MRA Vario vs Wunderlich Roadster Vario

[Trapper]

As a recent forum member and proud r1150r owner, I've been considering buying a vario screen, for extra long distance comfort at motorway speeds, (75 mph +).

Various users of this forum (myself included) have suggested that the MRA and Wunderlich vario screens might be one and the same, but some recent excellent photos of the MRA screen, posted by darcym and bad n ruin make me question that.

We may not know for sure without getting them both side by side, but a good close up photo of the Wunderlich version would go a long way to settling it.

I know there are users who have the Wunderlich version fitted, so any chance of some good close up photos to compare with these?


I'm comparing Wunderlich:

http://www.wunderlich.de/shop.php?rubri ... 1771616302

with MRA:

http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?p=77249#77249

and they look different to me.

If they're different in appearance I guess it would also be useful to know if they're different in operation.

Hope you can help

Cheers

[hirsty]

I have the MRA 'version' & I can't see any difference between them based on the linked photos - I personally believe it's the same product originally manufactured by MRA with some re-sold by Wunderlich, but would also like to see pictures of both in the flesh.

I did notice that my rubber edging looks to be longer on either side than Darcys, but that's minor.

[Smoothrider]

They will be the same! Just about everything sold by Wunderlich is made by someone else and re-badged.

[Trapper]

I'm sure Wunderlich don't actually fabricate much of what they sell. But a couple of differences between the photos make me think that their screen isn't the same as the MRA one.

Sadly, neither manufacturer's photos are great, so we need someone with a Wunderlich and a camera to come up with some better pics to compare.

Can anyone oblige?

Thanks

Trapper

[MartinW]

I just copied both pics into a MS Word doc and compared them side by side and I can tell you that they are NOT the same. The screen profiles are quite different

[Trapper]

Thanks Martin - never thought of that. Good to see my eyes aren't completely knackered.

As the Wunderlich version is fairly new I wonder how many there are out there yet?

I may put one on my Christmas list.

Trapper

[mick Hoff]

Here are the two pics -side by side


I think they are the same, but the lighting & angle are different
What do you think?
Whats the difference in price?

[Trapper]

Not a massive difference in price so far as I can tell, but the Wunderlich looks the slightly cheaper option at £98, compared with £105 for the MRA.

(Note - This was definitely not a thorough price check)

The respective price in dollars (or euros etc) will undoubtedly be less - as we always seem to have to pay over the odds in the UK - or is that just me being paranoid?

Cheers

Trapper

[MartinW]

Hi Trapper,

So, did you decide on one or t'other and did Santa deliver the goods?

I'm really interested to know, if you did get one, whether you are happy with it.

I have a speedster screen on mine and would like to upgrade to something which will provide more wind-protection as my upper-body is slowly turning into Incredbile Hulk proportions trying to stay on the bike at speed.

[Jonny_L]

Bit late now, you've probably sorted it one way or another, but I ordered the Wunderlich one from BMWbikebits.co.uk (site only works in IE, by the way!).
It is actually an MRA screen! exactly the same thing, even labeled up the same, just marginally cheaper somehow.

For the record, it's good. I'm 5'11", and I swapped it for the speedster screen. It's very adjustable and of good quality.
I noticed with the BMW sport integral helmet it does produce some wind noise when the bottom vent is open, which I'm trying to sort out at the moment. But since I generally close the vent at high speeds, it doesn't really bother me anyway.
Speaking of high speeds, it's actually quite amazing how well it works for a small screen. It certainly stops any straining of neck muscles, I could happily go all day at 80-90 now (on a privately owned racetrack, of course ). Depending on how you adjust it, it can make the bike feel like it's half faired, or similar to the speedster screen. You can also angle it down to blow raindrops off the visor, which is handy.

If anyone wants to see any pics from different angles, just let me know.

MartinW, I noticed you're in Surrey, BMWbikebits is based in Guildford. He'll have to order you one in if you want one, I went there because I was dubious that such a small screen would work, so I wanted to see it before buying it.

[MartinW]

Jonny_L

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely go ahead and spend the money as it sounds as though it will be an ideal solution.

[Trapper]

I'd almost given up on getting the vario screen - when low and behold, three weeks ago, along came Renagade, (a member of the Yorkshire RR Brotherhood) selling a second hander.

We met up for coffee; he fitted the screen there and then to my speedster brackets, and I rode home. Good manners means I can't tell you how good a deal it was - but I'm now the proud owner of an MRA Vario screen.

I've since done a few hundred miles with it, and so far I'm delighted. I used to hate motorways, because any speed over 70 meant my upper torso and head was getting pummelled. With the vario, I still hate motorways, but I get them over with that much quicker, because 90 is no problem for short periods, and 80+ is now an all-day kind of speed.

I'm not sure yet which is the optimum setting, but at 5'10" I find that one or two clicks below the highest gives me a buffeting free ride. There's a fair bit of wind noise - but not too much -providing you wear earplugs.

All in all I recommend it as serious improvement on the speedster.

It's been better for me than the Givi A146A900 (sorry Paul) - which looks like this:
http://www.givi.co.uk/caschi_borse_baul ... CO_ID=1665

For around £100 I doubt there's much you can do to your RR that will give you a better improvement in comfort on a long ride.

Cheers

[MartinW]

Trapper, that sounds like a recommensation to me. Thanks, I'll get over to Guidlford and order one later today. Safe riding. MartinW