GZ 250 or TU 250?

[bonehead]

My 2 cents. I ride mine 250-300 mi each week to work, and have had no problems.(Thats total miles for the week)

[alantf]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

Ask about adding a full windshield

Dunno about that. Some people love 'em - some people hate 'em. I hate 'em, but that's just a personal thing. Unless it's set up right, it can cause the bike to be relatively unstable (especially with crosswinds), so would a newbie be able to keep adjusting it until it was "right"? Again, let me stress that this is purely a personal view, but I've never felt comfortable, even with a factory fitted screen.

[alanmcorcoran]

Nothing short of a 20 foot mainsail would cause my Strat to be unstable. But setting it up right can be a life long process (on the GZ.) The one that comes from the factory on the Strat is, huge, removable, lockable and works great.

Windshields sometimes come down to what kind of driving you are mainly going to be doing. If it's a lot of highspeed freeway stuff, I think you'll be less fatigued, especially in colder climates. It will also provide one more layer of protection from Shit That Comes Flying Out Of Nowhere Before You Can Duck. I am less happy with the windshield on my GZ, but I still feel safer with it out there. It definitely cuts down on your max speed if you ride in a tuck position, and, at least for the one I have, it is difficult to get them mounted properly. If I had to do it again, I'd go a bit bigger and insist on fork mount only. My first one was like that but it arrived missing parts and misdrilled on the grommet holes and I ended up with the one I have.

[dhgeyer]

Windshields are a science unto themselves. A lot of people hate them, mostly because they get one that's the wrong height. I've had lots of them, and definitely prefer to have one. But, if it's the wrong height it can do more harm than good. The issue is that they all create some turbulence coming from the top, and you don't want that hitting your helmet. If it does, it can be anywhere from mildly annoying to knocking your head around so bad that you'll see double and get a headache. If a windshield is large, putting "lowers" can help eliminate some of the turbulence, as can venting the shield with holes or slits down fairly low. But there will be some turbulence no matter what you do.

There are two approaches that work with windshields:

1. Just tall enough to take the wind pressure off your chest, but but not tall enough to put the turbulence on your head. If you get the height just right, the turbulence will be about at shoulder or neck height, where it really isn't bothersome. It doesn't take much of a shield to do this. The area of protection goes way over the top of the shield itself. Getting that wind blast off your chest is especially important on a cruiser style bike (Vulcan, GZ250, Rebel) because you're kind of laid back anyway, and your legs don't give you any leverage to work against the wind. The result is that all the work to stay on the bike is being done with your arms and hands, which is fatiguing. It's less of an issue with a TU250 or a Ninja (which comes with a sport windshield), as you're leaned a little forward against the wind to start with. Still, for a 50 mile commute, it's better to have something up there than not. A short shield doesn't take any wind off your helmet, so at 50 mph or more there is a lot of noise, but it's clean noise. You should get in the habit of wearing earplugs with a short shield, or with no shield. A short shield is also best for providing proper ventilation for a full face helmet in very hot, damp, or cold weather. FF helmets are designed to be in the wind.

2. The other approach is a fairly tall windshield with lowers on the bike, and you might need to cut some slits or holes in it to keep the buffeting down. You want to be just looking over the top of the shield maybe an inch or so when you look down the road. Some people prefer to have a tall enough shield that they're actually looking through it. This gives the most protection and the quietest ride, but it can interfere with vision, especially when the shield gets old, discolored, scratched up, dirty, or covered with bugs, and in bad weather. If the shield is designed well, the turbulence, or most of it at least, goes right over your head and doesn't bother you. The tall shield approach has the advantage that you don't have to keep cleaning the bugs off your face shield. You have to clean them off the windshield instead, but you can do that anytime, as they don't hinder vision if they're on the windshield as long as you're not looking through it. A tall shield gives a bit more protection in cold weather, and makes you more miserable in very hot weather.

All of the above is a statement of my opinion, based on, what, 16 bikes now, and half again that number of windshields, and a lot of experimentation with building them up and cutting them down.

I think a great windshield to start with is the Spitfire by Slipstreamer. They can be had almost anywhere, they're cheap, relatively small, and can be mounted to any bike with tubular handlebars. They're very easy to mount. You just have to make sure to get mounts for the right diameter of handlebars. I've used them on quite a number of bikes with great success. The mounting system allows for a lot of latitude as far as height. You won't get one high enough for option 2 above, as they're just not big enough, but you will be able to get the height perfect for option 1.

You'll have a lot less fatigue on long rides if you get that wind pressure off your chest at speeds of 50 mph or above.

Good luck.

Dave Geyer

[mrlmd1]

I had a Slipstreamer SS28 and it worked great from the day I put in on, never had to adjust it, covered my grips, and I was quite happy with it. No buffeting on the head or from underneath, probably due to the shape and not being flat like other designs. No sailing in the wind either, It's 15" tall which would be perfect for Gidget.
Not like the shield on my S50, an 18 or 19" tall Memphis Shades Malibu, which I had to adjust the rake on more than once, then got lowers and adjusted them 3 times and still get a blast from underneath up into my neck. I would highly recommend that SS28 windshield to anyone. I bought it through my local Suzuki dealer for somewhere around $150 and avoided shipping charges that way. If that would fit on the TU, and I can't see why not, that's what I would get. It's also a 4-point mount so it's very steady on the bike.

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

I had a Slipstreamer SS28 and it worked great from the day I put in on, never had to adjust it, covered my grips, and I was quite happy with it. No buffeting on the head or from underneath, probably due to the shape and not being flat like other designs. No sailing in the wind either, It's 15" tall which would be perfect for Gidget.
Not like the shield on my S50, an 18 or 19" tall Memphis Shades Malibu, which I had to adjust the rake on more than once, then got lowers and adjusted them 3 times and still get a blast from underneath up into my neck. I would highly recommend that SS28 windshield to anyone. I bought it through my local Suzuki dealer for somewhere around $150 and avoided shipping charges that way. If that would fit on the TU, and I can't see why not, that's what I would get. It's also a 4-point mount so it's very steady on the bike.

I like that shield. Does it provide a lot of hand protection in rain and cooler temps ? Also looks a lot better than I thought it would when I originally considered one for Lynda's bike way back when.

[mrlmd1]

I thought it did, it covers the grips, I thinks it's 29" wide, that's why I got it. It worked very well for me, much better than the slightly taller Malibu on my S50. If I had known, I would have kept that one and transferred it to my other bike. It's a little bit weird looking when you first see it because of the shape, but I think it grows on you to become better looking, but it's very functional compared to the fatter slightly rounded shape that most shields have. I'm sure it offers much less wind resistance too.