windscreens

[hickeybond]

hello everyone! i got the bike apart and checked the thermostat and the fan. thank god all work. now how to fix that damn temp gauge. added another ground wire to it and presto! it works now..have another question while i am sorting this girl out. i think the stock windshield is on the bike, but i want something that i can look over, im kind of seeing right at the top of the screen and i dont like it. what screen do you guys(or girls) think is the best screen for the 01 voyager?

[triton28]

The OEM windscreen had a bottom band of dark smoke tinting for some reason. Whatever windscreen you choose as a replacement measure it's thickness against the one you have now. The reason I say this is that the OEM screen is thinner than some replacement windscreens and when tightening down the mounting bolts the steel collar which the bolt goes through will not reach the mounting stay and if the bolt is over tightened on some non-OEM windscreens cracking can result.
Check the thickness before tightening the bolts! You may have to add a washer or two to the bottom part of the bolt/collar combo where it binds against the cowling mounting stay.

[cranky]

...many folks cut their shield down, little time and patience....

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sxs ... PX9ZngBg37

[Barry]

After you cut it down too far, replacement windshields with a wonderful vent are available from Clearview.
https://www.clearviewshields.com/motorc ... 0-shields/
They are a quality shield. Mine is 15 years old and I just got around to cutting it shorter this spring.

[cranky]

... BTDT.... new one on the way!!!! GBG I did a 13 day 3750 trip and the wind
on my cheap helmet told me I needed more protection!!!!

[Barry]

which one did you order? The tinted is nice. Didn't like it when riding in the dark.

[cranky]

... 19" clear (agree - no tint) with vent... Clearview...

[Barry]

So I had a 27 inch shield hoping to minimize wind turbulence for my wife. It didn't help. She stopped riding with me years ago. So the same shield is now 23 inches. That works fine on long rides with a full coverage helmet. During the summer I like an open face helmet. On longer rides the open face gets more wind noise. I suppose I could snap a face shield on it, but then it would defeat the idea of an open face helmet.

[cranky]

... those cheap little foam ear plugs? Works for me, cuts the noise
down at least.....

[Nails]

I use two windshields, 15.5" and 9" (winter/summer respectively). I started with something like 27". When I cut it to 15.5, my pillion reported much less turbulence. I also had less helmet buffeting. And at 9", even more of the same. I don't want to go lower because I think it'd look funny.

I've since converted my XII to solo touring, so all I can talk about is the rider. At 9", I get a lot less helmet buffeting but more air noise. The slip-stream catches me at about nose level (I'm 5'7"). Plenty of air, but basically "clean" laminar flow. Photos are 9", all I've worn when touring.

The 15.5 hits across the top of my helmet. It's a little less noise than 9"; and if I duck a little, I get less still. But definitely more buffeting. If I had it to do over again, I'd at least try 17". However, I might also get a lot of buffeting and lose too much helmet ventilation, so dunno.

(Barry, I think you could go below 20" and do just fine with the open face helmet. My Nolan, below, has a removable chin bar; and I go open-face in NPs &etc just fine. That's at 9", but also <50mph.)

Since cutting up the windshields, I replaced a cheap POS helmet with a nice Nolan. The above air noise comments are with the Nolan. The POS made a ton of noise no matter what ... until I got down to 9". Even in POS, it was noticeably less buffeting but a little noisier.

I've worn foam earplugs way, way too much (years of running a chainsaw). Now I have trouble tolerating them -- earwax. I've tried many alternatives, but lately settled on wax earplugs. They basically plug up the ear opening instead of sticking inside the ear canal. They often get leaks, but even so the noise isn't much.

To each his own.

[cranky]

... my cheap helmet gave me lotsa noise on my last trip to Deadwood (first use)
and while riding, I was moving around to try different heights and I just ordered
a Clearview 19" with vent.... hope that is a better ride... I needed a new
shield anyway.... "somebody" did a crap job of cutting.... ahem... GBG

[Nails]

Curious to hear how it works. I'm predicting less buffeting but about the same level of noise. Also curious whether the top is in your line of sight.

[cranky]

... as I was moving around, I'll guess about nose level...... should get it soon.....
There was a point the noise really came down, hope I hit the sweet spot....