Solved the windscreen dilemma

[RadRider]

I finally got rid of the noise and turbulence on my R1200R! Bought a Schuberth C3 helmet and I found that the best windscreen is NO WINDSCREEN AT ALL! This works for me since the majority of my rides are in warm weather (South Florida). This of course may not apply to those of you who ride in more frigid temperatures. I have tried the Cal Sci, 18,20, and 22 inch Cee Bailey and the stock sport screen all with and without the tilt modification. Naked riding for me!

[bmwk100]

I'm also from South Florida and use the Sport Shield approaching my first summer on R. I found the right screen, Cee Bailey 20" with Don's block, for highway riding. I'll have to try naked when it gets hotter.

[ka5ysy]

Naked works until you discover "love bugs". Let me know how that comes out !

[Ashveratu]

I here ya brother, naked is the way go for a less turbulent ride, but the touring screen (along with Don's Block) does help deflect a majority of the insects. Of course that is not really a problem until you get out on the back roads away from the city.

[websterize]

I finally got rid of the noise and turbulence on my R1200R! Bought a Schuberth C3 helmet and I found that the best windscreen is NO WINDSCREEN AT ALL!

What he said.

[ContraMoto]

Naked is, IMO, the best setup of any basic windscreen attempt. I tried dang near everything, tilted and not tilted. Naked works best. A sport screen cut down to the top of the instruments is next best.



I've since painted this black with nice pinstripes that match the tank. Need to get a pic of that...

Still, I want a setup for long freeway days. So I ordered a Scout fairing. I've got some ideas to make it a quick-mount setup so I can put it on when heading on a trip.

[Mr Breeze]

Naked is, IMO, the best setup of any basic windscreen attempt. I tried dang near everything, tilted and not tilted. Naked works best. A sport screen cut down to the top of the instruments is next best.

"next best"? That sounds like some additional wind is directed on the rider?
But a cut down sport screen no doubt keeps the bugs off the back side of the gauges...?

[ContraMoto]

Yes, even the cutdown sport screen throws turbulent air up to mid-chest, where it contributes to a roar around the base of the helmet. No screen at all is quieter. But -- the bike doesn't look right to me without that bikini screen on it. So...it's a compromise of style vs. comfort.

[phillyboy]

I got a Wudo, and it works really well for me. I like the look, and the angle is ajustable.

IMG_0627 by cheezteeth, on Flickr
IMG_0624 by cheezteeth, on Flickr

[deilenberger]

I got a Wudo, and it works really well for me. I like the look, and the angle is ajustable.

Hmmmm.... one I've never tried. Ever go to the Cherry Hill area in NJ for Saturday lunch? There is a great deli in Cherry Hill (F&M) - be fun to meet there and swap bikes for a short ride..

[ContraMoto]

Does that Wudo use the BMW touring screen or is that their own plastic?

[phillyboy]

Hi Don, Lunch and a ride would be great. Aren't you closer to the shore? I'm willing to meet you closer to halfway if that's the case. This Saturday is good. I'm out of town the following weekend, but the 26th might work, depending.

ContraMoto, Wudo makes the mounting and the plastic. Here's a link to the catalog (3rd page of the .pdf).
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... y=CMCkt6AL

I got the Wudo when one of the mounting brackets broke on my my ZTechnik v-stream. I was one of the few who were basically satisfied with the ZT. I do find the Wudo to be an improvement over that. It's a good deal less gusty. I'm not sure if it is quieter, probably. I definitely think its better looking, and I like the two-piece idea, however it is expensive, and you have to order it from Germany, which adds currency & shipping cost on top of that. The folks at Wudo were great, though. When I placed the order online, somebody called me who spoke english well enough to get the job done to clarify if I needed the mounting hardware or just the screen, and the lag time was not all that long. I ended up paying $400.85 for the hardware once the exchange rate was figured (and another $12.02 that my credit card company charged me for doing a transaction in foreign currency). So it was pricey. But you know, motorcycling is my only hobby that costs any real money, so I'll spoil myself.

Don has tried pretty much everything out there, and I've only had experience with the sport screen, the V-Stream, and this- so his opinion about it is worth a ton more than mine. I will also note that I remember him questioning the mounting hardware on the ZT screen that ended up cracking for me.

[TT RDHS]

On a related note...
Keep in mind when ordering from overseas, the prices shown will (nearly always) have the VAT included (VAT is their sales tax).
In Germany, that is about 19% (I believe), they are NOT supposed to charge VAT on overseas purchases. Although, sometimes it is necessary to remind (some) sellers of this.
So right off the bat, when figuring how much you are going to spend, knock that 19% off the top.
Then just keep an eye on the exchange rates, and try and make your purchase when the dollar is up! This will improve your bottom line even more.

[deilenberger]

Hi Don, Lunch and a ride would be great. Aren't you closer to the shore? I'm willing to meet you closer to halfway if that's the case. This Saturday is good. I'm out of town the following weekend, but the 26th might work, depending.

