To all the windshield Guru

[lucagoa]

Hello,

I finally purchased a Ztechnik windshield, very pricey but well built (apart from the welding of the frame )
I just wen for a small test ride and...surprise I feel worst than with the original touring one of BMW
I mean not really worst, my chest and arms are well protected but the swirl just hit my helmet at eye level, I cannot drive without lowering the helmet screen...... Now as my budget for windshield (and other farkles) is almost run to 0, does anyone of you tried to install on Ztechnik screen a MRA windishield extension (spoiler)? I think I need just that small inches to let the swirl pass over my helmet....
Any suggestion, obviously, is greatly appreciated

[Right Hand Drive]

Hi Luca

I had exactly the same experience with the Ztechnik. Looks fantastic, screen of excellent quality, frame looks like a piece of scaffold pole (although very strong I'm sure) and very fiddly to fit. In the end I did not remove the bars to fit it. Instead I disconnected the electrical cables at the handlebar pods, unbolted the brake and clutch levers and passed the lot under the frame which I then bolted up. Took a bit longer than the recommended fitment method but much easier and there was no risk of damaging the triple clamp. I too found the screen to give excellent arm and chest protection but the turbulence beat my head up badly. Perhaps the larger Ztechnik screen is the way to go?

The best screen I have ever tried on my R was the Wuedo Slimline. This can be adjusted for rake. I set the rake back as far as it would go and fitted an MRA spoiler to the top. With the adjuster set to its maximum height the airflow was very clean and there was no buffeting of the head during backward safety glances. Perhaps the spoiler would do the same for the Ztechnik. I am 1.73 m tall by the way. Inseam about 76cm. I'm interested in the price you paid for the screen. I bought mine here in the UK and it was 158 pounds (179 Euro), which I think was a good price.

[lucagoa]

Rich,

thanks for the info. I pay for the Ztechnik a hell of a lot (219,00 euro )! I was in the process to add a spoiler but the italian deale of MRA advised me against doing so Now I'm a little bit confused and worried. Should I give this last (and costly....) try (about 60 Euro for a spoiler here in Italy)??? I'll check the screen you suggested even though I really reach the rock bottom of my wallet

[lucagoa]

Rich,

I tried to get the Wuedo slimline picture out fo internet but I cannot find it. So you have any pictures of your screen?? I'm also 171 with almost same inseam.
Thanks
Luca

[Right Hand Drive]

Luca

Yes that's a lot of money for the screen. The bad news is that the Wuedo is even more. I think mine was around 272 Euros. I do have several pics with the screen and spoiler on my bike. I can load them up tonight when I get home (if I can remember how to post them here ). I'm curious as to why people advised not to fit the spoiler. I was advised not to fit the spoiler to the Wuedo because I would have to drill holes in an acrylic screen which could shatter. It didn't and I was careful with the drilling. The Ztechnik however is polycarbonate which should drill ok. I can sympathize with your screen issues. I've tried lots of different screens trying to find the best. I sold the Wuedo while looking for something even better. Currently I run a Cee Bailey's 18 inch but it dumps turbulence right on my faceplate. If I raise my head higher it goes away and if I raise my head lower it goes away. I may try the 16 inch Cee Bailey and see how that goes. I had the BMW touring screen which was ok. Not much turbulence but too much windblast to my neck and shoulders. 20 inch Cee Bailey was very good but didn't like the look of it. Too tall. Givi looked too tall and gave me turbulence as well. I tried the bike without a screen for a while. It was great, nice clean air up to 100 km/h then it was difficult to hang on to the bars. Costly business this windscreen quest.

[lucagoa]

Rich,

I'll wait for your pictures (hopefully). Yes I agree with you this is a very costly quest. And I agree on the Cee Bailey 20, too high. I also tried to manufacture one myself. I managed to get a proper profile to put on a lexan screen but....unfortunately §I broke it when it comes to bend it with an industrial hairdrier. Bye bye money.....

[AmostThere]

Luca

Costly business this windscreen quest.

Amen Brother!

[deilenberger]

Rich and Luca - indeed it is expensive.

