Some sport screen testing...

[ContraMoto]

I'm waiting for my touring bracket to arrive (ebay find!) and spent the morning fiddling with the sport screen. My general plan is to ride the bike 95% of the time with the sport screen, and put on the touring screen (BMW bracket with CalSci screen and DonC block) for road trips.

Riding the bike with the stock sport screen results in nice smooth air at my head. No buffeting. BUT -- there is a very loud roar coming up from the base of the helmet. I've comfirmed the source by donning a neck gaiter to plug up the space at the bottom of the helmet. That makes it a lot quieter, but serves only to muffle the noise, not eliminate it. The gaiter with earplugs is pretty quiet. But, the gaiter is annoying to wear and certainly will not work come summertime.

So, I did some experimentin'. Did all rides with the same jacket/helmet and no neck gaiter, and with my Cortech 10L tankbag on the bike. I've got that bag on the bike almost all the time, so it needs to be part of the test. Helmet is a Shoei Qwest.

In and out of my garage about ten times this morning. Starting with stock screen, the roar comes on at only 40mph. I rode:

- standard position
- duck down ~2"
- sit up higher ~2"

Ducking down did nothing; sitting up higher made it a lot quieter. Hmmm...

I then did the same thing with the screen tilted. First, I set the bottom mount of the bracket on top of the hook instead of in it. About 1/2" or so. Then, I installed Don's block -- about 1" or so. Did the same rides, in the same three positions...twice each, in reverse order.

Got about exactly the same result, give or take. At the max tilted position, I had to sit up the highest to get it quiet. But the roar is there and it doesn't go away.

So, the deal is...the turbulent air coming off the top of the screen is noisy, whether the screen is tilted or not. It hits me at neck height, give or take an inch for different tilts. There is no getting around it. It's noisy air. No buffeting to bother me, but just loud.

Lastly, I took the screen off the bike. By 30mph, I could feel the difference. Not only did the roar not come on at increasing speeds, but my torso was far more stable. I did not realize how much buffeting my chest and upper arms were getting from the sport screen. I went down to the freeway and rode up and back a few exits. Amazing. Smooth air, very stable ride and the quietest ride I've had other than a full touring windscreen like an RT or GS (with aftermarket screen). I stopped and put earplugs in, and I could ride like this for hours. Quite the revelation. I'm still going to put together a touring screen option, but the day to day riding is going to be naked!

One bummer is that my black bike looks REALLY cool with the blacked-out sport screen on front. I might cut the screen down to match the topline of the instrument cluster just so there is a shiny black accent on the front of the bike.

All in all, a productive morning that improved my enjoyment of the bike with no out-of-pocket cost!

[deilenberger]

I think the angle of the sport screen is probably about the touring screen angle after tilting the touring mount back.. and I'm guessing there is a point of diminishing returns.

What helmet are you using? Schuberth claimed the C2 was the quietest helmet made, and now are making the same claim on the C3.. What they did to quiet it down is basically gasketed the helmet around your neck when the chinbar was locked in position. No openings to let air come up under the helmet and make noise. This works wonderfully with the sport screen on the R12R, but I still found that at 70-80MPH there was too much pressure on my chest to go very far this way. The C2 is much more noisy behind any larger screen if the gasketing is removed (and you almost have to since airflow through the helmet is greatly reduced when behind a larger windscreen.

I have a sport shield kicking around - perhaps next spring I'll put it on just to see how it feels, it's been about 4 years since I last rode with one..

[ContraMoto]

I've got the Shoei Qwest. It's pretty quiet. If you block off the neck, ala Schuberth, it's very quiet. But, blocking the neck off sure gets hot in a hurry.

This little process just confirms my long-held hunch. Wind protection needs to either throw the wind over (or nearly over) your head, or allow it to hit below the sternum. Anything in between is loud and/or buffeting.

I went on a longer errand later today. About 7 miles on the freeway at 75mph, wearing earplugs. Very nice and quiet. Not as quiet as a touring bike, of course, but pretty darn good for a standard. The tankbag takes just enough wind off my gut to keep it comfy. The main issue with freeway riding is that the air is inherently bumpy and unstable. All that traffic stirs up all sorts of mess. It's a lot more comfortable to go 70+ on an empty road.

[bmwk100]

Very interesting information! I will try naked. Like you, I have used the sport screen 90+% of the time and my big screen for longer or high speed rides. I ride with an Aerostich Darien jacket a lot and at freeway speeds it seems to act like a kite. I have to hold on tight to maintain high speeds. Maybe things will be different with a completely naked bike.

[DeltaDagger]

I'm considering cutting mine down for the reduction in noise. Did the same on my FZ1 with good results.

[deilenberger]

I've got the Shoei Qwest. It's pretty quiet. If you block off the neck, ala Schuberth, it's very quiet. But, blocking the neck off sure gets hot in a hurry.

