Blind Squirrel
Well-known member
In my search for windshield nirvana I have been through some windshields. When I bought my bike it came with a cut down stock shield and a Cee Bailey flip. The shorty is great for riding here in SE Virginia during the summer but does not provide any protection when it cools down or in bad weather. The Cee Baily caused a lot of buffeting for me. For reference, I am 5'9" tall with a 32" inseam. I have a set of MCL risers on the bike that raise your handle bars up 1 1/2" and 1 3/4" closer to the rider.
I saw a thread where Rifle windshields were getting really good reviews, so I called the folks at Rifle and ordered a +3" windshield. That thing is a barn door! Even with the tuning block I was getting back pressure and significant buffeting in the up position. When I brought it all the way to the down position I did get smooth air over my helmet, but again that was not good for cold or inclimate weather.
Next came a California Scientific windshield. I called them and they sent me a Cal. Sci. medium. The Cal. Sci. removed the back pressure, but there was still buffeting either with or without the Rifle tuning block. The buffeting was reduced from the Rifle shield. The shield also has a hum that occurs right around 60 MPH on my bike. While I don't hold 60 a lot of the time, there are times that I do. The hum is annoying even with ear plugs in. Hmmmm.... Overall better than the Rifle but not the "nirvana" so many others speak of. The search would continue.
I found a thread where someone had installed a Gold Wing vent in their shield and though it was the mutz nutz. I found a vent online, ordered it up, and put it on the Rifle to see if it would solve the problems I had with the Rifle. While the Rifle is still a barn door the vent vastly improved my situation. The back pressure was gone and the buffeting was significantly reduced. However, all things considered, the Cal. Sci. did about the same job while using much less real estate. Still not the "nirvana" so many others speak of. The search would continue.
I had seen and asked about the MRA VarioScreen that Twisted Throttle has on their site (Note: I have no affiliation with Twisted Throttle other than being a consumer of their products from time to time). No one on this forum really knew much about them. I finally decided to bite the bullet and order one. It arrived a couple of weeks back. Last weekend I got around to putting it together and putting it on the bike. It isn't the coolest looking windshield I have ever saw, but it isn't too bad looking. With this shield I find there is no back pressure and very little buffeting in the full up position. In the down position (using the Yamaha adjustment, not the shield adjustment) I get clean air over my helmet. If I want more air I can lower the top portion of the shield using the Vario adjustment. Come summer I plan on removing the top shield and using the bottom as a shorty. Not only is the air flow clean around my head but my hands are in a dead zone when I hold them to the inside of my grips and are in clean air when I hold them to the outside of my grips.
After going through all of these shields I have come to the conclusion that there will be no such thing as windshield nirvana for me with the way I have this bike set up. That being said, the Vario is as close as I am going to get. For me this shield is a keeper.
A picture of the shorty:
The Cee Baily:
I don't have a picture of the bike with the Rifle on it, but here is one of the windshield with the vent installed propped up against my garage door:
The Vario windshield:
I saw a thread where Rifle windshields were getting really good reviews, so I called the folks at Rifle and ordered a +3" windshield. That thing is a barn door! Even with the tuning block I was getting back pressure and significant buffeting in the up position. When I brought it all the way to the down position I did get smooth air over my helmet, but again that was not good for cold or inclimate weather.
Next came a California Scientific windshield. I called them and they sent me a Cal. Sci. medium. The Cal. Sci. removed the back pressure, but there was still buffeting either with or without the Rifle tuning block. The buffeting was reduced from the Rifle shield. The shield also has a hum that occurs right around 60 MPH on my bike. While I don't hold 60 a lot of the time, there are times that I do. The hum is annoying even with ear plugs in. Hmmmm.... Overall better than the Rifle but not the "nirvana" so many others speak of. The search would continue.
I found a thread where someone had installed a Gold Wing vent in their shield and though it was the mutz nutz. I found a vent online, ordered it up, and put it on the Rifle to see if it would solve the problems I had with the Rifle. While the Rifle is still a barn door the vent vastly improved my situation. The back pressure was gone and the buffeting was significantly reduced. However, all things considered, the Cal. Sci. did about the same job while using much less real estate. Still not the "nirvana" so many others speak of. The search would continue.
I had seen and asked about the MRA VarioScreen that Twisted Throttle has on their site (Note: I have no affiliation with Twisted Throttle other than being a consumer of their products from time to time). No one on this forum really knew much about them. I finally decided to bite the bullet and order one. It arrived a couple of weeks back. Last weekend I got around to putting it together and putting it on the bike. It isn't the coolest looking windshield I have ever saw, but it isn't too bad looking. With this shield I find there is no back pressure and very little buffeting in the full up position. In the down position (using the Yamaha adjustment, not the shield adjustment) I get clean air over my helmet. If I want more air I can lower the top portion of the shield using the Vario adjustment. Come summer I plan on removing the top shield and using the bottom as a shorty. Not only is the air flow clean around my head but my hands are in a dead zone when I hold them to the inside of my grips and are in clean air when I hold them to the outside of my grips.
After going through all of these shields I have come to the conclusion that there will be no such thing as windshield nirvana for me with the way I have this bike set up. That being said, the Vario is as close as I am going to get. For me this shield is a keeper.
A picture of the shorty:
The Cee Baily:
I don't have a picture of the bike with the Rifle on it, but here is one of the windshield with the vent installed propped up against my garage door:
The Vario windshield:
