vectervp1
Well-known member
Test Conditions:
Motorcycle
2005 FJR1300 (Gen I)
Skyway spacers (tilts shield towards rider)
D&D risers
Russell Seat (taller than stock)
Wild Bill Highway Pegs
VStrom knuckle guards
Rider
5’9”
32” inseam
Arai full face helmet
Ear plugs
Mesh jacket
Location tested:
Arizona
85 degrees
no clouds
23% humidity
Test course consisted of a 20 mile route.
5 miles on a ‘closed course’ at Super Sport Touring speeds
4 miles of in town riding
11 miles highway/freeway riding
1 photo radar location to ensure legal speeds were used during testing
All shields were measured the same way, and were measured at various points
Height – Measured from the center screw hole to the top of the shield.
Center width – Measured approx 7 inches up from screw hole
Top width – Measured approx 1.5 inches from top of shield
Inside center width – Measured from the inside (the side facing the rider) at 7 inches up from center screw hole. This measured actual width, and not surface area of shield.
Inside top width – Measured from the inside (the side facing the rider) approx 1.5 inches from the top of the shield. This measured actual width, and not surface area of shield.
Stock 2005 shield:
Height 16
Center width 21
Top width 14
Inside center width 18 1/4
Inside top width 13
Stock + Laminar Lip
Height: 18 1/2
Center width 21
Top width 18 1/4
Inside center width 18 1/4
Inside top width 15 1/2
Cee Baileys +2+2 with lip
Height: 18 1/4
Center width 22 1/2
Top width 18
Inside center width 19 3/4
Inside top width 16
VStream
Height: 19 5/8
Center width 19 3/4
Top width 23 3/8
Inside center width 19 1/2
Inside top width 21 1/2
The test rides (my opinions)
Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip:
I first did the loop with my tried and trusty Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip. This is the shield that has been on my bike for the last 47k miles. The last 10k have been done with the addition of the Skyway spacers which in my opinion improved this shield overall!
I tried to be subjective while on this ride and looked for things that bugged me. The shield provides overall good protection, but it does cause some buffeting thanks to the flip in the shield. Its not much, but the air stream is ‘dirty’ around your helmet. This causes your head to move around a little bit, and some added turbulent noise. Air hits just below my shoulders, but its not a heavy pressure on my shoulders. You can feel some air moving around your chest and arms, but not so much as to push on you.
At Super Sport Touring speeds with the shield all the way down, it protects well, but the turbulent air is increased to somewhat annoying levels. As the shield rises, the noise goes down, and the air pressure on your helmet and shoulders goes away. The back pressure however increases, but never as much as the stock shield.
At highway cruising speeds, the shield is good when there is clean air. If your behind a vehicle (like you would in on a freeway in a metropolitan area) the dirty air really seems to bounce your around a bit.
Stock shield:
Its been a loooong time since I’ve ridden with a stock shield. At first I though “Huh this isn’t so bad. Why was it that I swapped it out again?” Then I got over 40mph and remembered why.
The shield moves lots of air around you, and seems to protect very little. As the speed increased to Super Sport Touring speeds, the pressure on my shoulders, upper chest, and head increased as well. I found myself pulling my body forward and hanging on rather than slightly supporting some of my weight. As I raised the shield, it didn’t seem to do too much until it was nearly all the way up. At this point it caused more back pressure, but it still wasn’t really giving me much more wind protection.
Overall on the beautiful day like today was, the breeze was somewhat nice to have, but a little more wind protection would have been perfect for me.
Stock shield with Laminar Lip:
Well, I wanted a little more wind protection and this delivered. The Laminar Lip added just a little more protection overall to the stock shield. With the shield all the way down, it flowed almost as much air as the stocker, but seemed to give less pressure to my shoulders at Super Sport Touring speeds. With the shield all the way up, it provided significantly more protection than the stock shield, but still not as much as with the other two aftermarket shields. The back pressure seemed about the same as stock, but it could have been slightly less.
While I’m not one to switch between shields for summer and winter riding, this is what I would use during the summer months if I did. In winter riding, I think this combination would leave you cold.