I have ummm... 6 screens at the moment. I have a CalSci, 3 different C-Bailey, factory sport screen, MRA VarioScreen. The ones I use are the C-Bailey (the cheapest of the bunch actually).. and I find the 20" good for winter (not too much high-speed interstate so the buffeting isn't a big issue..) and the 16" good for summer (puts the air about mid-face-shield on me, determined by the bug-line.. not too much turbulence/buffeting) The 18" I just have - haven't used it for a while, but I'm hanging on to it for the moment.

The factory sport screen would be wonderful except the wind-blast at chest level is too much at highway speeds, I couldn't hang on for more than an hour or so at a time. I tried the factory touring screen, moved the wind up to about nipple level for me, and lots of turbulence/buffeting at just the wrong spot.

I had the Z-Technic screen in my hands, and due to reports of turbulence I'd read, and the rather daunting mounting of the bracket, I never tried it - I returned it.

CalSci didn't work for me as delivered. Mark worked with me on modifications that improved it a bit, but still not quite what I'd hoped for. I will be trying some more modifications with it once it warms up enough to have the ambition to do the needed modifications (primarily figuring out how to tilt it back at more of an angle - which some initial tests last fall indicated might be the "answer"..) Some people have found it works great for them, so I suspect it's my combination of height/inseam/seat - ie - head position that are the problem.

The MRA VarioScreen (two part screen where top part is adjustable in height) was used with the factory mounting bracket, meaning no ability to change the mounting angle. The MRA bracket DOES allow for angular change of the screen - and I intend to give that a try also sometime in the not too distant future.

It is important to note your height, inseam and seat (which helps give head position.) Mine is 5'7", 27" and low seat.

I just received an EMail from Bill N - who after trying a few shields went to the Scout fairing, and reported success. I'll have to swap bikes with Harry Costello some time and see if it works for me (he has a Scout.)

Fairings, fairings.. whadda we gonna do??

[Right Hand Drive]

Luca

Here we go. Hopefully there will be two pics of the Wuedo screen + spoiler as fitted on my bike. The combination worked well for me. As I said, the best of all the screens I've tried but as Don points out, that may not guarantee it would work for you. Although I notice we have similar dimensions

[nixdsg]

Here is something I tried, still experimenting with it but it did provide some additional protection.

Nic

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=16562

[ShinySideUp]

+1 on the Parabellum Scout fairing.

I started with the factory sport and, like Don, quickly tired of the wind blast in the chest.

Then went to the Z-technic standard height (which was all they had at the time). I had a heck of a time with buffeting at highway speeds, like my head was inside a bass drum. There's some thread in here with my experiences trying to add a spoiler and edging to make it work. They ended up graciously sending me the newer tall screen when my early-version mounts cracked, but I never tried it because I had already installed the Scout by that time.

Several people here have said they don't like the looks of the scout, but I'm the kind of rider that says form follows function and it functions beautifully for me. I even like the retro look it gives the bike. I also like the fact that different height shields can be changed with four bolts and nuts. I have the 20" for most of the time in San Francisco (45 to 65 deg F) and the 10" screen for summers out of the foggy city. The latter give a nice, even rush of air high on my chest with my head in clean air stream. The taller shield has a slight amount of turbulence, but it's not obnoxious. I think the relatively flatter angle of their setup has a lot to do with the aerodynamics.

I recently put the Saeng edge stripping on to the tall Scout screen and it reduces the already low level of turbulence by, I'd guess, about 5%. Makes it look even more retro.

I believe Parabellum has a 30-day trial period. Probably costly to ship the already-expensive screen to Europe, however. And they usually have a waiting period.

I'm 6'1" tall with 33" inseam.

[thepeacebullgrunt]

Is there any windshield company that really work on riders specific measurements ?.... I am not expecting a wind tunnel session and all that jazz but for example just some kind of precise custom service as there is for seats .

[lucagoa]

Thanks to all of you guys!

I'm prostrate for the price I paid for the Ztechnik being it almost useless
I did my best to find the proper screen taking into consideration my heght, seat etc but apparently theory is different from real life
I'll see if I can place the Ztechnic (it is NEW I only used it for a test ride of 20 km) and then I'll move for something else....

