Can you ride on the highways with the sport shield?

[bmwk100]

I'm seriously considering making the move from an 06' Sprint ST to an new R. Living in South Florida there are a lot of flat, straight highways that get you from place to place. Speeds of 80-90 are routine and my Sprint is in it's sweet spot at about 85. (My old K-RS's sweet spot was about 90) For everyday riding I would like to utilize the sport shield, thus my question is: Will I be comfortable at these speeds with only the sport shield? I will get one of the bigger shields for touring.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[MJB]

Just remember that the R1200R is not a full fledge long distance touring machine.
The bike certainly can do the mileage, but does not offer the luxury like the R1200RT and K1300GT offers.

I have owned the bike for 3 seasons now have done over 37,000kms (about 18,000 miles)
I have no issues
Used the sport windshield for 2 1/2 seasons and have just upgraded to the BMW touring windshield.
Not a big difference, but a little.

I just finished a 3 1/2 week tour of the states, doing 11,000kms (6,000 miles) with the BMW touring windshield.
No issues.
The wind does blow, but no real problems.
I like the feel

That being said, I am just about to order an 18 inch Cee-Bailey windscreen, which attaches to the BMW touring windshield hardware.

[staves]

Coming from a Speed Triple, I find the sport shield comfortable and buffeting-free at 85-90. Nice clean air. The R12R is a very comfortable, versatile bike - good luck with your decision.

- Scott

[Don C]

In standard form, there is not much difference between riding with the sport shield and riding with no shield. Well, that was my experience, YMMV. The sport shield keeps the wind off of your stomach and keeps bugs off of the back of the instrument cluster. But you can raise the sport shield by putting spacers under the lower support, like we do with the touring screens. By doing this, you can get most of the wind off of your chest without adding much at helmet level. I'd start with some longer M5 screws and a lot of washers. Keep raising the front of the screen by adding washers under the front support, add couple of washers at a time and test ride until you start to notice excessive wind roar at the base of your helmet. Then remove a couple. Now your bike is customised to fit you. I have a half inch spacer, at 5'8" that's about right for me.

[bmwk100]

I definitely would purchase a bigger windshield for long trips. It's good to hear that there is clean air at about those speeds. I'll keep you updated on my decision.

[red baron]

I prefer nacked bikes in the first place. Having this said, I have driven about 85,000 miles with a sports shield and having no problems driving 85 miles which in my opinion is in the comfort zone of this bike with such an windshield. However I have friends who either prefer a larger shield or a GS/RT. Both bikes are more touring orientated.
Peter

[redwing]

I rode perhaps 6000 miles without a sport shield and then another 3000 miles with a sport shield. The difference for me is that with the sport 85 mph is more comfortable. Lots less pressure on my chest. With the sport shield I find 85 mph is like 60 mph without the sport shield.
And the sport keeps the instruments safe.

Robert

[MrChicken]

Mmm, interesting to see the varied responses here. I am about 5'10" and get a good deal of buffeting from the sports screen beyond about 120kmh (about 75 mph). It's not drastic, but I wouldn't want to be doing it for long periods. Fortunately, in Oz there's usually plenty of opportunities to avoid the motorways, so long periods at high speed are only occasional. If I was touring all the time, I'd probably go for a taller screen, or ideally a touring bike. Around town on my daily ride and at lesser speeds, the sports screen is absolutely fine.

[bmwk100]

Mmm, interesting to see the varied responses here. I am about 5'10" and get a good deal of buffeting from the sports screen beyond about 120kmh (about 75 mph). It's not drastic, but I wouldn't want to be doing it for long periods. Fortunately, in Oz there's usually plenty of opportunities to avoid the motorways, so long periods at high speed are only occasional. If I was touring all the time, I'd probably go for a taller screen, or ideally a touring bike. Around town on my daily ride and at lesser speeds, the sports screen is absolutely fine.

This post is disturbing since driving 75 mph would be routine for me.

