[rmm]

Background:
I just bought a new helmet (scorpion ex-700, neon green). It's the first new, correctly fitting helmet ive ever owned. It does an amazing job of keeping quiet and remaining in place, even that time i took it up to 90-100mph on a closed course.

An interesting thing I read on webbike world's (very comprehensive) reviews of several helmets, is that they consistently mentioned that the helmet being reviewed was quieter on NAKED bikes than it was on faired bikes, because they are dealing with 'virgin airflow' that i presume is more similar to wind tunnel conditions than 'messy aiflow' coming off anything besides a major touring sized windscreen.

I just took my S2R (with stock mini-windshield) on a 120mi hwy ride and was shocked to find that when I dipped my head even slightly to get "covered" by the windshield, the noise and buffeting was terrible. Now that my helmet fits and doesn't squash into my nose at high speeds, i'm wondering if I'd be better off without the windscreen?

or maybe if I got the poorducrider windscreen stays i'd get a 'cleaner' path cut thru the wind?

any ideas?

 

[Want1B4IDie]

Took the stock screen off my S2R yesterday and was very surprised at the lack of turbulence I experienced on my 60 mile round trip interstate ride and 250+ mile country/mountain road trip with a group of riders from US Desmo. Now that I read this it does seem as if the stock screen made for dirtier air than I realized. I too ride with a Scorpion EXO-700 so I suggest removing it and seeing what you think. It felt great to me. I thought I would get clobbered by the wind and experience more noise. Was not the case however.

 

[rmm]

Interesting - I think I'm going to take the windscreen off and see how it feels.

BTW - how do you find the EX-700 fits? Before i bought it (a week ago) I was wearing a helmet that was slightly too large - and now that I got a medium sized EX-700 i'm getting a pressure point headache and a red spot on the top of my forehead after about 1 hour.

 

[Frosty_spl]

I don't have a windscreen, and it feels like my helmet is being pulled off my head at 70.

 

[Want1B4IDie]

I should have mentioned that when I do turn my head to look back I get some good noise, but otherwise everything is as I said in the first post. I also have been riding at 70-90 on the interstate all this past weekend as I went to other areas to find some mountains, things felt pretty good without the screen. Personal preference too I guess. I get excited when I ride plus I tend to concentrate mostly on the ride so maybe I'm not focusing on the obvious. I don't want to steer you wrong for sure.

You may find the ride without the screen horrible as does the rider above. I'm leaving mine off. I hope you find the size helmet that does you justice, however. I know a too tight helmet can be a painful and distracting experience. Maybe try the one size larger Scorp if possible. I liked them because of the price point obviously and the fit has been spot on. I don't know if pad replacement is an option. Somebody on here may know the answer to that for ya.

 

[mstevens]

I strongly suspect this varies by individual, based on torso length and other anatomical factors. I'm a short guy with little stumpy legs, but my back is long. I can't sit in many cars without hitting my head on the roof - seated, my head is higher than my 6' 2" dad's.

On my Monster, without the bikini fairing, highway-speed wind blast hits me mid-chest. With the fairing, it hits right between my eyes.

There's also variability in terms of what's "better" or "worse." I often like the wind blast hitting my faceshield because it does a much better job of forcing off water or sometimes even dust and bugs. Just a little tuck, and the stream goes over my helmet if my neck is getting tired.

 

[rmm]

Good call...

So far the best argument I (personally) can come up with for keeping the windscreen is that when I'm really going for it on the hwy, I have the option of the super-crouch, chin on tank, that will truly get me out of the wind. of course this is only do-able for a short stretch, but it is a valuable option to have for high speed truck passing, etc.

 

[bigjilm]

My M1100 came with a flyscreen installed, plus a small plastic instrument panel cover if I want to remove the flyscreen. Thing is, it didn't come with instructions for doing the swap.

I took a look last night, figuring I'd try riding without it for a while, but I could figure out how to remove the flyscreen. Any M1100 owners know how to do it?

 

[mykrrrr]

My M1100 came with a flyscreen installed, plus a small plastic instrument panel cover if I want to remove the flyscreen. Thing is, it didn't come with instructions for doing the swap.

I took a look last night, figuring I'd try riding without it for a while, but I could figure out how to remove the flyscreen. Any M1100 owners know how to do it?