You might find it doesn't IF you have your helmet in totally free air - then the ventilation system has a chance to work. I imagine Shoei has a decent ventilation system. I found I could feel the air flowing through the Schuberth in clear air.. Behind a screen - the vents just aren't seeing the air.

This little process just confirms my long-held hunch. Wind protection needs to either throw the wind over (or nearly over) your head, or allow it to hit below the sternum. Anything in between is loud and/or buffeting.

I think it's the turbulent air that causes the noise.. at least that's what I've found. A well designed helmet (and Schuberth does use a wind-tunnel) should move through the air with very little turbulence IF the air is clean. And turbulence = noise and head-shake.

I went on a longer errand later today. About 7 miles on the freeway at 75mph, wearing earplugs. Very nice and quiet. Not as quiet as a touring bike, of course, but pretty darn good for a standard. The tankbag takes just enough wind off my gut to keep it comfy. The main issue with freeway riding is that the air is inherently bumpy and unstable. All that traffic stirs up all sorts of mess. It's a lot more comfortable to go 70+ on an empty road.

Perhaps.. I find if I avoid large truck wakes, and one or two models of the Ford Exploder/huge-SUVs the freeway can be fine... just put some distance between me and the wake. If I have to - I try to punch through it (rapid acceleration) to get it over with when I can't avoid it otherwise..

[NakedRider]

I've had the EXACT same experience as ContraMoto. With the sport screen the wind mostly hits me at shoulder or head level making your head take the brunt of the wind blast. Having no shield allows you to spread that blast across you chest which is easier for me over the long haul and it's quieter.

I've also noticed that, depending on the jacket you are wearing, the noise will change by the way the wind travels over the shoulders. If the shoulders on the jacket are a little big for you there will be more of a flutter than if they fit closer to your body.

Smoothest wind blast is naked or a screen as big as a barn door. I'll ride naked, hence my screen name.

[SDMAX]

Had a long chat yesterday with Mark of California Science windscreens; he believes the turbulence on the r1200r's comes from below....up from above the knees. He found NO WAY to block that air. That's what fairings do. So yeah the air has to go all the way over your head. Barn door screen or some combination you can live with below that which is what every one seems to do.

I have done pretty well with the 20'' Cee Bailey with the block. It's better than the blocked standard tall touring sport screen from BMW which allows the breeze to try to rip my helmet off if I turn my head to either side; or, off from chin up if over 80 mph.

I have a 24" Parabellum that allows all of the air from down below to really set up a roar; although I recall zero helmet buffeting. I have to try it again now that I've finally bent the touring bracket enough to get the Don C block fully into the "thingie" that holds the bottom of the bracket....this is key as less than fully in allows a lot of shield movement with the larger shields. It will fit all the way...it just takes more bending than I thought it would.

I'm going for the 25" extra tall Cal Sci as EXPROF says he's got quiet with that set up...I won't use it locally, but I want to go some distance riding which will require slab in the spring and so that's the reason for that final option. If it's great I'll start trimming down my collection. Probably stay with the stock shield; the 20" and the 25". Then it's covered.

I went down the laminar lip road in my R1100R days and that might be an option on the parabellum if I cut it down...

I should mention again....in my ultimate windshield test I checked an R1200RT out for 24 hrs and took it back after 20 miles. I cranked the electric windhield all the way up and it was quiet....it was also about as interesting as driving a bad compact car. Regards to the list.

[dderrig]

Had a long chat yesterday with Mark of California Science windscreens; he believes the turbulence on the r1200r's comes from below....up from above the knees. He found NO WAY to block that air. That's what fairings do. So yeah the air has to go all the way over your head. Barn door screen or some combination you can live with below that which is what every one seems to do.

I have done pretty well with the 20'' Cee Bailey with the block. It's better than the blocked standard tall touring sport screen from BMW which allows the breeze to try to rip my helmet off if I turn my head to either side; or, off from chin up if over 80 mph.

I have a 24" Parabellum that allows all of the air from down below to really set up a roar; although I recall zero helmet buffeting. I have to try it again now that I've finally bent the touring bracket enough to get the Don C block fully into the "thingie" that holds the bottom of the bracket....this is key as less than fully in allows a lot of shield movement with the larger shields. It will fit all the way...it just takes more bending than I thought it would.

I'm going for the 25" extra tall Cal Sci as EXPROF says he's got quiet with that set up...I won't use it locally, but I want to go some distance riding which will require slab in the spring and so that's the reason for that final option. If it's great I'll start trimming down my collection. Probably stay with the stock shield; the 20" and the 25". Then it's covered.

I went down the laminar lip road in my R1100R days and that might be an option on the parabellum if I cut it down...

I should mention again....in my ultimate windshield test I checked an R1200RT out for 24 hrs and took it back after 20 miles. I cranked the electric windhield all the way up and it was quiet....it was also about as interesting as driving a bad compact car. Regards to the list.

