Wind Buffeting- 2007

Thank you so much for the input on my recent question on luggage. I'm still struggling on the decision but feel a lot more informed. I figure I'll have the winter to mull over. I do have to pull it in a tight space so the side bags do enter into the mix where a top case would not.

I have another question for the experienced sixth gen riders out there. I have taken my bike out for some short trips (under 50 miles) and have been very surprised at the wind buffeting I have encounted at highway speed. It's much worse on my VFR than on my old CBR600f1. I would not have expected this since the VFR is well known as a sport tourer. Could it be that i'm just taller (6'2) than what the bike fairing was designed for? My average highway speed is 75 to 80 mph and I've encountered various wind condition days as well as direction of travel. It's worse on the interstate even when no other cars or vehicles around. It moves my helmet around quite a bit and does require some
extra effort to stay lined up with the line of sight.

Is there an aftermarket windsheild or even a simple solution such as blocking off the wind tunnel access between the windshield and the instrument panel? Am I just spoiled from a previous bike that was unusually smooth in this area? It would seem this would get really tiring after a longer trip.

At 6' 2" you should be riding above the wind blast off the screen and be in "clean" air as long as you are not riding in traffic. I have about 45,000 miles on my 6th and those miles include traveling long distance high speed highway miles across the big western states and I have found the wind management pretty good on the VFR.

Having said that, one must keep in mind I'm talking basically an unfared bike, it does not compare to a touring fared type bike. Because you ride up in clean air, big cross winds, or head winds will indeed buffet you. A taller screen will most likely, like they do on almost every bike, just increase noise until you size up to a barn door size one and those don't fit on a VFR.

"Rad's"... Right on with what's,what...... I'd like to know your feelings, after you go for a ride with the screen tunnel blocked off(think I'll do it just to see).....

I'm thinking, what is the shape of your helmet? They have some(most anymore) helmets that are designed to stop the buffeting..... Myself being 6' , I'm picturing the wind on you is right about collarbone high, which is going to channel most of the force right between your neck and shoulders buffeting the helmet from underneath, and no helmet will help that. You'll have two ways to go, as Rad said if it was lower on you, it will let the helmet work(shape), or it can be about 4" higher which will bring the blast to near the top of your helmet visor and that's almost as good... The real area of contention with wind and helmets, is the area underneath.

Another thing is the buffeting of our bodies(shoulders)... the only mod would be to widen the windscreen.... but I haven't seen any problems in fare air.... but side winds, or following semi's, etc. does bring on the buffeting.... I control that by bringing my elbows into my body ... works well to keep the transfer from my arms to the handlebars... and the bike stays straight ..... I'm sure you'll get a lot more help on which screens/helmets work.... hopefully some 6'2"s will chime in....

Helmet wise, I have found that sound problems come from the most part, at the bottom padding that goes around the neck..... It needs to be "one piece" and snug all around the bottom.... the rest of the noise comes from shell design and gadgets attached to it. That's where the pips here can help as well....

I will be stuffing a rag in the tunnel, and checking you idea out... good luck in you quest...

The insane wind noise is the biggest dissapointment to me with my '07. I have tried the stock shield (sucked) the Zero gravity touring shield (ugly and still sucked) and a stock shield cut down even with the "arms", removing about 3" which is the best so far, but still not great. I'm not sure what the cure is going to be, but hopefully it's cheaper than a new bike. Keep us posted on what works for you.

George

On my 5th Gen, riding behind (even a hundred feet behind) a tractor trailer or other large vehicle, my bike buffets side to side like it's in a paint can shaker. No problem it's just annoying. I just pass the vehicle for clean air.

I'm 6', and the wind blast hits me right about at the shoulders (OEM windscreen). This is acceptable to me and I'm very used to it. My helmet isn't noticably affected. I'm happy with my OEM windscreen and my Caberg Helmet.

I've ridden across Iowa, SD, and ND at 85-90 mph and was quite comfortable. When strong buffeting side winds hit, though, it was a different story, but I would think that would negatively affect most riders.

