Aftermarket Windshield Dilemma

[Geno]

I've only had my Feejer for 2 weeks now, put 1200 miles on her already ( no job to get in my way). One thing I now know is I need a better windshield, but which one? I'm 5-11, 32" inseam. With the stock screen fully up, I get lots of wind noise & buffeting in a normal upright riding position. If I scrunch down 4-5", I get a nice quiet pocket, so I guess I need that much increased height. I see Yamaha sells their "touring" shield for $110. I'm reading lots of glowing comments on Rifle, Cee Bailey, Cal Sci, and V-Stream (for lots more $). Anyone have experience with the larger Yamaha shield vs the aftermarket challengers? The V-Stream sounds interesting since it doesn't increase the stock height as much to get the job done, but all the brands make a pretty convincing case for their design. This forum is a real godsend for ignoramouses like me.

 

[MarFJR]

I am in the same boat. With the same issues.

I met up with a few guys for coffee yesterday and got a little more info. 2 of them are big mileage burners and they have the Yamaha touring shield and it works well for them. 1 has it shaved down to almost nothing.

I’m 5’-91/2 and have a +3/+4 on order from Rifle. I am afraid that it will be to big for summer use now. But I will mount it and see what happens. New Hampshire summers are very short. I may have to go back the stocker for a few months we will see..

I will try to keep you posted after I have it on for some testing.

 

[07FJRSD]

I've only had my Feejer for 2 weeks now, put 1200 miles on her already ( no job to get in my way). One thing I now know is I need a better windshield, but which one? I'm 5-11, 32" inseam. With the stock screen fully up, I get lots of wind noise & buffeting in a normal upright riding position. If I scrunch down 4-5", I get a nice quiet pocket, so I guess I need that much increased height. I see Yamaha sells their "touring" shield for $110. I'm reading lots of glowing comments on Rifle, Cee Bailey, Cal Sci, and V-Stream (for lots more $). Anyone have experience with the larger Yamaha shield vs the aftermarket challengers? The V-Stream sounds interesting since it doesn't increase the stock height as much to get the job done, but all the brands make a pretty convincing case for their design. This forum is a real godsend for ignoramouses like me.

I had the tall not bad, finally went to 6 x 6 Cee Bailey no flip. I really think this fixes any issue out there for me and I'm 6'.

 

[lharrell79]

I'm 6'3" with a 36" inseam. With the stock windscreen all the way up, it was like being in a boxing match. My head was getting beat to death side to side. I went with a Yamaha touring screen, and in the all the way up position, I just get a tiny amount of wind on the top of my helmet. I think for someone 6'1" or under, you'd get zero noise. The only problem I'm having, is with the screen all the way up, it's creating a vaccum effect that tries to pull me forward. It is very slight, but you can feel it.

Lucas

 

[lnewlf]

Another vote for the Yammie touring shield-had mine on for 3 years now. I found that I don't need a helmet shield unless it's cold-just sunglasses. And it's just me but I think it is the best looking shield - nice sleek shape and it curves back toward the rider.

 

[Monty]

Another vote for the Yammie touring shield-had mine on for 3 years now. I found that I don't need a helmet shield unless it's cold-just sunglasses. And it's just me but I think it is the best looking shield - nice sleek shape and it curves back toward the rider.

How tall are you and what is your inseam measurement?

 

[dsmack]

When I bought my 06 used a few years ago, it came with a Yamaha touring screen mounted, and the stock w/s (like new) in the box.

I am 5'11" with a 28.5" inseam (yes, I'm built like a chimp!)... I always meant to take the touring screen off and try the stock screen, but have been completely satisfied with the touring screen. Because of my strange body build, my upper body is about the same as someone who is about 6' or 6'1" tall.

With the touring screen all the way up, I ride in completely undisturbed air, and when it is raining, it sheds the water over the top of my helmet for the most part. I am able to move the screen down from max height to fine tune it to give as much or as little "wind in the face" as I want at any particular time...

Long and short of it: I still have the stock w/s sitting here in the box unused, and I'm a happy rider!

It seems windscreens are a very subjective thing. What works well for one, may not for another, so YMMV of course.

 

[lnewlf]

Another vote for the Yammie touring shield-had mine on for 3 years now. I found that I don't need a helmet shield unless it's cold-just sunglasses. And it's just me but I think it is the best looking shield - nice sleek shape and it curves back toward the rider.

How tall are you and what is your inseam measurement?

6'-32" inseam

 

[Aasland]

I'm 5'11 with a 32 inch inseam as well.

The stock is nearly unusable. The V-Stream was nice but still had buffeting, not to mention too little airflow for the hot and humid summers here in MN (but great in the fall/spring/rain).

Have yet to find the "absolute best" solution (i.e. quiet and no buffeting at all positions) but the "near best" is to start with the spacers. That took all the buffeting out of the stock and VStream at all positions. Stock full up still has some 'vacuum', VStream full up is reasonably quiet.

So my advice is to start with the spacers, then play with the shields.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

So far I have been through a Cee Baily (sp?) flip, a rifle +3 and a Cal. Sci. medium. I am 5'9", 32" inseam. The Cal. Sci. has been the best (so far). I am thinking about buying this MRA VarioScreen "Max Edition" . Looks like it could be used with the bottom section only for hot weather, or with both sections for touring and colder weather.

 

[Dennis in NH]

Hi, you sound like I did when I first got my 2010. The OEM shield is relatively quiet if you scrunch down a few inches (I'm 5'6" 30" inseam) and stay in the center. But riding like that can only last so long.

