Wind is getting to me

[rabbibgr]

All I want is smooth quiet air, tried a large windshield with Laminar lip, Saeng micro swirl, cut air slot into shield, nothing worked. Now fooling with a Scout but not having much sucess, even put a laminar lip on it. It's OK up to 50, then the noise gets louder and the buffeting begins. Do I have to go to an RT, had a 99 and it was OK for 120K. I love the bike, but to preserve my hearing and take long trips, I may have made a wrong choice. Any help or do I put this great 2011 up for sale.

[2wheels]

Have you thought about a different helmet?

When I changed from a Caberg to a BMW System 6, the difference was remarkable and added 10 mph to comfortable cruise speed!

[ContraMoto]

I've managed to get a nice air bubble around my upper torso and helmet with the scout. I modified the mounting system to bring the top of the shield closer to the rider (see the thread, "Stripes or no Stripes"). It's still loud because there is wind around the sides, coming up the arms and legs, etc. With earplugs, the wind noise vanishes and I have no head buffeting, but with plenty of wind on arms and legs. However -- There is NO WAY to make this bike like an RT. It's a windy bike, and that's that.

I do have a laminar lip. I've only ridden with it duct-taped on the Scout shield in order to test it. It moves the "quiet bubble" up about 2". Once I have my final seat selected, I will be able to trim the Scout windshield down a little more and use the Lip for longer rides. The Lip needs some bending in order to install on the Scout properly. I'll fiddle with that when I'm ready to finalize the positioning of the lip.

Again -- these are windy bikes, even with the perfect windshield (which I think I've found/made). I could definitely see myself on a K1300GT or R1200RT some day in the future if I find that I am doing longer rides and tours.

[ContraMoto]

BTW -- I have used five different helmets on this bike. When it's windy or buffeting, they are ALL loud. The only quiet helmet is the one you wear when you have earplugs in.

FWIW -- the loudest helmet I used in my setup was a Schuberth C3, touted as the quietest thing you can buy. Wind hits my helmet just above the faceshield, and the C3 roared like a tornado. The Shoei Qwest is quietest, so I installed my Sena system in that one.

[ka5ysy]

Do a search on the site for windscreen tilt modification. I have only the CalSci Tall screen tilted back a couple of inches that makes a nice quiet ride in my Shoei Multitech. I can ride with the face shield open and occasionally with the chin bar raised and it is reasonably quiet without my custom earplug speakers. For any motorcycle to be quiet you will absolutely need ear protection anyway or you are going to suffer hearing loss over time.

One of the great benefits that the RR has over the RT is the fact that it passes a lot of air to the rider. This is great in the very hot weather I have in south Louisiana (Today was 96 real, 115 heat index ) and a lot of other riders on this board will agree. The RT is so good at wind protection that it is miserable to ride in this weather.

You mentioned a 2011 RR: I was not aware that BMW had started shipping the windscreen brackets yet, so the availability of aftermarket stuff is low due to the redesign of the instrument cluster requiring a different bracket setup.

Your laminar lip and other setups are creating a lot of turbulence probably due to the angle of the wind leaving the devices, quite like what happens when an aircraft wing gets to too high an angle of attack to the relative wind direction. The wing stalls and creates a burble of turbulent air just like what you are feeling off your windscreen. Most of us that have done the tilt back mod found that the ride is much, much nicer after the modification is made.

Translation of all this: Your windscreen is probably too vertical and is causing the problem.

[xcell1600]

I sold my R a few weeks ago. I have a Calsci windscreen that I am happy to sell at a very reasonable price. Please email me off line.

Thanks,

[Jedi5150]

You mentioned a 2011 RR: I was not aware that BMW had started shipping the windscreen brackets yet, so the availability of aftermarket stuff is low due to the redesign of the instrument cluster requiring a different bracket setup.

That stumped me as well. I was not aware ANY aftermarket larger screens were available for the 2011. None of the companies I've called had them yet. I was also given a 2 month minimum wait time estimate on when BMW's own touring brackets would be brought into the country...

[jroad]

I recently purchased an '11 R 1200 R, and ordered (through BMW dealer) a Cee Bailey windshield. The dealer mistakenly ordered the bracket for the '10 R, not realizing that the 2011 needs a different bracket. Seeing your post, I called Cee Bailey. The person with whom I spoke said that they aren't showing a windshield for the 2011 R on their web site, but that several customers have told him that the new bracket for the 2011 R from BMW works with the 2010 windshield. He suggested that I wait and see whether the new BMW bracket fits the Cee Bailey mount, and if not, I can return the windshield. He didn't say for sure whether Cee Bailey will offer a windshield specifically for the 2011, but said to check back in July. My understanding is that BMW's second manufactured batch of brackets for the 2011 R is to ship from Germany on July 4.

[Patch]

For those of you still waiting for National Cycles V-Stream for the 2011 ... this is the response i received over a week ago.

------------------------------------------
"Thank you for your interest in National Cycle or ZTechnik products for your motorcycle.

We will do our best to respond to your e mail within 24 hours.

For more information about our products, please visit
http://www.nationalcycle.com or http://www.ztechnik.com

If you have placed an order, it will be processed immediately and you should receive your shipment in 5-8 business days. In the unlikely circumstance of a delay in shipment, you will be notified within 2 business days.

