| Author | Message | ||
     Johnboy777 |
Buffeting During High Speed Cruising I have the std. windscreen and i am very happy with it - typically I stay off the interstates, preferring back roads. I had the +4 Zero Gravity for a time, and for me at least, it created more buffeting. Over the weekend I ended up at 80+ MPH for a few hours and the buffeting was crazy, trying to pull my helmet off as it knocked me about. There was zero cross-winds at the time, too. My buddy was on his Honda CX Turbo and was perfectly fine. Any ideas on a windscreen for high-speed cruising. Please only advise from those who are habitually cruising at 80+ MPH ...thanks. . | ||
| Froggy |
Try no windscreen. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Thanks, Froggy ...i'll try it. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Yep, less is more. Think of the windscreen as the leading edge of the creation of a crater in the air. Once the front of the bike punches a hole in the air, the surrounding air rushes in to fill the vacuum. That inrush of air is right about where the rider sits. The bigger the windshield, the larger the vacuum and the greater the buffeting. Theoretically, you could sit closer to the fairing and have the inrush of air occur behind you. This is what happens in sport bikes and part of the reason for the "speed hump" in racing suits. It delays the inrush of air until the very back of the bike at or just behind the tail section. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""Yep, less is more. Think of the windscreen as the leading edge of the creation of a crater in the air. Once the front of the bike punches a hole in the air, the surrounding air rushes in to fill the vacuum. That inrush of air is right about where the rider sits. The bigger the windshield, the larger the vacuum and the greater the buffeting. Theoretically, you could sit closer to the fairing and have the inrush of air occur behind you. This is what happens in sport bikes and part of the reason for the "speed hump" in racing suits. It delays the inrush of air until the very back of the bike at or just behind the tail section."" Hey fatty, So what are you telling me then...i need to plant my helmet on the instrument cluster and put a HUMP on the back of my jacket? . | ||
| Gsilvernale |
The buffeting is coming from under airbox. Meaning that the tank/airbox is sloped to push air up into your chest. Try some side deflectors or a big ass tank bag. | ||
| Froggy |
Thats how I ride, and my leathers got a speed hump on my back too. 75mpg, more comfortable than riding fully straight up, no wind either. Limits eye sight, so I have to be careful on when and where I do it. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
wait a minute ... here's my buddy's bike, he's nearly as tall as I am and can sit normally and not get tossed around at 80+ MPH. I have even had his bike up to 130 with no ill effects. My bike - lots of ill effects! Here's his bike, BTW ...so my thought is that it must be the shape of the windscreen (see how it curves around @ the top).  . | ||
| Froggy |
Aerodynamics are a bitch  That faring setup looks fantastic, you would be able to cruise all day without issue. Perhaps an 1125R fairing swap would be best for you? But it still requires some tucking as its not that tall either. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Froggy keeps forgetting to mention he weighs less than my helmet.... | ||
| Dynasport |
I have the stock 2010 XT screen, which has a bit of an upswept lip on it. It was not great cruising at 80+ which I discovered on the Homecoming trip. I have since added the Palmer Brackets and with the screen in the top and back position I have almost no buffeting at all. It is the difference between night and day. I love it. | ||
| Motorfish |
Check this post out: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/472833.html | ||
| Itileman |
The Laminar Lip on the stock Uly XT shield works fine for me. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The purpose of the laminar lip is to counteract the exact "hole punch" effect I described.  | ||
| Blake |
trying to pull my helmet off as it knocked me about. Get a good helmet with a spoiler. You would not believe the effect of those tiny, almost un-noticeable features on a good helmet. Like night and day difference. | ||
| Trevd |
Madstad brackets and the stock XT shield (tall X shield) does wonders for the buffeting for me. That, and using a tankbag makes my ride almost buffeting free. | ||
| Od_cleaver |
