Cut-down screen anyone?

[Longdog Cymru]

I have tried the stock SuperTen screen in each of it’s positions, I have added a Laminar Lip and most recently, I have removed the Laminar Lip and fitted one of those Chinese knock-off adjustable spoilers to the top of my stock screen. So far, the best solution has been the Chinese knock-off adjustable spoiler or wind deflector, depending on what you want to call it. I also need to say the after sales customer service from the Chinese supplier was fantastic, but I digress. The fact remains that I am not completely happy with any of the solutions that I have tried. The stock screen is noisy and rattles my head around like a pin-ball on speed, the Laminar Lip was an improvement and the Chinese wind deflector is the best of the lot so far, but they are all noisy. By the way, I also tried the mirror extenders and they didn’t really help at all.

I have contemplated a Puig touring screen but my weapon of choice would be the National Cycle V stream sport/touring screen but it is an expensive gamble to take.

I am not one for sitting in a bubble of still air, I ride a motorcycle for goodness sake, and I enjoy the experience, so I was wondering if anyone on here has tried a cut-down stock screen. My aim is to have a cleaner flow of air and a quieter ride and often, a naked bike, while having more wind reaching the rider, is often quieter with virtually zero buffeting, so if anyone has explored this route, then I would love to hear what you did.

 

[Cycledude]

I do have the mid sized VStream on my 2018 and don’t suffer any effects from buffeting. My only complaint is the mid sized VStream only comes in tinted and I highly prefer clear.

My previous 2013 the wind noise was awful with a tall Yamaha screen so eventually I bought the tallest VStream made for it, that definitely cured the wind noise issue but the windshield was slightly taller than I preferred , I believe the tallest VStream is available in either clear or tinted, I chose clear.

I believe windshields are a lot like seats, what works great for one person might be awful for the next person.

I did buy one of those spoiler- deflector things from Russia to install on the tall Yamaha screen my previous 2013 came with and wow I was very impressed at how well it worked ! but it made the tall windshield flex way more than I was comfortable with, I figured it would most likely eventually cause the windshield to break so I removed it after only one day of use. Sold the spoiler to a guy with a shorter windshield and he reported being VERY happy with it.

 

[EricV]

How tall are you and what is your inseam? Torso height has a lot to do with screen preference.

I am 5'11" with a 31" inseam. So a little tall torso'd. FWIW, I wear ear plugs when I ride, so noise isn't really a factor for me.

I've had two S10s. A '12 that I got in '11 new and put 109k miles on and now a '15 that I got used with 2300 miles and now has 38k miles. Like you, i prefer some breeze, but not buffeting of the helmet.

On the Gen I bike I went with a Cal-Sci medium screen. Their online help form indicated I should have ordered a Large size. But I like some wind and they don't, so a Large would have been closer to that bubble of still air. The Med is some air flow, but no buffeting. When I added the Russell Day Long seat, it put me about an inch higher and I experienced bufffeting. I raised the screen to the high position and that eliminated it again. Happy ever after with that set up.

Fast forward to the Gen II bike. When I picked it up, I did a fly and ride, riding home from Vancouver, WA to St George, UT in one day. It's just over 1k miles. Took off from my friend's house at 4 am, dropped onto the freeway and came up to speed for the first time on that bike. Wow, this screen and position sucks. Buffeting like crazy. Now, used bike, so I'm stuck with what the PO did to it. He put on a MadStad screen adjuster with the largest barn door MadStad screen made.

I rode for about 10 miles and pulled over, made some angle adjustments and took off again. No Joy. Stopped again and tried a different position. Repeat many times. Higher, lower, more upright, more laid back, etc. Eventually the best I could find was up all the way and angled back as much as possible. Still sucked.

When I got home I still had the Gen I bike in the garage. Seller was picking it up in a week or so and final details of what would be left on the bike or taken off to be moved to the Gen II bike were not set yet. I looked at the screens and angles and differences, or lack of them.

Oh, now I see what they did. Yamaha spent a good bit of time getting the screen right on the Gen I. Wind tunnel testing, etc. Yes, I needed a bit higher screen for my torso height, but otherwise it was really good.

On the Gen II, they did none of that. People whined about not having an adjustable windscreen. FINE, they added an adjustable bracket to the same Gen I nose. That pushed the screen farther forward. It also screwed up all the great aerodynamics that they worked so hard to get right on the Gen I. Nothing I did with three different screens or any combination of angles worked better than the CalSci Med screen on the Gen I bike.