I think I probably speak for most of us when I say that I am surprised that someone your height (6'2") is experiencing buffeting.

Simply test to see if windshield needs to go up or down to alleviate.

While riding, scooch down a little, observe changes in wind effects, then extended your body to raise head as high as possible, observe wind effects.

Your head position relative to the top edge of windshield is not strictly related to your body height, but rather to your arm length and upper body length.

If you wear a backpack, if you tilt your head more forward (locking out of the top edge of your visor), you will also affect the wind around you.

Brian

I bought an MRA Vario Touring for my 07.I do wear foam earplugs.I have been over 100 mph and didn't experience "head shake".I'm 6'1" and find (with earplugs) just a breeze going by at 70 or so.I also wear a full-face Shoei helmet.
I believe someone had one for sale here or on VFRWorld for pretty cheap.
You might also do a search for windshield comparison that someone was nice enough to provide for the forum.

[image: View Post]vfroforient, on Oct 5 2009, 12:02 PM, said:

I bought an MRA Vario Touring for my 07.I do wear foam earplugs.I have been over 100 mph and didn't experience "head shake".I'm 6'1" and find (with earplugs) just a breeze going by at 70 or so.I also wear a full-face Shoei helmet.
I believe someone had one for sale here or on VFRWorld for pretty cheap.
You might also do a search for windshield comparison that someone was nice enough to provide for the forum.
+1 on the ear plugs! I never ride without them. Going 100 mph wearing ear plugs is more comfortable and calming than going 50 mph (or even slower) without them. I don't know how people maintain their sanity without them. (Well maybe I'm on to something here!)

[image: View Post]Knife, on Oct 5 2009, 01:37 PM, said:

[image: View Post]vfroforient, on Oct 5 2009, 12:02 PM, said:

I bought an MRA Vario Touring for my 07.I do wear foam earplugs.I have been over 100 mph and didn't experience "head shake".I'm 6'1" and find (with earplugs) just a breeze going by at 70 or so.I also wear a full-face Shoei helmet.
I believe someone had one for sale here or on VFRWorld for pretty cheap.
You might also do a search for windshield comparison that someone was nice enough to provide for the forum.
+1 on the ear plugs! I never ride without them. Going 100 mph wearing ear plugs is more comfortable and calming than going 50 mph (or even slower) without them. I don't know how people maintain their sanity without them. (Well maybe I'm on to something here!)
:fing02: :fing02: :fing02: Earplugs.... ! ! !

[image: View Post]Monk, on Oct 5 2009, 11:13 AM, said:

Helmet wise, I have found that sound problems come from the most part, at the bottom padding that goes around the neck....


I've noticed the same thing. Some days my helmet fits just right and I get a nice quiet ride. Later in the day if I remove and replace my helmet I notice more wind noise. If I stick my hand up near my collar the noise goes away. I've got a good helmet (Arai Corsair) with a tight fitting liner and earplugs. Must be my scrawny neck. Maybe I need to work out more?

I'm 6ft and dont have a problem with buffetting UNTIL I have a pillion on the back, then I get quite unpleasant buffetting.

I cant work out why this happens, it must be something to do with the airflow between the 2 helmets.

Anyone else noticed this?

Another excuse to leave the wife home. :rolleyes:

[image: View Post]dogman, on Oct 6 2009, 07:15 AM, said:

I'm 6ft and dont have a problem with buffetting UNTIL I have a pillion on the back, then I get quite unpleasant buffetting.

I cant work out why this happens, it must be something to do with the airflow between the 2 helmets.

Anyone else noticed this?

Another excuse to leave the wife home. :rolleyes:
Thank you for the near-plausible excuse. I'm going to use it on occasion. :biggrin:

[image: View Post]dogman, on Oct 6 2009, 07:15 AM, said:

I'm 6ft and dont have a problem with buffetting UNTIL I have a pillion on the back, then I get quite unpleasant buffetting.

I cant work out why this happens, it must be something to do with the airflow between the 2 helmets.

