Pulverizer's Stock Windscreen Mod for Less Turbulence

[pulverizer]

I am not sure if anyone else has tried this mod for the stock windscreen, but the idea came to me the other day. I had switched back to my stock windscreen for the summer, because the Cal-Sci I had was just too hot when it was over 80 outside.

So, I have seen mods where people cut out parts of the stock windscreen to try to reduce the turbulence, but I did not want to cut mine, so I thought of another way to go. Instead of cutting, why not just lift the windscreen up a little to let air in on the sides of the windscreen.

To do this mod, I just got longer screws along with some plastic and rubber washers to act as spacers to keep the windscreen about 1/2" to 3/4" above where it originally sat on the fairing. This leaves a gap all along both sides, possibly leading to less turbulence, since it might help to equalize the pressure on both sides of the windscreen.

Results: Take a look at the pictures...I think it looks good because it keeps the look of the stock screen, and you cannot notice anything is different unless you look up close. I did a quick test ride on the highway today, and I think it improved things a bit. It seemed a bit quieter overall, and there seemed to be a little less turbulence knocking me around.

If someone else wants to try this, please let me know if you think it is an actual improvement, or if this was all in my head!

The only negatives that I encountered were that since you are lifting the windscreen a bit off of the original mounting holes, you do end up putting a little more stress on the windscreen (since it ends up flattened out slightly) and on the mounting holes. The mounting holes are very flexible, so it seems like they might be ok. The end result was very secure, and it did not seem to move anywhere on my test ride.

Let me know what you think!

 

[wolfe1down]

I thought the S2's had a space at the bottom of the windscreen to even out the low pressure zone... Or am I confusing that with an FZ1 or R1?

 

[pulverizer]

I thought the S2's had a space at the bottom of the windscreen to even out the low pressure zone... Or am I confusing that with an FZ1 or R1?

Yep, there is a space at the bottom, this just adds the space between the screws on both sides. You can see it best in picture 3, and it also makes it so the space on the bottom is a little more open, like this picture (taken from below the windscreen):

 

[Norbert]

excellent idea mr. smarty pants!! :thumbup::thumbup:


another thing is that when it gets hot and humid, just take the windscreen off.
it's nice unless you're doing a lot of hwy miles.

 

[bryanwny]

If nothing else, at least this would make it a bit easier to wash all the bug guts out from way down in there

 

[pulverizer]

Update: I just did my full commute to work with this today. My commute consists of over 5 miles of city/suburban roads and 25 miles of highway at anywhere from 60-80MPH.

Results: I think I noticed less buffeting when at highway speeds than before the mod, but it is hard to say for sure as the last time I rode to work without the mod was more than a week ago. There is still lots of wind noise, but I do seem to get pushed around less than before I did the mod.
Overall, there is not really a downside to keeping it like this, so I will keep the mod for the summer. I may try to do a more scientific comparison at a later date to get a better idea of the true difference (maybe I will tape off the gaps I created for half a ride, then remove the tape to allow the airflow again, giving a better back to back comparison).

As bryanwny said, it does make it easier to clean off bugs that are in that hard to reach area!

 

[lazamus69]

If you feel a difference thats what matters.....:thumbup:

ps..thanks for not talking in 3rd person

 

[pulverizer]

I may try to change the angle of the screen a little by making less space on the bottom and more on the top, to get the screen more upright to see if there is any difference. I'll try that at some point as a next step.

 

[WRXDrummer]

any update on this? It sounds like an interesting approach, I may mess around with it some this weekend if that hurricane doesn't damper my plans.