Windshield or windscreen purpose??????

[Hypno Rider]

What's up guys? I've done a search and still can't find what im looking for on this topic. What is the real purpose of the windshield? How useful is it anyway? Or is it annoying? I understand, overstand and innerstand that 1. It shields you from wind. 2. It can protect you from a rock flying off a big Riggs tire and 3. Protects you from a June bug at 60 mph. However, for a few weeks I rode a 250cc Honda reflex with the big windshield and I just thought it was so annoying. I've also read that wind noise is much louder in the helmet with a windshield. I guess I'm trying to figure out if I should go that route or not. I personally don't like the "look" of bikes with windshields but my safety is always first. P.S. does it slow you down at all?

[alantf]

It seems that around 99% of the folk on here like windshields. I've been riding for nearly 50 years, and I HATE 'em. I've never been able to get them set so that they're anything but a giant sail. Still, if you're so cold without one, I reckon they may be worth the hassle. :)

[PimpS]

I was thinking of buying it a first, but after a few good rides with GZ, i decided that i don't need it, cause i like the wind on motorcycle. Maybe, when i'll get stronger bike i'll put it on, when going on highway and hit cruising speed 130 - 140kph... Otherwise, i like cleaning my visor from bugs, it gives me feeling i was driving good... ;)

[PimpS]

Just a 2 cents more: i liked the leather windshield inside the crashbar one of the guys had on his honda shadow, since i'm having pains in my knees after a long rides in humid air...

[jomama]

Many a time I can recall a large hard June Bug or some other such insect (or stone) stricking the shield very hard and thought, man I would have caught it right in the face were it not for the windshield .It also lets you know what your engine is doing by reflecting back the sound . Although some times they make some strange noises and you wonder if they are going to come apart.

[mrlmd1]

The pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages will go back and forth like helmet vs no helmet, full face vs. 3/4 vs. brain bucket, ATTGATT, no ATTGATT, "performance" mods. louder mufflers, etc.,etc. It's a personal choice, you get educated, try it, if you like it, go for it, if not, get rid of it -- you make the decision.
All my bikes had a windshield I put on or left on. For little rides around town or slow back roads it may not be as advantageous as on a good faster highway ride - definitely warmer, safer, and much less fatigue without being directly in the wind blast. And noise is abated with earplugs - another decision you have to make.
Basically it's protection from not only the wind but from being hit in the face, neck, chest, by anything on the road, and if you don't think you need that, then don't get one.

[Hypno Rider]

It seems that around 99% of the folk on here like windshields. I've been riding for nearly 50 years, and I HATE 'em. I've never been able to get them set so that they're anything but a giant sail. Still, if you're so cold without one, I reckon they may be worth the hassle. :)
I know exactly what you mean. On a highway overpass with that little Honda reflex, a good gust of wind came by and literally lifted me up in the air. I felt like i was hanging on to a 300 pound kite. For some reason I almost panicked and released the throttle and she straightened herself right out.

[Hypno Rider]

Thanks for the input guys. I will just have to try it out and see for myself.

[bonehead]

On the GZ maybe not, but on a bigger bike, yes!

[northsidegz]

For in town riding I didn't care much. I rode the GZ fine without a windshield. But most of my driving is on the highway and have preferred a windshield when going 65mph for 30 minutes at a time. I just don't like the feel of the wind trying to yank me off the bike personally.

[bpdchief]

Gotta go with Northside on this... my GZ has a windshield, and at 55-60 mph it does cut way down on the wind. It also helps with flying objects and rain, set at the right angle and heighth the wind goes right over your helmet so you don't get your head bounced around.

Now for a word or two from my evil side - as I ride down the highway, I find myself reaching above and around the windshield to see just what the windshield is doing besides creating a nice dead air space for my cup holder (mounted on the handlebar between the clamps). I do feel like the bike is being pushed around by the "clear wall" attached to the handlebar. When my new lower handlebars arrive the windshield will be a thing of the past, in the meantime, it's coming off for a 300 mile ride Monday. As for wind noise - you should be using ear plugs anyway. The serious riders I know (not the weekend dinks who pull out the leathers for a Saturday ride to the beer joint)all wear earplugs as part of their riding gear and don't leave home without them. :)

[5th_bike]

I'm with Alan, a GZ doesn't need a wind shield. It just doesn't go over 65 mph often enough. Below that, wind is only noticeable above say 50 mph. I do have a full face shield on the helmet though, it once kept a big bee or hornet from entering a nostril at 60 mph. And it usually gets littered with little bugs.