Anyone else noticed this?

Another excuse to leave the wife home. :rolleyes:

Yep. Not being an aeronautical engineer, I can't give you a precise explanation, but her helmet interferes with the "tail" of the airflow pattern of your helmet which creates varying low and high pressure spots around your helmet, pulling your head around. That's not worded very well, but yes, it has to do with the airflow between the two helmets.

[image: View Post]Ryanme17, on Oct 6 2009, 08:57 AM, said:

[image: View Post]dogman, on Oct 6 2009, 07:15 AM, said:

I'm 6ft and dont have a problem with buffetting UNTIL I have a pillion on the back, then I get quite unpleasant buffetting.

I cant work out why this happens, it must be something to do with the airflow between the 2 helmets.

Anyone else noticed this?

Another excuse to leave the wife home. :rolleyes:

Yep. Not being an aeronautical engineer, I can't give you a precise explanation, but her helmet interferes with the "tail" of the airflow pattern of your helmet which creates varying low and high pressure spots around your helmet, pulling your head around. That's not worded very well, but yes, it has to do with the airflow between the two helmets.

When my wife has her head directly behind mine, it will cause my head to move side-to-side. When her head is to one side, even a little bit, the turbulence will stop. When she leans back against the backrest on the Givi topcase, the turbulence will stop. It's not a bothersome thing.

And +1 on the earplugs - always wear them.

As for the windscreen, I run a stocker, and at 5' 9", I'm up in clean air from the neck up. If you want to get air pocket to extend above your head, you'd need one mondo screen on your VFR. We have a Goldwing, and I run that screen just below eye level, which gets the wind just over my head. Barn door.

Hmmm, why are all us tall people riding this little wee bike on long journeys?
Myself, also over 6 feet and found significant buffeting on my VFR, I wear an Arai helmet.
And ear plugs of some sort are mandatory, on any bike, for me.

What I have found is the bike seems engineered for a person of average height.
Get some pieces of yarn about 24" long and tape them to the the top of the windshield.
These tell-tales will show you exactly where the wind is spilling off the screen.

I found the wind blast basically hit me in the neck area and lower helmet area.
I tried some deflectors and these made it worse.
I tried blocking the pressure relief opening at the base of the screen and this also made it worse.

Then I took a close look at some screens on smaller bikes and realized something.
They are all quite a bit lower and not so large in general.
The rider sits with shoulders, neck and head all clearly up in the airstream.

But not on a VFR, so I set about changing my windscreen so that it is lower, much lower.
I reduced the heigth by about 4" putting it about the same as the fairing top.
I used the wool tell-tales again and now the wind hits me square in the chest, where it should.
And the buffeting has stopped, the wind noise has deminished and it is a much nicer ride.

For me, now I fell more like I am riding a naked bike which is a big improvement, for me.
Some might not like this and they might even want an even taller windscreen.
But I like to feel the wind and lean on it, biking has always been this way for me.

I never think about the wind buffeting. I'm 2 inches shorter than you and your height is a factor. I still think the VFR stock shield would buffet with any height person on it but the Geico gecko.

If there was no wind buffeting, we would likely be riding Gold Wings.... :rolleyes: I, like many other outlaws here, have had my VFR's to "ridiculous" speeds with no problem. :biggrin:

[image: View Post]Bikes, on Oct 6 2009, 10:26 PM, said:

Hmmm, why are all us tall people riding this little wee bike on long journeys?
Myself, also over 6 feet and found significant buffeting on my VFR, I wear an Arai helmet.
And ear plugs of some sort are mandatory, on any bike, for me.

What I have found is the bike seems engineered for a person of average height.
Get some pieces of yarn about 24" long and tape them to the the top of the windshield.
These tell-tales will show you exactly where the wind is spilling off the screen.

I found the wind blast basically hit me in the neck area and lower helmet area.
I tried some deflectors and these made it worse.
I tried blocking the pressure relief opening at the base of the screen and this also made it worse.

