Having splitting headaches after riding.

[Skunkhome]

I have noticed that after riding I end up having terrible headaches. I thought it was because I wasn't wearing dark glasses but yesterday I noticed that my face was sore as well after riding. After riding at night I decided to raise the windshield to take the bugs over my head but the turbulence is so great coming over the top that my helmit and glasses vibrate constantly and so violently that it actually blurts my vision. Today I decided to take my windshield off and see how bad it was. Oh my goodness, what a difference! There is the sound of rushing air but my 3/4 helmit all but eliminates the noise. My vision is clear and after riding I don't feel like I just lost a fight. What a difference it makes to have your head cutting the air rather than being busted by a disturbed air flow. Maybe I should just get a face shield to keep from getting hammers by bugs at night. Have you guys with windshields tried riding without the wind screen? You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Rionna]

Hmmm...interesting. I'm glad your headaches are better. That takes away the joy of riding if you're suffering afterwards. I have a windshield, but have had no problems. My windshield is normally splattered with bugs so I don't think taking the windshield off would be a pretty sight. lol

[JWR]

Only 2 ways to have a shield.

Real short or real tall.

I too hate the wind blast on my head and eyeballs.

A small shield to take the blast off of my upper body is the best that I have found.

http://www.giviusa.com

[fatoldfool]

Probably wind noise is the reason for your headaches. I expect you are also suffering some hearing loss from the noise and buffeting. The top of your windshield should be level with your nose. A well designed windshield at that level should not have much turbulence. Back in the 70s I had an Aerofoil on a 550 Suki that you could actually smoke a cigarette behind. I made 300 mile trips with that one. Also rode it summer and winter. Since getting older and liking my comfort a bit, I have started riding a full face helmet part of the time. I think that is going to become permanent, mainly because I have severe noise induced hearing loss. I am more a fan of well designed windshields than a fan of big windshields.

[Rookie Rider]

Try ear plugs.

[Skunkhome]

I use plugs. The turbulence with the windshield in place is enough to loosen your teeth. And hearing loss? Huh? I have had tenitus for years.

[dentheman]

I ride with a modular helmet, earplugs, and no windshield. The only problems I have with this is my eyes dry out from the forced air through the chin vent (I will get eyedrops) and my face shield and jacket get a coating of insect remains. I was thinking of getting one of those cheap windshields from Amazon, around $58 I think, to help with the insects on my jacket. But now I think the windshield might be too small on my Shadow. I am getting tired of taking my jacket out back and hosing it down after a ride.
But I would still have to clean the bugs off the windshield. It's a no-win situation!

[PimpS]

Having headaches usually comes from simple reasons:
- dehidration - one of the first simptoms of it is headache, brains need water to function normally, otherwise they'll give you pain (having a hangover is very hard core form of general dehidraton of your brains).
- helmet size: when helmet is too small for your head, it usually results with headache, cause the pressure makes bad blood circulation, ergo less blood, less food and water for your brain, ergo headache...
- wind: being exposed to strong winds to your head can also result with a headache, but that is not a rule to everyone.

:) Dr. PimpS suggests: check your helmet size, drink plenty of water before riding and when you make a stop. Don't, even though many of you might bully me cause of that, drink beer - it makes your dehidration faster, unless you drink some non alcohol liquid before and after. Also, you say you wear glasses - if you are experiencing headaches also when you are not riding at all, many times the reason for headache is changed eyesight; if you are older than 40 and your vision was always short sighted, you might be experiencing your eyesight getting better (that's why a need for new pair of glasses with different eyesight), cause as we age our eyesight gets long sighted...
I hope i was understandable...

[alantf]

I have severe noise induced hearing loss.

So have I. In England it's called "industrial deafness" from working with noisy tools. I just take my hearing aids out while riding.

[alantf]

With regard to windshields :- I've been riding for the best part of 50 years, and NEVER been able to get one adjusted properly. I hate 'em. I always wear a ¾ helmet with a face shield. My latest helmet (an LS2) has the biggest face shield I've ever worn. You can pull it partly down (click, click, click principle) to just protect the eyes, or fully down to just under chin level, to protect the whole face.It also has a second, smoked, shield, operated by a little lever at the side, so you don't need sunglasses. I reckon it's the best helmet I've ever had, & definitely no need for a windshield. :)

[Water Warrior 2]

A lot of wind and wind noise comes from below the wind shield on many bikes. This can be quite sucessfully remedied with lowers attached to the front forks to divert the wind. Take a look at some of the bigger cruisers and you will see them.
The lowers can also eliminate the buffeting your helmet receives and shakes your eyes half way out of your head.
Another method used is putting a leather or fabric panel on the crash bars to redirect the wind, rain or cold air in the chilly season. The panels just happen to do the wind noise, buffeting prevention thing as a nice by-product.

[fatoldfool]

This windshield worked well for me and it was a cheapie.

[dentheman]

A lot of wind and wind noise comes from below the wind shield on many bikes. This can be quite sucessfully remedied with lowers attached to the front forks to divert the wind. Take a look at some of the bigger cruisers and you will see them.
The lowers can also eliminate the buffeting your helmet receives and shakes your eyes half way out of your head.
Another method used is putting a leather or fabric panel on the crash bars to redirect the wind, rain or cold air in the chilly season. The panels just happen to do the wind noise, buffeting prevention thing as a nice by-product.The wind noise I hear comes directly from my helmet. Does the windshield make its own noise, or does it cause more noise to come from the helmet due to airflow?

[Water Warrior 2]

A lot of helmets create their own noise with or without a windshield. My older back-up helmet is quite noticeably louder and windier than it's newer replacement. Both are HJC helmets but the shape and slightly altered areodynamics make a world of difference. The newer Modular does not suffer from speed induced buffeting and rattled eyeball syndrome.
If possible always try for a test ride with a new helmet before purchase. I lucked out with my online purchase. I was and still am satisfied with the helmet but I made the mistake of trying on a Shoei Multitech Modular helmet a couple years ago. OMG, what a difference in fit and comfort. It was the exact fit for my head and felt like a second skin on my skull. If the cost hadn't not been an issue that day I would have likely bought it.
Go to webbikeworld for comprehensive evaluations of helmets. They do real world testing and come to some surprising conclusions now and again. A helmet should never give you a headache or blur your vision.

[Water Warrior 2]

Second part of the reply. Some windshields will do more harm than good. When trying to determine a noise/wind/buffeting solution there are many factors involved. First is the type of bike. Second the rider him/herself. Tall in the saddle, wide in the saddle. Do you lean back or forward? Speed in general. There are so many variables that a definitive answer is nearly impossible to suggest.
Experimenting with the Vstrom. Stock bike with original helmet. Noisy, uncomfortable and lots of buffetting around the helmet. Always wearing ear plugs and glasses. Not real happy. Crappy stock seat good for 15 minutes and then get off for a smoke or die of pain. Gel pad on seat, not much better for the butt but sitting higher in the wind. Nuts. Ordered Factory Gel seat and adjustable windshield brackets from aftermarket. Very successful long distant ride through the Rockies.
Sore wrists on ocassion, ordered bar risers and grip puppies for grips. Great.
New bigger windshield from Givi to keep drier in rain.
Foot pegs on crash bars to stretch out even more and a change in weigh distribution.
Now I have a drivers backrest, a Corbin custom seat, all sorts of minor creature comforts including heated clothing top to bottom and I have lost interest in riding. Everything changes from year to year for me with the same bike so I can safely say there is no real answer to wind, noise, comfort or whatever may be bugging each individual on a bike. Even folks on newer GoldWings spend big bucks making them better for their personal comfort and fit. There is no one size fits all bike made for the masses. Buy the bike you like and make it fit you by spending money and experimenting. The Vstrom is a great platform to build the bike I always wanted.

[Water Warrior 2]

More to say on the subject. Lynda graduated to a M-50 from her GZ. It didn't fit her that well. New bars made all the difference in reach and leverage. Wind was a problem so a wider windshield that provided hand protection had to be modified to fit the bike. The seat was so-so, not as good as the GZ which she found perfect on every ride including a 5000+ km trip.
A drivers backrest helped some on the M-50. Foot pegs on the crash bars were too far forward so I fashioned some extensions to mount the pegs further rearward of the crash bars. Perfect fit but ugly in my eyes. What the H***, function before form.
I made a physically larger bike fit a smaller(shorter)rider with a few hours of tinkering and experimenting. Was it worth it? Yes indeed. I just glad Lynda didn't buy a GW and want it lowered and lighter in weight.

[northsidegz]

No headaches for me. Have the Hellfire windshield (from slipstreamer) and seems to work fine for my GZ. I wear a full face helmet too and actually really prefer that over my 3/4 (since I'm normally going 60-65).