[Rookie Rider]

Every freakin time i get on the gz it seems windy outside.

[bpdchief]

That's because the GZ is a wind magnet... it could be a perfectly calm day and as soon as you turn the corner from the house - 30 mph head/cross winds appear :lol:

[mrlmd1]

Even if the air is still, you are generating your own headwind riding into and through the air. Going at 50 mph even if the air is still with no wind at all, you are generating a 50mph wind in your face.
If there is any real wind coming from any direction, even a very mild wind, you are riding into an "apparent wind", which is the combination of the real wind (called true wind) and your in-your-face wind you are generating. The apparent wind you are riding in is the diagonal in the parallelogram of actual (true) and generated wind. This is well known to sailors who understand this, and maybe pilots who fly in it, but it applies to the rest of the real world as well.

Here's how it works, for anyone who may be interested:

If you are going 50mph straight into a 10 mph true wind coming at you, the apparent wind in your face is 60mph.
If there is a true wind coming from behind you at 10mph and you are riding at 50mph, the apparent wind in your face is 40mph.
If the wind is coming from any angle off to the side of your direction of travel, if you construct a parallelogram with a line representing the true wind coming from its' real direction, and making the length of that line equal to the speed or magnitude of the wind, in whatever units you want (mm, in, etc), and then draw another line representing the generated wind using the same scale to draw it to length, then make the parallelogram, the diagonal line connecting opposite corners represents the direction of the apparent wind you feel and the length of that line is the speed of the wind. There are complicated algebraic equations for figuring this out but it's an easy geometric solution.
Enough lesson for today, but it's always windy when you are riding a bike, even walking does the same thing.
Clear? (as mud).

[bpdchief]

While that was an amazing and (because I'm a nerd) very interesting treatise, this time Doc I'm afraid you've "shit too close to the house" (a crude way of saying your over thinking a problem/situation)...

What was meant by our statements is that it could be a perfectly calm, windless day - and as soon as we roll the bikes out to go for a ride, trees will be getting bent over by winds that weren't there prior to. :)

[bpdchief]

Back to the subject of windshields:

If you mount the slipstream windshield as intended with the cutout a finger thickness above the headlight, it looks decent, but, is so low it does little good.
http://s13.postimage.org/y6l19gamr/001.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/y6l19gamr/)

Mounted so that the top of the shield is about even with the bottom of your nose (where the industry says it is supposed to be), the cutout is at the top of the speedometer and looks silly. Don't think anyone makes a windshield that actually is meant for the smaller cc bike. :cry:
http://s12.postimage.org/n9ztwii1l/avatar.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/n9ztwii1l/)
Which makes me question the value or purpose of the little shield on the crotchrockets.

[mrlmd1]

bpd- weather is a local phenomenon. If you live in an area with closely spaced houses or buildings and trees in the neighborhood you may not feel much wind 'till you get out on the road where it's much more exposed. And weather changes from one locale to the next and with time too, as well as with topography.
But yes, I know what you are talking about.
Sorry if you didn't like my lecture, my educational piece for the day, just trying to add a little enlightenment to an otherwise drab subject.

[northsidegz]

Not sure why, but mrlmd1's analysis made me think of a great quote from a movie with a great bike in it. "I was inverted."

[bpdchief]

mrlmd1 - I fully appreciate your shared wisdom. It's great when someone with the knowledge shares it with those of us who don't. I had no intention of offending you in any way. Please to forgive me.

[mrlmd1]

Not offended at all.
My Slipstreamer SS28 was larger than that little one and had side wings that covered the grips and did serve the purpose of blocking the wind and protecting from road missiles and bugs. Still. even a small shield if positioned and angled right, may deflect the air over your head and upper body and protect your face from projectiles. Yours looks to be in correct position but you could try and angle it backwards a tiny bit and raise it up an inch. I know appearance counts but I don't think it would change it that much. Sometimes just a little adjustment may make all the difference. On my S50, the windshield blocks my upper body and head from the wind very well, but it rushes in from underneath and it had to get a set of lowers to try and fix that. With whatever disadvantages there may be, and constant fiddling and adjustment to get it right, I still prefer having that shield between me and the wind and any projectiles that may be headed my way. There have been innumerable small stones and large bugs that really would have hurt had the shield not been there. And if you get hit in the face or neck hard enough, or hit by a bird, you could lose control of the bike.