Not to be argumentative but I had an R12R and loved it, I now have a 2011 R1200RT and there is nothing I can't do on the RT that I could do on the R...it's just as fast, handles just as well (the weight difference isn't that much at all) and has all the protection you could ever want.


Dave

[angellr]

Had a long chat yesterday with Mark of California Science windscreens; he believes the turbulence on the r1200r's comes from below....up from above the knees. He found NO WAY to block that air. That's what fairings do. So yeah the air has to go all the way over your head. Barn door screen or some combination you can live with below that which is what every one seems to do.

I have done pretty well with the 20'' Cee Bailey with the block. It's better than the blocked standard tall touring sport screen from BMW which allows the breeze to try to rip my helmet off if I turn my head to either side; or, off from chin up if over 80 mph.

I have a 24" Parabellum that allows all of the air from down below to really set up a roar; although I recall zero helmet buffeting. I have to try it again now that I've finally bent the touring bracket enough to get the Don C block fully into the "thingie" that holds the bottom of the bracket....this is key as less than fully in allows a lot of shield movement with the larger shields. It will fit all the way...it just takes more bending than I thought it would.

I'm going for the 25" extra tall Cal Sci as EXPROF says he's got quiet with that set up...I won't use it locally, but I want to go some distance riding which will require slab in the spring and so that's the reason for that final option. If it's great I'll start trimming down my collection. Probably stay with the stock shield; the 20" and the 25". Then it's covered.

I went down the laminar lip road in my R1100R days and that might be an option on the parabellum if I cut it down...

I should mention again....in my ultimate windshield test I checked an R1200RT out for 24 hrs and took it back after 20 miles. I cranked the electric windhield all the way up and it was quiet....it was also about as interesting as driving a bad compact car. Regards to the list.

Not to be argumentative but I had an R12R and loved it, I now have a 2011 R1200RT and there is nothing I can't do on the RT that I could do on the R...it's just as fast, handles just as well (the weight difference isn't that much at all) and has all the protection you could ever want.


Dave

Classic Naked vs. Full Fairings argument about bikes. Some purchase an R12R when they should have chosen the RT. Many manage a hybrid, but at the end of the day, its all personal. Aint free choice wonderful?

[LumpyCam]

I'll drop in a vote for the clean and quiet air a naked/sport screen provides. I have no issue with 1,000km days with mine. I think choosing the correct helmet (fit + noise properties), in the correct size (you don't likely need that XXL) is the secret sauce for this question.

Not to be argumentative but I had an R12R and loved it, I now have a 2011 R1200RT and there is nothing I can't do on the RT that I could do on the R...it's just as fast, handles just as well (the weight difference isn't that much at all) and has all the protection you could ever want.

Urban parking is one thing that comes to mind, but I hear what you're saying once the beasts are moving.

[angellr]

I'll drop in a vote for the clean and quiet air a naked/sport screen provides. I have no issue with 1,000km days with mine. I think choosing the correct helmet (fit + noise properties), in the correct size (you don't likely need that XXL) is the secret sauce for this question.

Not to be argumentative but I had an R12R and loved it, I now have a 2011 R1200RT and there is nothing I can't do on the RT that I could do on the R...it's just as fast, handles just as well (the weight difference isn't that much at all) and has all the protection you could ever want.

Urban parking is one thing that comes to mind, but I hear what you're saying once the beasts are moving.

Lumpy, believe you are onto something. Sport screen is no problem on long, fast trips. A good fitting helmet is also my bet.

[Kieran R1200R]

Dave[/quote]

Classic Naked vs. Full Fairings argument about bikes. Some purchase an R12R when they should have chosen the RT. Many manage a hybrid, but at the end of the day, its all personal. Aint free choice wonderful? [/quote]


I'll agree with that.
The RT is 229kg dry and the R is 198kg dry, that's 31kg.
On a tour that's not going to be noticed much, but put it through the twisties and you are sure going to notice it.
The RT is a great bike and has enough tech onboard to keep most of us occupied.
The fairing keeps out all the elements.
I rode a 2009 modle for 3 hours and got board riding it. Also the fairing works that good that it cocoons the rider keeping him away from the wind. In summer out here in OZ I could see that to be a cooker for the rider.
I was then introduced to the R and juess what I bought it.
I bought it naked and bought a C Bailey 16'' creen which I tore off after a 30km ride, the noise was unbareable!!!
I then managed to buy a sport screen off one of the members here for half price and intended to just put it on when I went for a extended ride, such as touring.
After riding with it for the first time I left it on.
It does enough for me. It does a very good job of keeping the wind away where needed but still gives you the feeling of riding a naked. It's also good for the accational blast up to 140km so for me it's the ticket.
If I had plenty of money I would put along side it in the garage the RT, best of both worlds.