696 and 1100 have the same set up.

1) Remove the four bolts holding the flyscreen to the bracket.
2) Remove the brackets. You'll see that they're have semi-captured nylock nuts on the inside of the instrument cluster.
3) There are two brass threaded inserts on the backside of the instrument cluster that the cover will bolt to. You might have the proper bolts already threaded into those inserts but you might not as was the case with my 696. I just picked up some M4 or M3 (can't remember) bolts at your local hardware store.

5 min job all in all. IMO the bike looks much better w/o the flyscreen.

 

[oalvarez]

just removed the flyscreen/bikini fairing myself....i think it looks much better as well.

 

[bigjilm]

696 and 1100 have the same set up.

1) Remove the four bolts holding the flyscreen to the bracket.
...

That sounds way too easy - I'll take a look tonight. Thanks for that.

Now I'm wondering how I missed those bolts...

 

[bigjilm]

I took a look again at my flyscreen today - are we talking about the hex-head screws around the face of the instrument cluster? I tried taking an allen key to them, but they are on super-tight and I don't want to reef on them unless I'm sure these are the right screws.

 

[oalvarez]

there are two on each side, and they are on top of one another, both should be black. i think they were of the 3mm variety. i had to use a ball headed hex key to remove the last one as it was on pretty darn tight as well. so i removed the three easier ones, wiggled the fairing a bit which seemed to do the trick allowing for more easy removal of the final bolt.

 

[bigjilm]

Thanks oalvarez. I'll give that a shot...

 

[bigjilm]

I just took off my flyscreen this morning and went for a short rip on the highway - I'm not sure if it's better or worse without it, but I've got a roadtrip this weekend that will tell me for sure. I did notice that more air was going into my jacket, which is a good thing in August.

 

[oalvarez]

i wonder too if some of it is just in our minds....that bikini fairing is awfully small, but i'm sure that if it were to undergo a wind tunnel test it would show some deviation in the airflow.

i personally like the looks without it though.

 

[rmm]

the more i think about it the crazier it seems to ride a naked bike on the highway, above 60. even with a well fitting helmet and earplugs, there is some crazy pressure stuff going on inside my helmet, especially if i move my head at all to look behind me, which i always do before changing lanes. i always thought of the monster as 'less extreme' than the sportbike i switched from, but looking back, crotch rockets with their full fairings are starting to look like touring bikes.

of course that then means that your bike is wrapped in a $2000 non-repairable liability known as painted fiberglass.... which i've had plenty of pain in the ass experiences with.

All this makes me think that a naked bike with a big wraparound headlight fairing like the paul smart replica or the sport classic might be the perfect compromise? wind on my legs has never bothered me.... its mostly the chest buffeting and eardrum blasting/neck snapping at hwy speeds.

 

[Darkrides]

I have a National Cycle F-18 double bubble windshield on my 02 750. In the Dark tint, it matches my Dark well. Try Nationalcycle.com and you can look up your choices by bike and model.

The F-18 keeps the windblast off my chest. Without it, when I go over 80 mph, the wind really trys to throw me off of the bike.

With the windshield, the lack of air on my chest makes a day of riding a lot less tiring in a very physical sense. I am not fighting the wind just to stay on when I wick up the speed.

The airflow to my helmet is uniform, so I do not hear any more noise with it on. This is good as I usually listen to my Ipod when on the bike.

Unless you don't like the look of a windshield, I think a windshield is a good investment.

Tom.

 

[bigjilm]

I just did a 600 km ride (over two days) on the weekend without my windshield, and I think I prefer it. The windshield was definitely increasing the amount of window on my head, and it's much less fatiguing without it.

I've always had problems with the wind noise/pressure in my helmet, even with earplugs. None of my friends need the earplugs, even the ones with identical helmets and naked bikes. The noise was even worse on my Ninja, unless I tucked way down on the tank.

 

[rmm]

This thread as a whole is making me realize (i guess it's obvious) that the monster has zero highway credentials. Obviously it IS possible to ride it on the highway... but it really is not anything approaching a do-everything bike.

Of course what the monster does do well (city, town, backroads) it does beautifully. Which is why I'm presently trying to decide if I'm going to sell it and get a multistrada, or keep it and get an older moto guzzi cruiser. leaning towards the latter.

El Dorado anyone?