Good riding!
National Cycle and ZTechnik Customer Service Team"
---------------------------------------------
Hopefully instead of replying to e-mails they are hard at work building the damn thing...

[Jedi5150]

Please put up pics when you get it Patch, including of the mounting bracket if you don't mind. I'd love to take a look at the 2011 version.

[2wheels]

The new 2011 touring screen uses the same 'blade'(perspex bit)as before, the part numbers are identical to pre 2011. Only mounting bracket is changed to accommodate changes in top yolk on 2011.

I have Wunderlich Vario from pre 2011 and that fitted 2011 without trouble. Only problem is it uses single fixing point on either side and is thus prone moving.

Mine has been on order 6 weeks and latest info is they could arrive 1st week July.

[rabbibgr]

Seems like we are all waiting for shields to fit the 2011. I see references to the Vario and the Windstream, do you think either will do the job of killing the buffeting. Which do you think works best. Can these be returned if they dont work out

[Mollygrubber]

One word... Hannigan.

[deilenberger]

One word... Hannigan.

Second word.. ugly.

[deilenberger]

In reply to the OP.. (another Don)..

You may be trying to achieve the wrong thing if you want quiet.

Most helmets - at least the good ones that are developed in a wind-tunnel, are designed for unencumbered air reaching the helmet. What that means - they are designed to be used in free air. As soon as you add a shield to the equation, you're changing the airflow, and the helmet is likely to get noisy. Schuberth helmets are amazingly quiet if you ride with no shield. They are quite acceptable with a small shield tilted back enough that the shield dosen't cause turbulent air to form behind it.

There are several things that most of the early R12R owners have found:

• The bike is very quiet with no shield
• The bike is acceptable with a shield tipped back about 5-10 degrees from the stock position the BMW touring shield mount puts most shields at (the DonC block works well..)
• A barn door shield is likely to cause problems, not only due to air falling over the top and collapsing right behind the edge (which causes turbulence), but also because of air coming up the two recesses in the front of the tank where the fork tubes fit. Bigger in this instance - if you're looking for quiet - isn't always better.
• The CalSci shield was not quiet at all. It was only after people started tipping them back that they became acceptable (which was the opposite of what Mark Lawrence thought would happen.)
• The Z-Technic (National Cycle) shield almost always hasn't been satisfactory for most people. They have a new smaller one available now that may be better, but I haven't seen anyone post on it.

I run a 20" Cee-Bailey shield in the winter, but as soon as it warms up, I put the 16" shield on. It works quite well with a Schuberth Concept-2. I also always have a tank bag on, and that helps redirect the air coming up the fork-tube tunnels so it's less likely to cause turbulence. With the short shield on - there is no turbulence. With the 20" one on, there is a bit, but it only becomes annoying at speeds that are considerably illegal in my part of the US.

I went from an K100RT, to a K75S, to an R1150RS, to the R1200R, and with each step in decreasing protection found myself happier with my ride (and riding more..) I like the air flow around me, and the 20" C/B shield provides enough protection for me to ride down into the 30F temps. For summer use - the 16" is just right. It keeps pressure off my chest, allows clean airflow around my helmet, and lots of airflow around my body. The exact height that works will likely require playing around since we're not all built the same, and a difference of an inch can make a lot of difference in airflow and noise. Again - all the shields worked better (and I have 7 or so of them now..) when tilted back from the stock position. I've managed to put 48,000 miles on the bike, including some long extended trips and that's been with the 16" C/B. I am not trying to create an RT out of the R, and that's what you have to avoid, it just doesn't work.

Crib notes: Less is sometimes better.

[rabbibgr]

That was a great reply with lots of useful info. What I gather is that the BMW touring shield is set up right to begin with and updating the helmet is in order. I guess size makes a difference, I am 5'8' WITH A 29" inseam. May I ask how tall you are ? For now I will remove the fairing and put the small shield back on. I will also check into the BMW touring shield

[jkhomes]

Really look at the Cal Sci windscreen with the DonC tilt block. I didn't think I could keep my R1200R until I got that set-up. It changed everything. The sizing charts on their website are not adjusted for the tilt block, but if you call them they will size it correctly for your height and inseam. I think others may have had similar good experience with the Cee Bailey windscreen with the tilt block.

[deilenberger]

That was a great reply with lots of useful info. What I gather is that the BMW touring shield is set up right to begin with and updating the helmet is in order. I guess size makes a difference, I am 5'8' WITH A 29" inseam. May I ask how tall you are ? For now I will remove the fairing and put the small shield back on. I will also check into the BMW touring shield

5'7" with a 27" inseam on a tall day.. also use a low seat, and NO barbacks (all of these change your head position.)

Unfortunately - it will require experimentation to find the best solution - and that's how I ended up with 7 shields.. if anyone wants to try out different shields and has the BMW touring mount and isn't too far from NJ, I've got plenty for people to try... but I'm not shipping, so you gotta come to me.

[Anyname]

Don - Where does the top of your 16" shield stop relative to the bottom of your helmet?

Thanks

[deilenberger]

Don - Where does the top of your 16" shield stop relative to the bottom of your helmet?

Thanks

I have absolutely no idea.. and I dunno exactly how I'd measure it since I'd have to move my head to read a tape measure. I'll think on it tomorrow..