VStream:
Well, when I first pulled out Scabs old Vstream out of the box jwilly shipped it in, I thought “Holy crap this thing is huge!!!” The shield is massive looking, and quite oddly shaped compared to most other shields. After looking at the shield for a while, I started noticing how different the design really is. It doesn’t have a vertical curvature to it like the other shields do. It appears the stock shield and the CB shields have a vertical curvature (roundness) to them. It seems the shields bow outward (away from the rider) near the center of the shield (from top to bottom) and curve back towards the rider at the top. The VStream however does not do this. It seems to only have a slight horizontal curve like the rest of the shields. While it does curve some, it is definitely an overall flatter shield. This is what made me not only measure the shields from front (letting the tape measure bend with the curve) but from the back (measuring how wide the shield actually is).
After I bolted on this massive structure to my bike I realized this shield was going to really be in my field of vision. While all of the shields are technically in my field of vision, this one was going to be closer to where I focus down the road. Close enough in fact that I worried it may bother me because I personally don’t like looking through a shield while riding down the road.
I hopped on the bike, and started out of my driveway for the 4th time this morning. As I approached the first major intersection, I found myself stuck as the first vehicle at a red light. As I looked forward, the shield was in my field of vision across the entire intersection. This intersection consisted of 3 lanes each direction, a turning lane, and a small median. The shield was essentially covering 8 lanes of traffic. This meant that to look at something closer than 100 feet directly in front of me, I was looking through the shield.
While doing a quick mirror check, I noticed I had to look through the shield to see inside most portion of the mirror. This really wasn’t an issue because that area is typically where you’re looking at your shoulders and hands thanks to the wonderful wide mirrors Yamaha has provided us.
As I approached the ‘closed course’ section of my ride and I ramped up to Super Sport Touring speeds, I noticed a significant amount of noise. It seems the air stream was right about ear level with me and I could definitely hear it even with my ear plugs in. It wasn’t dirty air like with the Cee Baileys, but it was a steady flow of air. It of course caused a constant noise which I found more annoying than the buffeting dirty air that was caused by the CB shield.
I started to raise the super structure towards the heavens and the noise went away, but a fair amount of back pressure on my helmet replaced it. It kind of felt like I had someone in the pillon seat pushing the top of my helmet ever so slightly forward. The shield was now just below the center of my viewing area and was definitely in the ‘annoying me’ field of view. Fortunately since this shield does provide so much protection, I don’t think I would have it this high very often if I were to purchase one.
Overall Impressions:
Each shield is definitely different. Both the CB and the VStream seem like better made shields than the stock shield. They don’t have as much flex in them and didn’t seem to flap around as much at high speeds like the stocker. The Cee Baileys shield is about 50% thicker than the stock shield and the VStream is about twice as thick as the stock shield.
I like my Cee Baileys shield quit a bit, but have always wanted more protection. The VStream definitely fits that bill, but it comes with its own oddities. It looks plain odd on the bike, and the wind seems to hit at just the right spot for me on my helmet to make some very loud noise while at highway and Super Sport Touring speeds.
In my humble opinion, I think the VStream would be a great winter shield for folks that ride in very cold weather. The Cee Baileys +2+2 is great overall providing more protection than the stock shield, but still allowing some air when fully down. It’s definitely right in the middle. The Laminar Lip is an interesting contraption that if I did swap between summer and winter shields, this is what I would run during the summer.
I wish I would have tested Ignacio’s Cee Baileys +4 high +3 wide during Gerlachfest this year like I had planned on doing. I think this shield may provide me the additional protection I would like, but wouldn’t be quite as massive as the VStream.
I think my ideal shield would be one that is slightly narrower at the top of the shield than the Vstream and a height between the VStream and the Cee Baileys. A dark tint just for the looks. I think my ideal shield may be a Cee Baileys +4 tall +2 wide with a flip in dark tint.