The Madstad brackets under a Parabellum 26" windshield (cut shorter about 1" to 1.5") with Memphis Shade fork deflectors (longer than stock plastic deflectors used) work for me. I made both changes this past winter. The first ride this spring was an amazing experience. I could hear the stock exhaust and not that rush of air. I could sneak up behind a semi and not get that buffeting from the dirty air the semi created. My original plan was to experiment with and without the shades and to adjust the windshield angle and height. I was so pleased with my initial results that I did not changed a thing. With just the Parabellum windshield any buffeting was hidden by the constant roar of air past my helmet. Now, the air flow is better than the Goldwing's or my Electra Glide. I am 6' tall and ride upright. I used the same helmet before and after my changes. The Madstad brackets were not rigid enough to prevent my windshield from flexing. So, I still use support rods from the windshield to the handle bar cross brace. | ||
| Etennuly |
Gsilver has a good point. Hold one hand down towards the front of the air box and you will feel it pushing your hand up. That air comes up the front slope of the fuel tank and causes a lift on the bottom of your helmet and if conditions are right, it can shake it so bad you cannot see. Therefore, you can also try moving the bars back a bit to get some distance from that lifting air, and more into the mix with the flowing air. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Thanks for all of the advise. I'll think I'll give the Madstad a try. http://www.madstad.com/s.nl/sc.7/category.1532/.f | ||
| Smac |
I agree with Itileman & Ft_bstrd...laminar lip is probably the cheapest and easiest fix @ $84. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""I agree with Itileman & Ft_bstrd...laminar lip is probably the cheapest and easiest fix @ $84."" Thanks - i'll look at that one in more detail, before I pull the trigger. ... | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Looks less obtrusive - if it works as advertised?  | ||
| Smac |
I know it's not an A-B comparison, but my friend installed a laminar lip to his H-bus before we did a cross-country trip last summer. We switched rides fairly often and we both STRONGLY noticed the buffeting on the Uly...you could do 100+ mph on the H-bus and felt nothing. Obviously the H-bus is about the best dang aerodynamic bike out there, but the lip definitely helped. After that trip, he never took it off!  | ||
| Ulyscol |
I had major buffeting on my Ulysses and tried several different things. What worked best for me was a new helmet and no windscreen. I felt the change in helmet was the most significant improvement. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
+1 on windscreen off being better. I want to try other shields but don't want to pay $1000000000 to find the one that works for me best. The funny thing is the best "windscreen" on a bike I've ever had was my 1979 XLH speedo and tach. Also, 150 miles per hour. shuuure.  Also, ha ha ha ha! I had it up to 115 back in the day. | ||
| Itileman |
I've heard both good and bad about the Lip. I have an RKA mini tank bag, so there's really nothing much deflecting air from underneath, which there seems to be less of with the Lip. Wind direction can cause some turbulence, but overall, my skull stays pretty much unshaken. | ||
| Ejbeert |
+1 madstad, aluminum flyscreen and spider style shield, with memphis shades lowers | ||
| Bttrthnwrk |
I had a laminar lip on my stock Uly screen for awhile when it was new. After prying the velcro pieces apart to take it off and later putting it back on a couple of times, it had a disturbing tendency to fly off when I got over 55 MPH. Velcro - Pfft! Never hit my helmet, but it sure did make me duck and swear a few times. I finally gave up on it and switched to a set of Palmer brackets and a tall Buell shield. Lowest position, farthest back slope. That works fine for me at any speed. 5" 10", 32" inseam, seated upright mostly. Also, I've found that just weighting the pegs a little drastically reduces the wind shear from trucks on the freeway (as long as I'm on the opposite side of the lane from them). | ||
| Df3112 |
I have the Lip on a tall XT windscreen on my 2010 X Works pretty good but still get the updraft from the tank. Been thinking on some shields / guards similar to the memphis shades. Any pics of these set-ups ? | ||
| Motorfish |
See my last post, Df, check out the links in it. | ||
| Helibuell |
I have the tall windshield. I glued a 3/8" thick cushion between the flyscreen and the windshield to prevent it from folding back. The laminar lip added recently, was a waste of money as far as I'm concerned. It slightly changes the location of the buffeting, that's all. The most noticeable improvement was with the custom made lowers I fabricated from acrylic. They're pictured somewhere down this thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/470190.html?1246054336 Recently, I cut some new ones a bit higher and wider than shown on the pictures. Total cost about $20. of material at the hardware store Cheers | ||
| Metra6924 |
On Etennuly's advice, I tried adjusting the bars back a bit (I like cheap fixes). I could only get up to 50 in traffic tonight, but I did notice a difference. Moving back a bit seems to have reduced the turbulence and wind noise. I'll know better this weekend when I can get out of rush hour traffic. |