[NonallaNostrum]

Not sure why, but mrlmd1's analysis made me think of a great quote from a movie with a great bike in it. "I was inverted."

:plus1:

back on subject, I don't have a windshield on GZ, but use full face helmet. There were times I thought longingly about hand guards I've seen on other bikes (even with gloves on). The few people I know with windshields always complain about trying to get it right and wind buffetting of the head,etc. But they all ride with full gear also. So basically, can't speak from experience, just wanted to +1 the quote :)

[mrlmd1]

The hand guards are good on off road dirt bikes (have one of those) for protection from falls or branches, etc., but don't really do much to keep your hands warm compared to a full winged or fairing-type windshield. If you just want hand protection from the cold, look up Hippo Hands or similar things for ATV's sold by places like Capella's.

[northsidegz]

If you just want hand protection from the cold, look up Hippo Hands or similar things for ATV's sold by places like Capella's.

Good to know! Thanks for mentioning. My hands are always cold!

[jonathan180iq]

I once took an old diaper box and made myself some fantastic looking wind blockers one winter.
I very scientifically duct taped them to the front fairing of my scooter and left the word 'HUGGIES' exposed for the whole world to see.

They did absolutely crap for keeping me warm. Despite looking so awesome, there was no real benefit to the project. I still kept them on there for about 3 weeks... Just cause they looked so awesome, not to mention aerodynamic.

Get some of these:
http://www.chrome-addiction.com/prodimages/classic-atv-covers_45-1860.jpg

They make them for ATVs and Snowmobiles but they slap onto motorcycles just fine. They're a little cheaper than the direct motorcycle-made kind.

Ebay. - Save money - Live better.

And if you are really strapped for cash, slap this little beauty together and drop one in each glove:

http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/images/937.jpg

[mrlmd1]

Get gauntlet type gloves too that go over the jacket cuffs to keep the wind from blowing up your sleeves. Staying out of the wind will go a long way to keep you warm, reducing the wind-chill factor.

[Water Warrior 2]

If you just want hand protection from the cold, look up Hippo Hands or similar things for ATV's sold by places like Capella's.

Good to know! Thanks for mentioning. My hands are always cold!
The SS28 windshield and Symtec grip heaters would help with your cold hands. Wearing a gauntlet style glove rather than a short glove with keep your wrists warmer and help a lot. I gave away my short gloves after wearing Red Wing leather gauntlets. They had a light lining and were(still are)very comfortable in all weather. The leather stayed soft and comfy after being wet many times.

[anruari]

hi
just added a givi A601 shield to my gz today and took it out for a quick spin...not overly convinced the shield makes a huge difference at this point. probably be able to tell more after a good long spin.

firstly i had it set too low and the wind clattered my helmet..raised it a bit and it seems to be better but the airflow was coming fromunderneath......kinda feeling i should have gone and bought a fullshield from puig at the moment

[jonathan180iq]

That's just one of the side effects of a smaller shield. They look better, IMHO, but you do have to adjust them to find your personal comfort zone. If the front end of the GZ sat a little taller, or if you were a little shorter, then you would probably love it. ;)

The A601 is basically just a spitfire shield.

The good news is, if you hate it, you'll find a buyer for it pretty quick.

[anruari]

i dunno jonathan ,never ridden with a shield before , went out for a decent spin this evening...its so noisy..is it the same with all shields?

i dunno i keep riding with it a few weeks maybe it will grow on me

[JWR]

Very short or very tall, anything else will be a lot of noise.

All a shield needs to do is break the wind up to your chest. If you want more protection you have to get above eye level.


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[alantf]

Some folks love windshields, but I've never yet been able to set one up so that it didn't become just a giant sail. :cry:

[jonathan180iq]

The only real way to get complete coverage from your windshield is to use those crazy large ones like the Harley guys. For this reason alone, I'm not a big fan.

I like the bug shield, for aesthetics and I like the long thin ones for moving the airflow at least just above my helmet, but you can't really have anything inbetween. I think that's why I just started to prefer no shield at all. It's a more pure riding experience, IMHO.