Photo comparison of shields:
Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip VS Stock + Laminar Lip
Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip VS Vstream
Stock + Laminar Lip VS Vstream
Motorcycle
2005 FJR1300 (Gen I)
Skyway spacers (tilts shield towards rider)
D&D risers
Russell Seat (taller than stock)
Wild Bill Highway Pegs
VStrom knuckle guards
Rider
5’9”
32” inseam
Arai full face helmet
Ear plugs
Mesh jacket
Location tested:
Arizona
85 degrees
no clouds
23% humidity
Test course consisted of a 20 mile route.
5 miles on a ‘closed course’ at Super Sport Touring speeds
4 miles of in town riding
11 miles highway/freeway riding
1 photo radar location to ensure legal speeds were used during testing
All shields were measured the same way, and were measured at various points
Height – Measured from the center screw hole to the top of the shield.
Center width – Measured approx 7 inches up from screw hole
Top width – Measured approx 1.5 inches from top of shield
Inside center width – Measured from the inside (the side facing the rider) at 7 inches up from center screw hole. This measured actual width, and not surface area of shield.
Inside top width – Measured from the inside (the side facing the rider) approx 1.5 inches from the top of the shield. This measured actual width, and not surface area of shield.
Stock 2005 shield:
Height 16
Center width 21
Top width 14
Inside center width 18 1/4
Inside top width 13
Stock + Laminar Lip
Height: 18 1/2
Center width 21
Top width 18 1/4
Inside center width 18 1/4
Inside top width 15 1/2
Cee Baileys +2+2 with lip
Height: 18 1/4
Center width 22 1/2
Top width 18
Inside center width 19 3/4
Inside top width 16
VStream
Height: 19 5/8
Center width 19 3/4
Top width 23 3/8
Inside center width 19 1/2
Inside top width 21 1/2
The test rides (my opinions)
Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip:
I first did the loop with my tried and trusty Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip. This is the shield that has been on my bike for the last 47k miles. The last 10k have been done with the addition of the Skyway spacers which in my opinion improved this shield overall!
I tried to be subjective while on this ride and looked for things that bugged me. The shield provides overall good protection, but it does cause some buffeting thanks to the flip in the shield. Its not much, but the air stream is ‘dirty’ around your helmet. This causes your head to move around a little bit, and some added turbulent noise. Air hits just below my shoulders, but its not a heavy pressure on my shoulders. You can feel some air moving around your chest and arms, but not so much as to push on you.
At Super Sport Touring speeds with the shield all the way down, it protects well, but the turbulent air is increased to somewhat annoying levels. As the shield rises, the noise goes down, and the air pressure on your helmet and shoulders goes away. The back pressure however increases, but never as much as the stock shield.
At highway cruising speeds, the shield is good when there is clean air. If your behind a vehicle (like you would in on a freeway in a metropolitan area) the dirty air really seems to bounce your around a bit.
Stock shield:
Its been a loooong time since I’ve ridden with a stock shield. At first I though “Huh this isn’t so bad. Why was it that I swapped it out again?” Then I got over 40mph and remembered why.
The shield moves lots of air around you, and seems to protect very little. As the speed increased to Super Sport Touring speeds, the pressure on my shoulders, upper chest, and head increased as well. I found myself pulling my body forward and hanging on rather than slightly supporting some of my weight. As I raised the shield, it didn’t seem to do too much until it was nearly all the way up. At this point it caused more back pressure, but it still wasn’t really giving me much more wind protection.
Overall on the beautiful day like today was, the breeze was somewhat nice to have, but a little more wind protection would have been perfect for me.
Stock shield with Laminar Lip:
Well, I wanted a little more wind protection and this delivered. The Laminar Lip added just a little more protection overall to the stock shield. With the shield all the way down, it flowed almost as much air as the stocker, but seemed to give less pressure to my shoulders at Super Sport Touring speeds. With the shield all the way up, it provided significantly more protection than the stock shield, but still not as much as with the other two aftermarket shields. The back pressure seemed about the same as stock, but it could have been slightly less.
While I’m not one to switch between shields for summer and winter riding, this is what I would use during the summer months if I did. In winter riding, I think this combination would leave you cold.