So I took off the MadStad adjuster and huge screen and put my Gen I CalSci Med screen on the Gen II. I had to order the front center triangle plastic piece from the Gen I to allow fitment w/o rubbing on the screen, but it was cheap. Back to perfection, (for me). No buffeting, nice amount of wind flow around me and my helment and still enough wind to allow my helmet venting to work.

I ended up selling the Large MadStad screen online and the new Gen I owner wanted the MadStad adjuster. I drilled some new holes in the orignal OE Gen I screen to fit the Gen II MadStad adjuster and mounted that up for him to ride it back to TX with. (It may still be on there, he indicated it wasn't bad at all on his ride home.)

That's a really long winded way of saying it's not the Gen II's screen height or shape in some cases that causes the buffeting, it's the distance from the rider to the screen. No way to fix that and keep the adjuster. The Gen II bike was not re-designed for an adjustable windscreen, they just tacked one on and IMHO, it screws up the air flow.

Hopefully that gives you some ideas on what might work better for you or something to try.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

For the record, I am 6’2” with a 33” inseam and my bike is a 2017 Gen 2. I agree that the screen is a long way forward,that gives the breeze plenty of time to tie itself in knots and produce buffeting.

I like the Vstream as I had one on a ST1300 Honda few years ago and it was brilliant, but it’s difficult to get a Gen 2 Vstream over here, plenty of retailers selling them for the Gen 1 but not for the Gen 2 so it is pretty expensive with shipping, tax and Customs to pay on top of the retail price.

 

[fac191]

For the record, I am 6’2” with a 33” inseam and my bike is a 2017 Gen 2. I agree that the screen is a long way forward,that gives the breeze plenty of time to tie itself in knots and produce buffeting.

I like the Vstream as I had one on a ST1300 Honda few years ago and it was brilliant, but it’s difficult to get a Gen 2 Vstream over here, plenty of retailers selling them for the Gen 1 but not for the Gen 2 so it is pretty expensive with shipping, tax and Customs to pay on top of the retail price.

I have the Puig on mine its about 4 inches taller than stock and about 4 or 5 inches wider. I am 5ft 11 . Shoei Neotec. I also have an MRA adjustable screen on it. If its raining hard it put it up high and also set the MRA up aswell. I dont mind at all looking through a screen. I dont get any buffeting and its quiet enough
I always wear earplugs. The EarPeace silicone ones or if im listening to music some low profile earbuds with triple flange silicone tips. They seal great in the ear. The only noise i get is from crosswinds really. If your earplugs dont seal properly they are not much use. When its hot i drop the screen down to low and i get enough air into my helmet vents. The Neotec has a great vent on the top and and exhaust at the back.

 

[Kurgan]

Gen 1 bike and I'm 6'4" with 34 inseam. I have tried 5 different screens on my bike and have kept 2., here are my experiences..

Stock - don't like it in either low or high position, all sorts of buffeting and it seems to scratch very easily compared to others. Just horrible.​

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GIVI D447ST (not the AirFlow adjustable model) - Good, very nicely made as I expect from GIVI. Less helmet buffeting, but still some around the shoulders. I wear a size 56US leather jacket, shoulders do stick out in the wind a bit more than average.​

​

National Cycle Vstream Medium - Better than the Givi, less buffeting around the shoulders, a bit less at helmet level. Very nicely made product.​

​

National Cycle Vstream Tall - Best, for cold weather riding. If I keep this in the taller position I get the best coverage for shoulders and the least amount of helmet buffeting. But damn it can get warm behind there so it's my late Fall / early Spring windshield where temps are not getting above 50-55. Again, a very nicely made product.​

​

California Scientific Dark Tinted Shorty - about 2." shorter than stock and a decent amount of buffeting is reduced, you're essentially going quasi-naked bike and that's not a bad thing. I would not recommend buying it. The edges of the screen looked like worn down teeth from an old saw blade (how it comes off the laser). I called and spoke to Cal Sci about my concerns and was told that them selling such an inexpensive shield, it didn't allow room for the extra labor costs to finish it off. This is thin (3mm) acrylic sheet without any intricate shapes or curves...and it was $125.00! Disappointing on several levels, I should have returned it but it was a gift from my young niece so I sucked it up and spent 20 minutes finishing off the edges as they should have been.​

Aside from rider height and inseam, it's important to consider which seat position you are using...low or high. I've been riding with the seat in the low position. With the seat in the high position, I would have a bit more buffeting from the National Cycle Vstream Tall, but even less from the Cal Sci shorty.

