trick on the Givi trunk.

 

[Fred W]

Cool. Really. Feedback like yours makes it worth doing. Thanks for doing that. I hope it works out for you.

With regards to windshields and the head/helmet buffeting, we all suffer, to varying degrees, but there are many, many variables at play. Not the least of which is our own individual statures, affected by our riding positions, windshields, and especially by our own tolerances for getting our heads knocked around.

Also there is an exposure factor, which I think s cumulative, as in how much time you've spent on the slab mixing it up with those purveyors of disgustingly dirty air, the hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions?) of over the road tractors pulling trailers around our country over the interstate systems. If you seldom venture off the 2-lane (as I strive for) you don't care quite so much about the truck wash as those who live for "the open road."

As alluded to above, I'm not a fan of the "open road" interstate slab. Any road that has a semi-trailer truck on it ahead of me (in the past 1/4 hour) is not a particularly good road , IMO.

But I'm aware enough to realize we all have our own personal dealios; our own circumstances, and levels of tolerance, if you will. I wish I never had to ride in the dirty air of another truck, but I fully realize that this is not even a remote possibility unless/until I (retire, and) move out to the sticks,. (definitely in my long range plans), and disconnect from the rest of "modern society" (much of which I have little approval for, but that may be too political or philosophical for this audience)

In the meantime, I'll continue to share my observations in the hope that it is of even a small value to some of my FJR friends and brothers. I'd just hope that you would do the same.

Cheers

 

[mikerider]

Fred, what did you use to cut your plastic spacers so clean? I bought some spacers but I couldn't cut it right.

Thanks!

mike-

 

[Fred W]

Cut with a hacksaw and then filed them even.

 

[pcarnut]

Great write-up, thanks Fred! Currently have the Yamaha Touring screen and for the most part like it but still a little bit noisy compared to the Rifle on my 08. Was getting ready to pull the trigger on a Cee Baily but definitely will try this first.

 

[Fred W]

The other thing to keep in mind is that if you like the angles better with the spacer mod but the height of the Touring screen isn't enough, you may want to go with a slightly taller screen than what you might have and keep using spacers. It's what I'm looking at doing sometime soon.

 

[pcarnut]

The other thing to keep in mind is that if you like the angles better with the spacer mod but the height of the Touring screen isn't enough, you may want to go with a slightly taller screen than what you might have and keep using spacers. It's what I'm looking at doing sometime soon.

True. I wish the Yamaha screen was about 1-2" taller. I had recently tried tilting my screen up using spacers to gain a little height but didn't notice any real improvement in reducing noise.

 

[Fred W]

For me it isn't noise so much as head buffeting that I feel is improved. Some of that is due to me being 6'2", sitting on a Russell, with HeliBar bridge riser. It's very dependent on you and your position.

I just noticed that you tried tilting the shield "up" meaning making the angle even steeper. That would seem to be counterproductive to reducing turbulence to me. A steep windshield creates more turbulence off the top.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Nice mod. I love my cee bailey barn door for winter. I like my Yamaha Touring screen for summer. I put my stock screen on just for kicks last week. I removed the stock screen the day I bought the bike, so I thought after 13K of riding, I should pull it back out and see if I gave it a fair chance. I couldn't pull that joke off the bike and put an actual windscreen back on fast enough. Regardless of the helmet, even with plugs, the wind noise and pressure were like not having a screen whatsoever. YMMV.