VStream:
Well, when I first pulled out Scabs old Vstream out of the box jwilly shipped it in, I thought “Holy crap this thing is huge!!!” The shield is massive looking, and quite oddly shaped compared to most other shields. After looking at the shield for a while, I started noticing how different the design really is. It doesn’t have a vertical curvature to it like the other shields do. It appears the stock shield and the CB shields have a vertical curvature (roundness) to them. It seems the shields bow outward (away from the rider) near the center of the shield (from top to bottom) and curve back towards the rider at the top. The VStream however does not do this. It seems to only have a slight horizontal curve like the rest of the shields. While it does curve some, it is definitely an overall flatter shield. This is what made me not only measure the shields from front (letting the tape measure bend with the curve) but from the back (measuring how wide the shield actually is).
After I bolted on this massive structure to my bike I realized this shield was going to really be in my field of vision. While all of the shields are technically in my field of vision, this one was going to be closer to where I focus down the road. Close enough in fact that I worried it may bother me because I personally don’t like looking through a shield while riding down the road.
I hopped on the bike, and started out of my driveway for the 4th time this morning. As I approached the first major intersection, I found myself stuck as the first vehicle at a red light. As I looked forward, the shield was in my field of vision across the entire intersection. This intersection consisted of 3 lanes each direction, a turning lane, and a small median. The shield was essentially covering 8 lanes of traffic. This meant that to look at something closer than 100 feet directly in front of me, I was looking through the shield.
While doing a quick mirror check, I noticed I had to look through the shield to see inside most portion of the mirror. This really wasn’t an issue because that area is typically where you’re looking at your shoulders and hands thanks to the wonderful wide mirrors Yamaha has provided us.
As I approached the ‘closed course’ section of my ride and I ramped up to Super Sport Touring speeds, I noticed a significant amount of noise. It seems the air stream was right about ear level with me and I could definitely hear it even with my ear plugs in. It wasn’t dirty air like with the Cee Baileys, but it was a steady flow of air. It of course caused a constant noise which I found more annoying than the buffeting dirty air that was caused by the CB shield.
I started to raise the super structure towards the heavens and the noise went away, but a fair amount of back pressure on my helmet replaced it. It kind of felt like I had someone in the pillon seat pushing the top of my helmet ever so slightly forward. The shield was now just below the center of my viewing area and was definitely in the ‘annoying me’ field of view. Fortunately since this shield does provide so much protection, I don’t think I would have it this high very often if I were to purchase one.
Overall Impressions:
Each shield is definitely different. Both the CB and the VStream seem like better made shields than the stock shield. They don’t have as much flex in them and didn’t seem to flap around as much at high speeds like the stocker. The Cee Baileys shield is about 50% thicker than the stock shield and the VStream is about twice as thick as the stock shield.
I like my Cee Baileys shield quit a bit, but have always wanted more protection. The VStream definitely fits that bill, but it comes with its own oddities. It looks plain odd on the bike, and the wind seems to hit at just the right spot for me on my helmet to make some very loud noise while at highway and Super Sport Touring speeds.
In my humble opinion, I think the VStream would be a great winter shield for folks that ride in very cold weather. The Cee Baileys +2+2 is great overall providing more protection than the stock shield, but still allowing some air when fully down. It’s definitely right in the middle. The Laminar Lip is an interesting contraption that if I did swap between summer and winter shields, this is what I would run during the summer.
I wish I would have tested Ignacio’s Cee Baileys +4 high +3 wide during Gerlachfest this year like I had planned on doing. I think this shield may provide me the additional protection I would like, but wouldn’t be quite as massive as the VStream.
I think my ideal shield would be one that is slightly narrower at the top of the shield than the Vstream and a height between the VStream and the Cee Baileys. A dark tint just for the looks. I think my ideal shield may be a Cee Baileys +4 tall +2 wide with a flip in dark tint.
Photo comparison of shields:
Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip VS Stock + Laminar Lip
Cee Baileys +2+2 with flip VS Vstream
Stock + Laminar Lip VS Vstream