Then I took a close look at some screens on smaller bikes and realized something.
They are all quite a bit lower and not so large in general.
The rider sits with shoulders, neck and head all clearly up in the airstream.

But not on a VFR, so I set about changing my windscreen so that it is lower, much lower.
I reduced the heigth by about 4" putting it about the same as the fairing top.
I used the wool tell-tales again and now the wind hits me square in the chest, where it should.
And the buffeting has stopped, the wind noise has deminished and it is a much nicer ride.

For me, now I fell more like I am riding a naked bike which is a big improvement, for me.
Some might not like this and they might even want an even taller windscreen.
But I like to feel the wind and lean on it, biking has always been this way for me.

You aren't alone here, a lot of people have this preference. I've heard recommendations to take an extra stock screen, and cut it down to see if this works better. It makes sense as clean air has no buffeting. Personally, I find my neck gets too sore in the wind, anyone else have this? My hands/wrists could go forever compared to when my neck/upper back gets too sore.

I tend to forget one small fact, I have had Heli-Bars on my bike for about 40,000 miles; that puts me up higher in cleaner air. They have been on so long I forget they are not stock :laugh:

I'm 6'2" as well and I get blasted from the neck up. My head is above the screen. It does feel like a wobble head at times. Your neck muscles will get stronger and it wont be as bad. How heavy is your helmet?

Try riding a standard bike and you will see the vfr is fantastic with minimal buffeting.

I thought the whole point of the dual channeled windflow was to cut buffeting, I've not tried to block it , seems so simple to do and notice the effect.

Come on somebody has already done it?

I can feel it with my hand. The air is completly calm until right above the lip of the screen and then there is a blast of air. Thats exactly where my head is. But still, it's relatively minor.

Ride the other way....................... :blink:

[image: View Post]dogman, on Oct 6 2009, 07:15 AM, said:

I'm 6ft and dont have a problem with buffetting UNTIL I have a pillion on the back, then I get quite unpleasant buffetting.

I cant work out why this happens, it must be something to do with the airflow between the 2 helmets.

Anyone else noticed this?

Another excuse to leave the wife home. :rolleyes:
You call it buffetting---on my bike the pillion is just a lot of hot air.

[image: View Post]vfroforient, on Oct 8 2009, 09:44 AM, said:

[image: View Post]dogman, on Oct 6 2009, 07:15 AM, said:

I'm 6ft and dont have a problem with buffetting UNTIL I have a pillion on the back, then I get quite unpleasant buffetting.

I cant work out why this happens, it must be something to do with the airflow between the 2 helmets.

Anyone else noticed this?

Another excuse to leave the wife home. :rolleyes:
You call it buffetting---on my bike the pillion is just a lot of hot air.


:laugh: :laugh:

Right on, buddy.

Thanks so much for the input. I wish I could try some of them out but it's been less that
ideal weather the last couple of days. I think the tight helmet fit and earplug advice will probably be what
I go with. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

You are 6' 2" but what is your effective height when sitting? I am 5' 10" but have a long torso and 30" inseam so when I am sitting on the VFR my effective height is about 6' and I get no wind buffeting as the spill off the screen hits me at my upper chest. Around 80 mph everything smooths out really nice. Even better than at 60. I like the wind tunnel yarn thing. Seems the best way to absolutely know what the air flow is doing and look really funny for everyone who sees you. :rolleyes:

Remove the screen entirely and go for a ride. If you find it to be a lot better, cut the screen down, or buy a cheap aftermarket screen and cut that down.

I'm 6'5" and the buffeting on my '04 was pretty annoying. Bobble head, as someone in this thread called it, gets old pretty fast. I bought an MRA screen with a lip (not the Vario, a fixed lip) from Twisted Throttle and it moved the airstream up but that stream was more turbulent off the lip, making things worse. I eventually took that screen to a bandsaw and a bench mounted sander for shaping, I used masking tape to make lines to cut to. Eventually I ended up with something shaped like a boomerang. It's as small as possible really. And that's given me the best airflow.