BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Hi guys, I need some windshield direction. I have a Ztecknik tall shield on my 1200R right now. It worked well keeping me warm in cold weather and controlling wind until I added a Bill Mayer seat and barbacks. Now I sit more upright and about an inch higher and get helmet buffeting. I'm planning a 6500 mile trip out west in July, and need something more tolerable.

Whats the best shield out there now? I love the Wunderlich fairing, and the Wudo is ok looking. I've searched and read, but can't come to a consensus. I've also seen the vario-shield, and it looks interesting. I'm 6", 32" inseam, Bill mayer seat on a stock height seatpan.

GregM

Nope.. not goin' there.. not doin' it. Not me.

Jeeze, I just can't NOT do it.

Greg - one word: SEARCH

This topic has been beaten to death here over the past 3 years, and the consensus is - there is no consensus.

If you wanna know what's the best oirl to use, that we have a consensus on

deilenberger wrote:Jeeze, I just can't NOT do it.

Greg - one word: SEARCH

This topic has been beaten to death here over the past 3 years, and the consensus is - there is no consensus.

If you wanna know what's the best oirl to use, that we have a consensus on

Thanks for your insight, I HAVE searched, read every post on here. Problem is, a lot of posts here are old. Few years ago, everyone liked the Z-technik, the it was the Cal-sci, then the Cee-Bailey. Things change and peoples opinions do to as they make mods or try something else. I loved the Z-technik when I got it, but did mods, and now it doesn't work for me.

I have ZERO access to any places that sell BMW accessories, closest dealer is over 2 hours away, and used shields are nearly non-existant, so why can't I ask for fresh opinions on what shield people have, had in the past, which one they like the best, etc.

Greg

OK I'll bite:

As far as I'm concerned, Cee Bailey's 18-22" shield, tilted back with any one of a number of contraptions (the 'Ferguson Box' is the newest iteration to my knowledge) gives pretty good results. Not great. If you want great you need an RT.

You'll need the BMW factory touring mounts.

Remember, it's a compromise!

ps. I don't use oil, I use goose grease thinned with mink oil. Will that affect my warranty?

Welcome to the board, good luck with your windshield epic.

Peter

Parabellum Scout does it for me.

ShinySideUp wrote:Parabellum Scout does it for me.

I'd like to see pics of the scout. How tall are you and do you get any head buffeting?

GregM

I'm 6'1" and sit on a Russell Day Long which is a bit taller than the stock seat.

I use the 20" shield except in hot weather when I change to the 10" shield.

I experience no buffeting with either shield.

Pic of the 10" on my bike:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10852133@N ... 652381698/

Pic of the Scout with a taller screen on a R1150R:

http://www.parabellum.com/stores/showde ... 35&CatID=1

The Cee Baily's 22 inch shield tilted back as far as the speedometer will allow the touring bracket to tilt works quite welll for me. I will say I wouldn't mind if it were about 1" shorter. However, I can lean behind it to get out of the rain and cold. I can stand up to be in still air. I can sit up extra tall (which my yoga instructor would like) and put my helmet into noisy air. Or, I can sit normally and have smooth quiet air with no buffeting allowing me to leave my face shield in the upright stored position. Although I'm only 5'8" tall, my sitting height is more like someone 5' 10" tall. I have the OEM low comfort seat (which by the way is quite comfortable).

My windshield bracket aka Ferguson Box was inexpensive and easy to put together using supplies found at Lowes Home Improvement and Motorcycle Parts Emporium. The modified mounting resulted in some rogue light issues. The shield formed a light tunnel that made the top glow. I fixed that with some Scotch Rubber and Mastic Tape. Next time, I would mask the two surfaces with Scotch Brand Magic Transparent Tape, then paint the edge black.

I also had some unwanted instrument reflection at night which I fixed with a black plastic hood cut from a Staples Report Cover and attached with extra slim Velcro.

How to's of all of these mods are explained here on the forum along with pix.

