End of my rope: unbearable noise and/or turbulence

[dietDrThunder]

This is a cross-post from adv, but I really badly need help with this, and am desperate.

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Ok, I'm getting desperate. I recently bought a 2012 S10. I've got a stock screen, a +4" V Stream screen, and I just bought a Power Bronze short/sport screen. In addition, I have a Touratech adjustable screen mount. Despite my nearly infinite amount of options in height, angle, and coverage, all I can seem to accomplish is variation in equally unbearable noise or turbulence, or both.

My priority is quiet and smooth air, rather than coverage. I have ordered a pair of the fairing-attached wind deflectors, but I'm not optimistic that these will have much of an effect in the smoothness factor. I'm thinking my next purchase will be an MRA clamp-on adjustable wing thingy, and if that doesn't work, I have no idea what to do. It's bad, as in, if I can't fix this, I will sell the bike and buy something else kind of bad. I bought it primarily for LD touring and rallies, so I'm not willing to overlook this fun-robbing aspect of an otherwise amazingly great bike.

I'm 6'3 with a 32" inseam. If anyone who shares my dimensions can share a potential solution, I'm all ears. I love the bike enough that I'm willing to try a nearly infinite number of screen options if I think there is a good option.

One thing I saw was that the Madstad adjustable bracket appears to provide for a significantly higher mount than the Touratech model, so this would afford an opportunity to try a whole new set of options with the screens that I have.

Anyway, I know that windshield threads are approaching oil thread proportions, but all of the searching I've done only reveals a bunch of random 'screen x is the best' posts. I'd love to hear from anyone who has struggled like I have, and how they solved the issue.

 

[jimmy z]

I have a givi airflow in high position stock mount and could not be happier.6 7" 36" inseam.Nice pocket of air.S10 is also a 2012.

 

[gregp]

I have a 2014 and found the stock screen to be bad. Really bad. I bought the tallest Parabellum they make and it offered quite a bit of relief. The buffeting reduced to almost none when it's raised to the highest setting. Still though, there's some wind noise. Ducking behind the screen alleviates this but riding in that position for long isn't realistic. I added the wings and also added mirror extenders. (learned that from the Vstrom forum) Getting the mirrors out away from your helmet has helped some riders with wind noise and buffeting. All of this said, it's still not a super quiet ride but I find it bearable. Wearing ear protection helps more than anything in my opinion. A pair of ear plugs and I'm blissfully unaware of anything but the hum of the engine, my music and the gps if it's in use.

What's bearable to you might be totally different from someone else so it's hard to say this is the answer. The Parabellum is the tallest, widest screen I could find that would fit a Tenere. If there's a downside, it's not terribly attractive and also it blocks so much air that it gets hot behind it in the summer.I recommend it but you'll have to try one to know if it works for you. I wish you luck.

Edit to add that I'm 6'3" with a 34 inseam.

 

[draig126]

... Wearing ear protection helps more than anything in my opinion. A pair of ear plugs and I'm blissfully unaware of anything but the hum of the engine, my music and the gps if it's in use.

What's bearable to you might be totally different from someone else so it's hard to say this is the answer. The Parabellum is the tallest, widest screen I could find that would fit a Tenere. If there's a downside, it's not terribly attractive and also it blocks so much air that it gets hot behind it in the summer.I recommend it but you'll have to try one to know if it works for you. I wish you luck.

Edit to add that I'm 6'3" with a 34 inseam.

::026::

I've found that ear plugs make the biggest difference.

I also migrated to a shorter sport screen from Cal Science http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Tenereprod.html. To be honest it helped the noise only very little and I would like to try a screen which is 1" to 1-1/2" shorter. The biggest improvement, provided by the shorter screen, was allowing more air to hit me in the chest which really helps in keeping me cool. Lastly, with the new bike I also picked up a new helmet, Nexx XT1, and I found that the position of the next roll, particularly just behind the ears makes a big difference. I also found that the gap between the back of my neck and the back edge of the helmet makes a big difference too. I found this out accidentally when I put may hand back there one day and amazingly a large percentage of the wind noise went away...but hey that's me and I would not recommend driving a bike that way..... ::025::


I'm 6'3" with 32" inseam....