[waynemathews]

Mmm, interesting to see the varied responses here. I am about 5'10" and get a good deal of buffeting from the sports screen beyond about 120kmh (about 75 mph). It's not drastic, but I wouldn't want to be doing it for long periods. Fortunately, in Oz there's usually plenty of opportunities to avoid the motorways, so long periods at high speed are only occasional. If I was touring all the time, I'd probably go for a taller screen, or ideally a touring bike. Around town on my daily ride and at lesser speeds, the sports screen is absolutely fine.

This post is disturbing since driving 75 mph would be routine for me.

Just to add to the confusion, I''m closer to 5'10" than 5"9" (30" inseam), and don't have much buffeting at 75 with the sport screen, just increased wind noise. I'm thinking of chopping the screen by an inch.

[LumpyCam]

I'm 5'11" and only ride with the sport screen. I love the nice clean airflow it provides.

Just completed a 6,000km trip with lots of open roads (Colorado, Utah, Nevada, etc.) with no issues.

[websterize]

I've grown used to riding, below or in excess of, 65 mph without the sport shield. I'll probably put it back on when the weather cools.

[crazyhorse]

i have a short los angeles commute and traffic is in the 70-85 mph range (with bursts to 100, don't judge me). i have no shield at all. i don't have a problem.

however touring would be altogether different, wind adds to exhaustion particularly if there is any inclement weather involved. you will lose miles and hours off your touring day if you don't have a proper windshield. if your touring is pretty minimal and wandering, you don't need one (i have toured on a 250cc enduro bike). however if you are touring for weeks on end with long-ish days on the hwy, do yourself a favour and get a proper screen. better yet, get an RT (did i say that?).

wes

[DeltaDagger]

Just got back from a 700 Mile ride with the sport shield. It unloads the upper body while my helmet is in clean air, which I prefer. I don't seem to have any luck with intermediate height windshields due to buffeting.

[ka5ysy]

I am also 5'11", and found the sport screen put a really bad wind blast on the chin bar of my helmet At best it was a good bug protector for the instrument cluster. Riding without anything was much smoother, but not an option for longer rides. I switched to the touring screen and found that the blast moved up to the top of my helmet and buffeted a lot. Switched to several other screens and have settled on the CalSci tall screen with the tilt modification and really have a nice quiet, buffet-free ride now at any reasonable speed below 100.

[AllanCook]

Sure can. I do it all the time without any problems. I'm 6'1".

[R1150Rclean]

(Sport shield on my R1150R) I am 6'2" and the sport shield caused too much turbulence/buffeting for me at any speed. Clean air without it. At 80+ with no shield, the only issue is the helmet strain on my neck if I get buffeting from trucks/cars/cross winds. Dropping the front of the helmet down on my head and leaning forward helps a lot with that.

[CrankyGeezer]

I'm 6'2" and I too find that the sports shield directs the turbulent air above my chest (very nice), but onto the the chin bar and visor of my helmet (not so nice), resulting in a noisy ride at any speed over 110Kph. If I straighten out and sit unnaturally high, it is a much quieter ride. I suspect that I would get cleaner, quieter air if I simply removed the shield. Yet, I like the look of the screen. Has anyone cut down the sports shield, or attempted to adjust the rake (similar to the many threads on altering the Cee Bailey screen with Don C's famous block)?

Bryan

[Don C]

You can just remove the lower support and experiment with different heights and angles with only the two upper mounts fastened. It's still pretty strong without even having the lower mount in place. I suspect that pulling the lower part straight forward to get more slope on the screen might help. It's going to be difficult though, because the screen bracket is so strong, its hard to bend.

I'm 6'2" and I too find that the sports shield directs the turbulent air above my chest (very nice), but onto the the chin bar and visor of my helmet (not so nice), resulting in a noisy ride at any speed over 110Kph. If I straighten out and sit unnaturally high, it is a much quieter ride. I suspect that I would get cleaner, quieter air if I simply removed the shield. Yet, I like the look of the screen. Has anyone cut down the sports shield, or attempted to adjust the rake (similar to the many threads on altering the Cee Bailey screen with Don C's famous block)?

Bryan

[CrankyGeezer]

Thanks Don.

In my Googling efforts, I see that Touratech sells a Screen adjuster, ostensibly for the small sportscreen. It doesn't look too difficult to install, but the installation instructions are in German.