Bruce

I'm 6'1", 32" inseam, and sitting on a Bill Meyer saddle built on a BMW tall saddle. For the past 15K miles I've been very pleased with my CalSci extra-large screen: I look way over it, ride open-face and get no buffeting, now that I have tilted the screen back to more than the fork rake angle. I had to put on a little chrome headlight visor to kill headlight reflection. I'm sure both the tallest Cee Bailey and Parabellum screens for the tall BMW mounts would also work well for you, once you get the angle of attack modified. But you gotta play around with it, make your own bottom mounting brackets, several of which are discussed on this forum. Good luck with your efforts.

Might as well throw my .02 in. Less is better. Especially for a long summer trip.

The OP's question is one that I've been wondering about too, particularly whether there are any short screens that attach to the factory sport shield bracket. Celticus (Mark) posted a link in another thread to a German site that has some intriguing screens, and even more intriguing (albeit near-incomprehensible) English word strings purporting to describe them: http://www.boxer-design.de/en/list.asp?ID=17. Curious whether anyone has any experience with their "wind sign essay universally highly sounded" [sic]?

For me, at 6'1" with a 32" inseam, there's a lot of dirty air around my head and consequently helmet noise with the BMW sport screen. Using a tank bag has reduced it to the point that there is no or minimal buffeting, but the noise is still an issue, even with earplugs. Some of it seems to be an interaction with my jacket's collar, which I keep fiddling with, but it's a bit tough to ride around holding your collar just so with your left hand. New jacket maybe? $$$

With warm weather nigh, an ultra-short screen seems like it might be an answer. Come to think of it, maybe I'll just remove the darn thing and go truly nekkid . . .

Tom B wrote:The OP's question is one that I've been wondering about too, particularly whether there are any short screens that attach to the factory sport shield bracket. Celticus (Mark) posted a link in another thread to a German site that has some intriguing screens, and even more intriguing (albeit near-incomprehensible) English word strings purporting to describe them: http://www.boxer-design.de/en/list.asp?ID=17. Curious whether anyone has any experience with their "wind sign essay universally highly sounded" [sic]?

For me, at 6'1" with a 32" inseam, there's a lot of dirty air around my head and consequently helmet noise with the BMW sport screen. Using a tank bag has reduced it to the point that there is no or minimal buffeting, but the noise is still an issue, even with earplugs. Some of it seems to be an interaction with my jacket's collar, which I keep fiddling with, but it's a bit tough to ride around holding your collar just so with your left hand. New jacket maybe? $$$

With warm weather nigh, an ultra-short screen seems like it might be an answer. Come to think of it, maybe I'll just remove the darn thing and go truly nekkid . . .

I'm really surprised that you are having buffeting and dirty air with your Sport Screen. The reason I say this is that I am a lofty 5'7' on a good day with a whooping 30" inseam. My bike has a Rick Mayer seat on it which is taller than stock, and my helmet is in pure, clean air with the Sport Screen. The reason I know is because if I stand on the pegs when at speed, there is no noticable sound difference in my helmet, which would indicate to me that I am in clean air. Windblast, not really noticable until 65 mph and above, is right into my chest. My jackets, with their fancy vents, and my helmets, actually get air going through them now. Switching away from the Ztechnik 18" V Stream sheild was the best thing I have done to improve this bike. The only mod I did when installing the Sport Screen was to put a 1/4" nylon washer between the bracket and screen on the bottom 2 bolts, which increased the agle back just a little. I seriously doubt that it made that much difference.

gezerbike wrote:Might as well throw my .02 in. Less is better. Especially for a long summer trip.

+1. If you find a shield that lets the air hit you at about chest level you would be surprised how much more comfortable you can be. You need to like the wind, which I do.

This takes the force of the wind off of you but still lets you have some air - like a motorcycle vs a car.

GregM wrote: I have ZERO access to any places that sell BMW accessories, closest dealer is over 2 hours away, and used shields are nearly non-existant, so why can't I ask for fresh opinions on what shield people have, had in the past, which one they like the best, etc.