 

[rider33]

I'm 6'2" with a '14. In stock form I thought air management was pretty bad (buffeting). The first thing I did was to put a Parabellum tall on, that helped a lot. Then I added the winglets, that helped a bit (I think). Then I added a Madstad bracket, that helped a good deal and gives you a pretty major range of both height and tllt. Still, compared to the ST1300 this bike replaced its not as quite, I think much of that has to do with the distance between the shield and seated rider. I've generally found dual-sports are a bit noisier no matter what you do, then again they don't tend to be as hot either and are a lot more flexible too. Basically a lot of things seemed to help but if I could only do one thing it would be the Parabellum. With just that I went to the left coast, road thru torrential rain and serious cross winds in ralative comfort. To me, that was the best spend.

 

[Tony Down Under]

The best screen for me was the MRA Vario Touring Screen with lip. I added a Madstad bracket and winglets and eliminated most of the buffeting but the noise level is still quite high. Moulded ear plugs got the noise down to a comfortable level and I'm now pretty happy with the set up. I think my Shoei Neotec is also part of the noise problem. Good luck, getting the screen right it can be a frustrating business!

 

[spinalator]

There are endless combinations of windshield, angle, seat height, sitting forward or backward on the seat, and helmet choice. I find the S10 to be so much better than my old bike with the Yamaha stock screen, I can not fathom that anyone else is willing to sell this bike. However, it is obviously a problem so hopefully the brain trust can help out.

-Do you like the air stream when you lower the windshield, and stand on the pegs and get your noggin in the clean air?
-Do you like the air when you raise the shield, and lay on the tank?
-Have you tried different helmet/shields?

Coming from a sporty bike, these were two things I could count on when I was trying to pinpoint the proper way of doing it. On that bike, I finally got it sorted, but then got a new seat, that lowered my ass 3/4" and moved me back 1.5" and I found the turbulence again. I was buying the S10 anyway, so I just toughed it out for the next year.

 

[dietDrThunder]

Thanks all...ok to address a few points (all good btw)

I haven't left my driveway without -32db earplugs in my ears in maybe 25 years (unless I'm wearing my still-alive er6i's).

I have tried three different helmets with no meaningful differences in noise or turbulence.

One person asked if I'd tried to move around to see where the good spot is. I have, and here's the weird part. With the stock or the v stream (+4"), regardless of what height they're set at, if I duck down, I get into the super duper quiet and smooth zone. I first discovered this with the stock screen, so you can imagine that I was excited to get home and swap out for the tall screen, and solve my issues. Oops, not so fast. Even though it's taller, and I moved it up in the mount, I still had to duck (a little less) to get to the sweet spot. This does make me think that if I get some sort of giant barn door thing going I might be ok, but I really don't want to resort to that. I'm not trying to recreate a Gold Wing here, I just want no roaring noise, and little enough turbulence so I can ride for more than 45 minutes without getting a headache.

Also don't think that I'm going for silence here. When I get to the no turbulence setups (stock screen low and raked back is best for this) it's so loud that for the first time in my entire riding life, the roar is deafening _with_ ear plugs in. I didn't even know that was possible. In fact, I rode with that setup earlier today for about 40 min on the freeway, and my ears are ringing still as I type this. And yes, I know how to properly use earplugs (had to use needle nose pliers to get one this past Sunday ).

Thanks all...keep the tips coming!

