naked vs windscreen: 2 different bikes
Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:01 pm
Kieran wondered WTF we bought a naked bike if we were just going to bugger it up with a screen, and it got me thinking, maybe he had a point. So today I took off my Cal-Sci large screen, and went for a ride. It was indeed like riding a different bike! Blasting up the short-and-twisty backroads behind my house I now agree is better without the screen. Trouble is, I ride an open-face helmet (unless it threatens to rain, unlikely in Santa Barbara), and above 35mph the wind roar was unpleasant. Above 50mph it was inTOLerable! So I went home and put in my earplugs, which are purely optional (but nice for long highway rides) with the windscreen. Then I went out again. Better, though I couldn't hear the exhaust. Is this why some riders want louder pipes? My bike sounds throaty enough without the earplugs.
The temp was 80°F, and I found it a bit cooler without the screen, though I must say I've crossed lots of deserts at over 100° and never really been bothered by the screen. I headed down the highway wearing a cotton shirt and a sleeveless Levi vest (no, I'm not ATGATT) and was quite comfortable until I hit the coastline, where the marine layer dropped the temp below 70°. Now I was quite chilly, where I would have been OK with the screen on. What's more, I found myself leaning forward into the wind so much that (A) my bar-backs were now annoying, and (B) the forward lean drove cold air down my open-throated neck and chest. A good jacket with an airtight neck would have cured this, of course, but I was underdressed for a ride I do all the time dressed that way. And 80+mph, my usual, was not comfortable due to air blast and having to grip the handlebars, whereas with the screen 100mph is quite comfortable and relaxed.
So: 2 different bikes, 2 different rides. When my buds come by and suggest we go scrub off the chicken strips on Camino Cielo I'm taking off the shield, putting in the earplugs, and wearing the tight-fitting bike jacket. Naked bikes rule! But most of the time you will find me comfortably dressed behind my Cal-Sci, sitting up straight with my bar-backs, and enjoying the ride with or without my earplugs. Comfort rules too, most of the time, and especially for older guys and on longer rides. Solely my opinion; YMMV.
The temp was 80°F, and I found it a bit cooler without the screen, though I must say I've crossed lots of deserts at over 100° and never really been bothered by the screen. I headed down the highway wearing a cotton shirt and a sleeveless Levi vest (no, I'm not ATGATT) and was quite comfortable until I hit the coastline, where the marine layer dropped the temp below 70°. Now I was quite chilly, where I would have been OK with the screen on. What's more, I found myself leaning forward into the wind so much that (A) my bar-backs were now annoying, and (B) the forward lean drove cold air down my open-throated neck and chest. A good jacket with an airtight neck would have cured this, of course, but I was underdressed for a ride I do all the time dressed that way. And 80+mph, my usual, was not comfortable due to air blast and having to grip the handlebars, whereas with the screen 100mph is quite comfortable and relaxed.
So: 2 different bikes, 2 different rides. When my buds come by and suggest we go scrub off the chicken strips on Camino Cielo I'm taking off the shield, putting in the earplugs, and wearing the tight-fitting bike jacket. Naked bikes rule! But most of the time you will find me comfortably dressed behind my Cal-Sci, sitting up straight with my bar-backs, and enjoying the ride with or without my earplugs. Comfort rules too, most of the time, and especially for older guys and on longer rides. Solely my opinion; YMMV.