If you want to go quasi-naked bike to get the cleanest amount of airflow for your Gen 1 bike, Moose Racing makes a shorty in clear or dark tint which you can buy on eBay for $36.00 including shipping! It's a lot easier on the nerves experimenting with and cutting down a $36.00 product vs. the others which are $125 - $200.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

EricV, if I understand you correctly, if you remove the screen adjustment mechanism from a Gen 2, then any Gen 1 screen will simply bolt on?

 

[EricV]

EricV, if I understand you correctly, if you remove the screen adjustment mechanism from a Gen 2, then any Gen 1 screen will simply bolt on?

Yes. The center black plastic piece at the top of the nose that lives under the screen has a small amount of interference. The Gen I part fits right on if you replace it and is cheap. It's just shaped a little differently. The Gen II screens have a different bolt pattern to fit the OEM adjuster assembly, but the adjuster assembly is the Gen I bolt pattern to the bike. So any Gen I screen fits directly on with the correct bolt pattern for the bike w/o the adjuster.

 

[nwrider]

I've tried numerous windshields on my 2014. Stock, Parabellum, two versions of the NV VStream, none were satisfactory. I ended up with a tall NC screen made for a Suzuki Burgman 400 scooter of all things. I'd purchased two of them on a closeout for $40 ea. 6'1" 32" inseam. I also have the "wings" installed. Last ride was over 2500 miles through WA, OR, CA and ID and the scooter screen is the best of the lot.

 

[BadNews]

Thread:
https://yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?threads/if-you-have-cut-down-your-stock-windshield.20801/

 

[Bart]

On my Gen II l run gen I touratec adjustable bracket with a gen I Givi Airflow. I have ear issues, tinitus etc, and always use ear plugs. The setup is pretty good but I think could be better, with only very very light buffeting. I also have a Airflow from my Versys 1000, which is wider and may try that next.
I'm about 5' 9 with 29 inseam.

 

[Riteris]

FWIW, I cut a ~6" arc from the BOTTOM of the stock screen on my Gen 2.

It helped a great deal.

I also use an adjustable wing up top.

I am 5'7" but I think the piece removed from the bottom would help minimize issues for people of any height.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

On my Gen II l run gen I touratec adjustable bracket with a gen I Givi Airflow. I have ear issues, tinitus etc, and always use ear plugs. The setup is pretty good but I think could be better, with only very very light buffeting. I also have a Airflow from my Versys 1000, which is wider and may try that next.
I'm about 5' 9 with 29 inseam.

Thread hijack here, Bart, I remember you from the Versys site! I bought my Gen 2 a year ago after 5 brilliant years with my Series 1 Versys 1000.

 

[bimota]

Hi Longdog,

have you seen these pricey tho
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-XTZ-1200-Super-TENERE-14-18-Windscreen-Gray-Smoke-Sport-MRA-5400265/153628648858?hash=item23c4fb259a:g:rZcAAOSwnyNdbT03

rob

 

[Longdog Cymru]

Hi Rob, thanks for this, but yes, they are pricey.

Mike

 

[yoyo]

Have you tried riding without any screen on at all? Just to see the effect?

Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[Longdog Cymru]

Have you tried riding without any screen on at all? Just to see the effect?

Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk

Hi, yes, that was the next thing in my plan. If it is, then maybe I’ll check out eBay for a second hand screen.

EricV made an interesting point about the Gen 2 screens being moved forward to accommodate the adjustment mechanism, so that may be worth perusing too.

 

[fac191]

Hi, yes, that was the next thing in my plan. If it is, then maybe I’ll check out eBay for a second hand screen.

EricV made an interesting point about the Gen 2 screens being moved forward to accommodate the adjustment mechanism, so that may be worth perusing too.

I think it may make a difference where you tens to sit on the bike. I sit quite forward on mine and the stock seat was uncomfortable for me as it lacked padding there. A Seat Concepts kit addressed that issue. If the screen being moved a bit forward on tje Gen 2 has an effect seating positions may apply aswell.

 

[Bart]

Thread hijack here, Bart, I remember you from the Versys site! I bought my Gen 2 a year ago after 5 brilliant years with my Series 1 Versys 1000.

Ahh yes, the Versys 1000, good bike, only had mine for around 18mths though. Hope you get the screnn sorted. I find with the adjustable Touratec bracket it is extremely critical of the angle.

 

[BadNews]

Thought this article written by Guido who does the "Scenic" app might be helpful:
https://advrider.com/windscreens-and-other-causes-solutions-for-noise-and-buffeting-in-motorcycle-helmets/