Sent PM on getting together. Perhaps we can drag Harry C out too.. (Mogu83)..

[tspaulding]

I also have the Wudo and it is the best I have found after trying all the available BMW options and a CalSci. If I want more protection, I've about decided the only thing left for me to try is the Scout from Parabellum.
I'm 5'8" with a 28" inseam and my R is the low version.
I'd be happy to hear any other suggestions. Some may say " you bought a naked bike--what do you expect?", but I feel safer on the lighter bike as opposed to the RT so I am looking to make it as comfortable as possible. Out here in the midwest, riding with no protection from cold, bugs etc. just doesn't cut it for me.
Thanks.

Charlie
2010 R1200R
2003 K1200RS

[lynnboyd]

Charlie,

I agree with you about the naked bike comments - I don't like all the plastic on a touring bike but I do want a windshield to keep the wind off my chest and catch some of the bugs. I've tried the BMW Sport shield, a GIVI A760 fairing, a Memphis Shades Pop Top and a Memphis Shades Alley Cat (the last two I already had). After going through several sets of brackets for the Alley Cat, I've come up with a position that is perfect for me. I'm 5'10" with 32" inseam and regular height Sargent seat raised about 3/8" or so at the front. The top of the windshield is 13 3/8" straight above the front of the BMW roundel on the triple tree.

The air hits at my chin and is completely clean. I don't notice any noise coming up from under my helmet, and the windshield comes down the sides of the headlight far enough that no air seems to be coming up the tunnels created by the front of the tank. The struts that hold the windshield itself are pieced together from gas spring parts and acetal tubing from McMaster-Carr. The headlight needs to be repositioned about 1.75" up and out (~40 degrees) to get enough angle on the windshield to make the air coming over it clean.

This seems like a pretty economical solution because it's not made for a BMW. The struts are about $40 total and the windshield is available for $85 - 90 from a number of places. The brackets to move the headlight can be made from 1/8" or 3/16" aluminum with a scroll saw.

Lynn









ps: I don't understand why there are all these other threads on what is supposed to be the R1200R windshield forum. Am I missing something?

[deilenberger]

I don't understand it either.. People butting in with other sorts of questions.. what are they thinking of.

BTW - nice pics - BUT - be nice if they were up down instead of horizontal. Adding a line-break between the links to them will achieve that quite nicely, and do away with the need to use the horizontal scroll bar on the browser (considered a real no-no for any web designer - which I will no longer be - professionally - in 25 working days.. WHEEE!)

[deilenberger]

phillyboy (Steve) and I met for a ride and lunch.. got to swap bikes for about 10 miles.

My impression of the Wudo was favorable. Height - it's about the height of my summer or spring/fall Cee Bailey's. Since his bike has the normal height seat, I was up higher then on my bike (tippy-toes actually).. So I tried ducking down, and moving around a bit.

In a 'normal' position (figuring I'm about 5'7" with a short inseam - 27" on a tall day) - there was quite a bit of wind reaching my helmet, with very slight turbulence (this was at about 60-65 MPH.. into a fairly strong headwind - so add 10-15MPH due to the headwind.) Ducking down quieted things down, as did standing up a bit on the pegs. Since the shield angle is easily adjustable (the brackets they used are FAR superior in design to anything else I've seen for the R12R..) for angle, I suspect tilting it down a bit more (and it had plenty of tilt left on the adjustment) would do away with the tiny bit of turbulence I felt.

Steve also doesn't have a tankbag, which I believe helps deflect the air coming up the fork-tube cutouts in the tank from the rider - although moving my hands to block these didn't make a huge difference (and it has on other shields such as the CalSci..)

I was favorably impressed.. nice part on the bracket, I could see where it wouldn't be hard to fashion a GPS mount for it that would center the GPS above the instrument cluster. Fit and finish were excellent - easily equal to factory. The small secondary shield between it and the headlight is neatly mounted with a bracket that mounts where the bottom loop bracket on the factory shield mounts. Again - very neat design, and I suspect the secondary shield helps create laminar airflow up the inside of the primary shield, lessening turbulence (and perhaps making the difference with the fork-tube cutouts..)

Overall - looks a winner to me. SWMBO - when I told her I was going for a ride to try out another windshield said "But you have 12 in the garage already.. another one?" Pure exaggeration - I think I only have 6 or 7.. and I used 3 of them.. This might do away with several of them.

Also - I was impressed by how well the Garmin Zumo 550 works with light falling on the screen, unlike the BMW NAV-III (which is a morphed custom 2730..) Gives me more ideas for a birthday present. If anyone has one they're tired of - I'm interested.

Oh - nice riding with Steve. He did comment he's never gotten 44MPH from his R12R (which mine was showing.. it was doing a pretty solid 50 on the way home..) but he likes to go fast. Hopefully I wasn't too boring to follow. Found some new neat back roads by telling Dufuss (the GPS) to take us "shortest" route to a few places.