 

[Sup-Ten]

The side wind deflectors make a difference for me. Currently running a Parabellum with a Madstad bracket along with the Yamaha side wind deflectors, at 6'6" this is one of the smoothest aero setups I've had on any bike.
Try a KTM 990 if you want crazy buffeting, geeez. I ended up with a Madstad on it but before that was ready to stop riding it and sell it so I know the frustration you're feeling. I just haven't experienced that on the S10 like I did the KTM.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[2daMax]

Here is an affordable solution .... from Russia. It is a clip on deflector which works great for me, and used it with the stock screen (2012) that was set to middle position. Deflector set to lowest position such that the objective was to get some air hitting the top of my visors. Went at 190 kph and felt it was no issue, no buffeting, no loud wind noise. I do not have the wind deflectors, as I prefer the wind to cool my body.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/yamaha-xt1200-super-tenere-Universal-Motorcycle-Windshield-Spoiler-smoke-270-140-/141953562514?hash=item210d177792:g:WyYAAOSwAuNW4mfe&vxp=mtr

This shows a tinted version. There is also clear, and a smaller size deflectors. Prepare for slowing shipment out of Russia. I checked the tracking # and the parcel spend most of its time moving from one port to another within Russia. Did get it within 3 weeks (to Malaysia).

 

[dietDrThunder]

Here is an affordable solution .... from Russia. It is a clip on deflector which works great for me, and used it with the stock screen (2012) that was set to middle position. Deflector set to lowest position such that the objective was to get some air hitting the top of my visors. Went at 190 kph and felt it was no issue, no buffeting, no loud wind noise. I do not have the wind deflectors, as I prefer the wind to cool my body.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/yamaha-xt1200-super-tenere-Universal-Motorcycle-Windshield-Spoiler-smoke-270-140-/141953562514?hash=item210d177792:g:WyYAAOSwAuNW4mfe&vxp=mtr

This shows a tinted version. There is also clear, and a smaller size deflectors. Prepare for slowing shipment out of Russia. I checked the tracking # and the parcel spend most of its time moving from one port to another within Russia. Did get it within 3 weeks (to Malaysia).

Wow that is a bargain. I think I'll order one just to have it at that price. Thanks!

 

[Dogdaze]

Wow that is a bargain. I think I'll order one just to have it at that price. Thanks!

Just be aware of the long transit time in Russia, also, the quality is not grade A, probably grade C at best, the hardware looks like it was made using a 3D printer and I needed to clean up and smooth the edges in case of scratches on the screen. The screen is distorted, I think because of the material and thickness (or thinness) used, but on my Calsci tall works so well I did not use earplugs, so I may only use it on long journeys where I need to keep the visor down, with my visor up the wind noise is bearable. Good luck, I know how horrible it can be, I hated riding mine until I got the Calsci screen.

 

[dietDrThunder]

Just be aware of the long transit time in Russia, also, the quality is not grade A, probably grade C at best, the hardware looks like it was made using a 3D printer and I needed to clean up and smooth the edges in case of scratches on the screen. The screen is distorted, I think because of the material and thickness (or thinness) used, but on my Calsci tall works so well I did not use earplugs, so I may only use it on long journeys where I need to keep the visor down, with my visor up the wind noise is bearable. Good luck, I know how horrible it can be, I hated riding mine until I got the Calsci screen.

I appreciate the warning, but I'm not gonna be expecting a whole lot for $40. We'll see!

 

[2112]

::026:: for the Calcsi tall, for screen nirvana (nevermind...) I added an MRA spoiler as well - sorted ::008::

 

[Bryn]

I appreciate the warning, but I'm not gonna be expecting a whole lot for $40. We'll see!

I ordered the same one in clear... and there is no distortion.... I'm pleased with it, and it does make a better job of deflecting the wind than the Wunderlich screen extender I had on before....

Maybe Dogdaze had a bad one? it was a couple of weeks from Russia to England in the post.

 

[tomatocity]

This is a cross-post from adv, but I really badly need help with this, and am desperate.

---

Ok, I'm getting desperate. I recently bought a 2012 S10. I've got a stock screen, a +4" V Stream screen, and I just bought a Power Bronze short/sport screen. In addition, I have a Touratech adjustable screen mount. Despite my nearly infinite amount of options in height, angle, and coverage, all I can seem to accomplish is variation in equally unbearable noise or turbulence, or both.