[vodka]

I saw a friend with her R 850 R . It has a tinted screen shaped like a "double bubble" that just seems to be attatched via screws at the side of the headlight. It is a little bigger than the BMW sports screen. It has a much greater slope to it. The rider is quite happy with it. Sadly I havent yet tried it on the 1200R but initial measurements suggest it would fit. She bought it with the bike so no info regarding the origin is available. I'll try to get her to try it on my bike and if successful post pictures. Some people collect stamps, some screens.

[deilenberger]

Is there any windshield company that really work on riders specific measurements ?.... I am not expecting a wind tunnel session and all that jazz but for example just some kind of precise custom service as there is for seats .

None that I know of. There was a guy out of Florida (USA) who was spamming the BMW_MOA website, asking for test victims for designing windshields for various BMW models. That was OK - although he received a warning to cool it a bit after he sent out messages to every forum on the website, but when he later came back and tried to advertise his shields on the site for free with multiple messages (spam..) he got a vacation. His name is Marcel.

Anyway - he was making adjustable height shields, similar to how the MRA MultiVaro shield is designed. Two part, with the upper part being adjustable. It actually looked like an interesting design, and if it wasn't for his marketing methods, it might be a good thing. He claimed that he used a wind-tunnel for design work, dunno if that was marketing again or truth.

Here is his YouTube blurb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zImX7yxtXGI

And his website - according to the YouTube blurb is http://www.bmwwindshield.com - which redirects you to his nest of domain names: http://www.fairing-screen.com/Motorcycle_Wix.htm

I see no mention of an R1200R shield. He does make LOTS of claims on his website (and isn't shy about using manufacturer's copyrighted logos.. wonder if the Roundel police know about him..) Dunno what he does about mounts. DISCLAIMER: I know of no one who has one of Marcel's shields. I don't know if it's all BS, or if he's a scammer. If YOU buy one, you're on your own, but hopefully you'll report back here about it.

Other than that - the MRA MultiVaro (also sold by SanJose BMW and Wunderlich) is the only height adjustable one I know of. As I mentioned, I own one and intend to experiment with it sometime soon, and see if changing the angle on it will make it work better. It didn't work well using the BMW touring mount.

[AmostThere]

I had my windscreen (CB 18") off the bike today for a thorough cleaning and application of Rejex, I got the idea from somebody here who had multiple coats of wax on their screen to facilitate removal of bug debris. While the screen was off I took the bike for a blast around town and down the freeway. It was another reminder of how nice it is to have such quiet and almost complete lack of turbulence. Of course, the pressure on chest and helmet at 80mph made me wonder how anybody does it for very long. I'm calling on the Scout fairing tomorrow...

[deilenberger]

I had my windscreen (CB 18") off the bike today for a thorough cleaning and application of Rejex, I got the idea from somebody here who had multiple coats of wax on their screen to facilitate removal of bug debris. While the screen was off I took the bike for a blast around town and down the freeway. It was another reminder of how nice it is to have such quiet and almost complete lack of turbulence. Of course, the pressure on chest and helmet at 80mph made me wonder how anybody does it for very long. I'm calling on the Scout fairing tomorrow...

That's why after selling it - I ended up buying another of the BMW Sport Shields for my bike. I'm resisting putting it on - but I do remember how nice it was riding in clean air with a Concept C2 helmet - very quiet, very nice except for the pressure at speed.

[AmostThere]

Have you tried the BMW Touring Screen?

[deilenberger]

Have you tried the BMW Touring Screen?

I did. Didn't work very well. Wind blast at about nipple level, and turbulent air above it. Cee-Bailey screens are better (and cheaper)..

[thepeacebullgrunt]

That's why after selling it - I ended up buying another of the BMW Sport Shields for my bike. I'm resisting putting it on - but I do remember how nice it was riding in clean air with a Concept C2 helmet - very quiet, very nice except for the pressure at speed.

That's also why I did not precipitate to buy a windshield
I just imagined how it can be so double-edge to deal with it...
I bought an R because I "hated" the wind feeling of the RT or the GT even if better than RT. If one day I buy a windshield it will be because I will have to ride fast more that 4hrs in a row.

Otherwise I'll stick with a very good helmet, custom earplugs filtered or not and excellent Jacket, gloves and neck sealer.