Greg

Because - you asked for a "consensus" - and as is shown above, and as I already stated - there is NO consensus on shields for this bike. The range goes from none to some people who actually liked the ZTechnic (and more people hated it..) Plus - no definition of what "Tolerable" is for you. No air? Lotsa air? No turbulence? Moderate turbulence? Don't mind the sail effect of a big shield? DO mind it a lot? Buffeting is fun - or not. LOTSA things that many people are or aren't concerned with, and no consensus on that either.

Now oil - consensus - that's easy. Extra Virgin Synthetic Olive Oil is the best.. EVSO.. Final drive oil and quantity - that's still up in the air.

I'll add my two cents. I'm 6'0", 32" inseam and I have the BMW sport screen - I love being in the open air. The sport screen takes some of the air off my chest, but my helmet is in free air and I get plenty of venting in the summer months. The only time I don't care for the sport screen is when I'm on the freeway doing 75mph or higher. I also have a Cee Bailey 20" screen which I will use on cold days in the winter and sometimes on long slabbing trips. I do not get any buffeting with this screen, it keeps me warmer, and I don't get as tired out on a 500 mile day.

My only complaint about the Cee Bailey is that I think it is a bit ugly - but function works. What I love most is that it takes me less than 5 minutes to change from one screen to the other. I love the look of the bike with the sport screen and when I'm riding twisties, foothills, and backroads, it is the winner by far.

I did 3k miles on Joe's R12 with a ZTechnik screen and it worked well, no buffeting, and a bit wider than the Cee Bailey. It also isn't as ugly as the Cee Bailey, but it doesn't look as nice as the sport screen - to me anyway. Plus, switching out this screen requires taking the bars off the bike - so I wouldn't be able to go back and forth as easily with this screen.

gezerbike wrote:[
I'm really surprised that you are having buffeting and dirty air with your Sport Screen. The reason I say this is that I am a lofty 5'7' on a good day with a whooping 30" inseam. My bike has a Rick Mayer seat on it which is taller than stock, and my helmet is in pure, clean air with the Sport Screen. The reason I know is because if I stand on the pegs when at speed, there is no noticable sound difference in my helmet, which would indicate to me that I am in clean air. Windblast, not really noticable until 65 mph and above, is right into my chest. My jackets, with their fancy vents, and my helmets, actually get air going through them now. Switching away from the Ztechnik 18" V Stream sheild was the best thing I have done to improve this bike. The only mod I did when installing the Sport Screen was to put a 1/4" nylon washer between the bracket and screen on the bottom 2 bolts, which increased the agle back just a little. I seriously doubt that it made that much difference.

It may be because I sit farther back, as well as a bit higher (I'm on the standard seat). It may be because of the design of my helmet. It may be air coming around the tank. It may be air coming up along the fork tubes. It may be air curling around my arms, or vortices off my shoulders, or off my torso. It may be the way the air comes around or off the mirrors. It is likely multiple interactions among all of these things. Moving a hand around while riding to see where I can block it is somewhat helpful in getting some sense, but has its limitations. The act of experimenting and observing changes the air flow, compromising the experiment. Besides, it looks like I'm doing some weird form of biker tai chi!

At the end of too much thinking and puzzling, I suspect trying different shields will be the only path to a solution, perhaps starting with some extrapolations from the experiences of others who are about my height and proportions. Thanks to all who have shared their observations in this and (many) other posts on this topic.

By the way, flaxseed oil is truly great stuff!

deilenberger wrote:
Now oil - consensus - that's easy.

Good humor.

PARABELLUM SCOUT
I also have a parabellum scout on my r1200r and absolutely love it.
Though it is certainly pricey, i think it would hard to not be 100% satisfied with this particular product.
Be advised, though, that they have a long lead time for production (at least they did when i got mine) so you may have to order far in advance.
-daniel.

Gave my bike a real good wash on Saturday, and "stripped" it naked like the day it arrived home.

I don't know why, but it felt very light and inspired several acts of random hooliganism. I think I'll leave the screen off for a bit - although this is Vancouver in spring, so I won't be able to last too long.

Peter