My priority is quiet and smooth air, rather than coverage. I have ordered a pair of the fairing-attached wind deflectors, but I'm not optimistic that these will have much of an effect in the smoothness factor. I'm thinking my next purchase will be an MRA clamp-on adjustable wing thingy, and if that doesn't work, I have no idea what to do. It's bad, as in, if I can't fix this, I will sell the bike and buy something else kind of bad. I bought it primarily for LD touring and rallies, so I'm not willing to overlook this fun-robbing aspect of an otherwise amazingly great bike.

I'm 6'3 with a 32" inseam. If anyone who shares my dimensions can share a potential solution, I'm all ears. I love the bike enough that I'm willing to try a nearly infinite number of screen options if I think there is a good option.

One thing I saw was that the Madstad adjustable bracket appears to provide for a significantly higher mount than the Touratech model, so this would afford an opportunity to try a whole new set of options with the screens that I have.

Anyway, I know that windshield threads are approaching oil thread proportions, but all of the searching I've done only reveals a bunch of random 'screen x is the best' posts. I'd love to hear from anyone who has struggled like I have, and how they solved the issue.

The member Archer has a very good setup on his '13.

 

[Dogdaze]

I ordered the same one in clear... and there is no distortion.... I'm pleased with it, and it does make a better job of deflecting the wind than the Wunderlich screen extender I had on before....

Maybe Dogdaze had a bad one? it was a couple of weeks from Russia to England in the post.

Bryn, I think I did, it looks as though he made them in a hurry and over-heated the plastic in the bending process, it has air bubbles in it and definitely messes with the 'through' vision.

Also looks about 2mm thick, and your's looks at least 3mm

 

[adventurelounger]

I haven't seen this mentioned in this thread, but I have the X-creen deflector (I think I got it from Revzilla or Twisted Throttle) on my '13 S10. I'm 6'1 and wear a Shoei Neotec modular helmet with earplugs. I don't know if it's my height, but I find the set up to be perfect from a noise/wind/buffeting standpoint. The X-creek adjusts to point the airflow up at an angle that really—for me at least—minimizes anything unpleasant. But FWIW, I don't think a big tall dual sport is or ever will be a Goldwing. Or similarly purpose-built highway lounger. This, from a guy who refers to himself as "Adventurelounger." I'm all in for comfort...somehow, with the X-creen, heated grips, and an Alaska sheepskin seat cover, and perhaps my size, I've managed to really attain it. Here's a snap of my screen:

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[Checkswrecks]

At 6'3" with a 32" inseam, you must have a pretty long torso. Any windscreen or deflector is also going to need to be super tall. You noted that you are not trying to re-create a Goldwing, just kill the buffet.

So start the other way and take a ride without any windscreen.


My guess is that like with an unfaired bike, your head will be in smooth air. Get some heavy cardboard and start making windscreens of increasing height till you find the height which breaks the wind a few inches below your helmet, leaving your helmet in smooth air. Be careful to match the bottom of the cardboard to the stock windscreen, as the air coming underneath is a big factor in flow.


Couple of other thoughts:
Wider windscreens work better, which is one of the secrets to why the Parabellum screens are liked.
We've had people make a baffle to block air coming up from the forks and say the they got some improvement.

 

[backfill]

I am 6'-1" with 32" inseam on 2013 S10. This works for me:

-Madstad bracket
-Givi windscreen
-yamaha side wing thingies.

With earplugs or noise cancelling ear buds, I am in the quiet zone with no buffeting even at highway speeds. It took a bit of moving the screen/bracket around to reach the zone, but i was able to find it.

I hate noise on a bike. I have the S10 sorted out better than my FJR, on which I only have quiet when the electric screen is in the highest position; I just tolerate it the rest of the time.

Good luck finding the zone.