There are many choices of windshields; windshield opinions are more useful with height/inseam measurements.

I went with a Vstream -- works well and I like it. I also got a Laminar Lip (installed on OEM shield).

I had the Vstream first as it shipped quicker and installed quickly too. I found it a good shield and it was big too; I bet (as others said) that it will be great during the cold weather riding which I do during Winter months.

I also tried (and still have on) the Laminar Lip (shipping took longer and took a few days to install for curing the stickies). I like the Lip and it turns the OEM shield into something useful for me. I like that you get more air on the sides than the Vstream esp. for the hot days lately. I'm keeping it on for the Summer and will put the Vstream back on when it gets colder.

I didn't plan to keep the Lip after I tried the Vstream because the Vstream is pretty good. Now, I'm going to keep it; but it was $91 ish shipped so not so big a deal.

Dennis

 

[mplpl]

Just finished a 5823 mile loop around the US, bought the Cal Sci and it is awesome, the customer service is the best in the biz and the windsheild was great 2 up, we went with a large so my wife would get some windbreak and it worked great -

Mike

 

[FJR_Mikey]

I've only had my Feejer for 2 weeks now, put 1200 miles on her already ( no job to get in my way). One thing I now know is I need a better windshield, but which one? I'm 5-11, 32" inseam. With the stock screen fully up, I get lots of wind noise & buffeting in a normal upright riding position. If I scrunch down 4-5", I get a nice quiet pocket, so I guess I need that much increased height. I see Yamaha sells their "touring" shield for $110. I'm reading lots of glowing comments on Rifle, Cee Bailey, Cal Sci, and V-Stream (for lots more $). Anyone have experience with the larger Yamaha shield vs the aftermarket challengers? The V-Stream sounds interesting since it doesn't increase the stock height as much to get the job done, but all the brands make a pretty convincing case for their design. This forum is a real godsend for ignoramouses like me.

I'm 6'2", 32" inseam. I bought the Cee Bailey flip - 4" taller than stock, 2" wider. I like the CB as it gets me completely out of the wind when raised about 3/4 up. The trade-off is that now that the temperature is climbing around triple digits, the sucker is pretty hot. I seriously considered ordering the 2" x 2" CB flip, but let the salesman talk me into 4" high when I ordered. If I were to do it again, I would go with my instincts and go 2" tall. In my opinion, the flip itself gives an extra couple inches of wind clearance.

I recently found out something that I had never taken into consideration. The style and make of the helmet make a difference when considering windshields. I was using a HJC FS-15 Carbon Fiber. With this helmet, I could raise the helmet face shield at highway speeds with the CB 3/4 up with no wind in the face and no rear (or back of the head) buffeting.

I purchased a Suomy Apex a couple of weeks ago, because I absolutely loved the fit and weight of the helmet. The first time I raised the CB up with this helmet, the wind pushing at the back of my head was unbearable. Unlike the HJC, the Suomy has a pretty pronounced wing across the top rear of the helmet. I believe the wind buffeting from the rear was hitting this aerodynamic wing and caused my head to be pushed forward. With the CB all the way down and the wind hitting me right in the face, the Suomy was so much more slick feeling than the HJC, that I couldn't believe it.

Due to this, I took the CB back off and reinstalled the stock windshield for the summer. I rode yesterday with the Suomy and the stock WS all the way down and it was a great ride. Before this, I would have never given the helmet any consideration when thinking about windshield set-up. When the temperatures drop again, I'll put the CB back on and switch to the HJC helmet.

 

[CAJW]

Geno,

I'm such a proponent of the Cal-Sci ( no, I don't work for them) and I live close by, that I'll extend the offer for you to try my medium out on your Oooops! Nevermind.... I see you're riding one of THOSE. Sorry, can't help with a Gen II, but if you're in the West Sac area, give Mark at Cal-Sci a call. I'm sure they'll let you test ride a demo model as they are the cat's meow (at least on a Gen I). Good luck, there are a ton of different models and many more opinions. Achieving windshield nirvana is a difficult task, but many have come close.Cal-Sci

 

[blueman]

Cee Bailey for my ride.First farkle I ever did! Know comparision,vastly superior than stock. Makes riding much more fun!!!

 

[ds1340]

the v stream is the best it has a air spot you can her your self think and you can have a smoke too at high speeds really nice

 

[ds1340]

i like the v stream

 

[GBranson]

I am 5'9" and ride with OE shield all the way down and full face helmet.

Tried other shields and they seem to suck hot air from overhead and behind.

If riding in rain and need to clear face shield I put OE shield full up and

the blast from above clears water from shield.

 

[stevet]

I'm 6'0", 30" inseam, so I'm taller up top. The stock screen, regardless of position, was like going into the ring with Sugar Ray Leonard. And I lost the fight on every ride. I don't see too many Rifle owners in this thread, but everything I found at this site about Rifle windshields had me sold. I went with their clear +5 tall, +4 wide version. I'm in heaven now. I normally have it raised about 2/3 up from bottom, and I'm looking normally over the top at this point. In full up, I'm looking through the shield, my horizontal line of view is about 1" or so below the top end of the shield. I don't really ride with it all the way up, about where I tend to keep it works very well for me. And the quiet pocket of air I find more or less at this height means I can even skip putting in ear plugs for shorter trips, say generally 45 minutes and less. With it up, wind noise is so well blocked that it's all engine noise I hear, and I can even sometimes hear the tire tread of cars next to me on the freeway. It's Rifle for me.