naked and touring???

ok.. i have little experience beyond my years on the fz6.. but i have never really ridden a bike with no windscreen.. dad has a harley, but i think not.. soo.. I do some realativly long distance touring.. 300 miles a day max. might do a trip later this summer where it will be from hartford, ct to st. paul, mn back to hartford, ct..

so how is it touring.. lets hear some horor stories.. bugs, bee's, birds, rocks, and other road debris.. or is it amazing and i just should go nakend and enjoy???

oh and i can admit that long days on the bike take alot out of you.. is it worse with a naked?? let me know...

:thumbup:

The only time being naked bugs me is on long high speed rides (interstate).
If i'm out hitting the back roads hunting for some twisties (hard to find in Florida) it does not bother me at all. I go out quite often for 4 or 5 hours without problems.:thumbup:

I do long days on my Monster . its my making trouble bike . but I think a long day is 600 plus miles . and I really don't have any problems with it I will say the wind can take some out of you but I have never had a problem with anything else . just stop every so offten and take a break have a granola bar or a drink of water and keep on truckin

I rode my GS1100 all over the western US naked. Most bikes were then. All I needed was my tank bag, and a buffle bag bungeed to the seat and I was off. No big deal.

I've done some touring without a windshield. I definitely felt it in my shoulders and arms after a long day, but it's very doable. I suggest doing a few exercises to strengthen your upper body (if needed).

Also, I agree that it's really only an issue if you plan to ride a lot at highway speeds. On the back roads it's fine.

yea.. i was questioning more for highway. I like doing a bit of highway riding, so i mihgt be inclined more to just keep the bike with a screen.. oh well.. nice thought though..

i like touring, but i didnt enjoy the cleaning part after that

I regularly ride 300 - 500 kilometre's on touring days and have no drama's being naked :thumbup:......The wind really isnt that bad as long as you have a helmet that doest suffer from buffeting , otherwise you will benefit from a windscreen :thumbup:

LERecords said:

ok.. i have little experience beyond my years on the fz6.. but i have never really ridden a bike with no windscreen.. dad has a harley, but i think not.. soo.. I do some realativly long distance touring.. 300 miles a day max. might do a trip later this summer where it will be from hartford, ct to st. paul, mn back to hartford, ct..

so how is it touring.. lets hear some horor stories.. bugs, bee's, birds, rocks, and other road debris.. or is it amazing and i just should go nakend and enjoy???

oh and i can admit that long days on the bike take alot out of you.. is it worse with a naked?? let me know...

:thumbup:

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Having done over 100,000 miles of touring...I could not imagine not having an efficient windshield management system. The main benefit is the protection it offers from flying objects including bugs (and heavy rain too) and secondly reduced noise/buffeting and the constant pulling of the upper body as the speed increases. The loud noise, even with ear-plugs can cause long-term hearing damage. You won't find many long-distance riders such as the famous Iron Butt do the race without an adequate windshield.

I have ridden with many folks in Texas in a windy day who were on a naked bike and by the end of a mild 400 mile day many were very wind fatigued but I was almost as fresh as a baby bottom.

Naked style bikes are best suited for city driving and short-commutes, touring is best done on a bike with an effective windscreen and fairing. BTW, don't ever try a motorcycle with an adjustable wind-screen (FJR, RT, ST1300)...you will be convinced instantly about the merits of it.



Having said that, certain windshield configurations if poorly designed can cause WORSE buffeting and noise than a more streamlined approach.

I do a fair bit of touring on my naked FZ6, and find it best to fit the Small Yamaha Fly Screen that is available in Australia...significantly less buffetting at high speed, much better protection from rain, and bugs too.

Definitely a worthwile additio to the Naked FZ6 if you are planning a long trip on straight roads...and it only takes about 2 minutes to put on and take off.

:thumbup:

honestly.. i think i have been turned off the idea of going naked due to wanting to do some decent touring.. but good to have the info.. thanks everyone .. mybe I'll go naked when i buy a second bike

Touring = main purpose of the bike? Get a windshield.

Touring only a week per year? Get a naked!!!

That's my personal opinion... we ride 200-400mile days regularly and I have no issues on the naked... but if you're buying a bike to visit every state in the US, that's a different story...

My personal preference is riding naked because I feel it is part of riding a motorcycle! being close to the elements! If I was looking for total comfort, and protection against the elements, I`d drive my car...
I am a bit biased though, because in France, big windshields and comfy bikes are often assimilated to old Sunday morning riders...........

again.. its not that i dont wanna go naked, its just that this will be the first year i can do hevey touring as well as commuting to work.. just thinkin that a wind screen will be better suited for my needs.. but if i can get the second bike..

I answered without reading through the thread

If heavy touring is in your plans, then keep your windshield! :thumbup:

Rider1A got it right.

Touring on a bike without a shield is not a problem but it is easier with one.

I rode and Intruder with and without and because of the wide arm position the wind never let go of you. It was tiring...but also fun.

Try it and see what you think of it but keep an open mind.

Steve

LERecords said:

ok.. i have little experience beyond my years on the fz6.. but i have never really ridden a bike with no windscreen.. dad has a harley, but i think not.. soo.. I do some realativly long distance touring.. 300 miles a day max. might do a trip later this summer where it will be from hartford, ct to st. paul, mn back to hartford, ct..

so how is it touring.. lets hear some horor stories.. bugs, bee's, birds, rocks, and other road debris.. or is it amazing and i just should go nakend and enjoy???

oh and i can admit that long days on the bike take alot out of you.. is it worse with a naked?? let me know...

:thumbup:

Click to expand...

WOW ... 300 miles...now this is what I call a real rider. Nice dude. I never did this much in one day but since this is my 9th month in my riding, its just matter of time of when I go long distance like you. Just awaiting warmer weather here in NJ.
Couple times when I took my bike to work 32 miles one way, when I was on the highway a huge bug hit my visor and scarred the crap out of me. It was so huge that literarly half of my visor was cover in bug guts and crap. I was looking out from one eye. I don't know if it was wasp or what, but that thing was scarry huge. I tought I hit a rock but no rock has guts right.

i was ridding one time in VT.. back when i first started and had no gear (i know i know).. had on a t-shirt and a polortec vest.. a bee flew in the underside of my right arm (gas side) and stung me in my arm pit.. horible horible.. lucky i didnt take a digger..

another time i had a leaf (from a tree) hit flat against my visor.. sounded like a big rock.. happy i had a full face at the time.. cant really imagin a leaf hurting that bad, but if it was to catch you just right in the face. possibly the eye..


I do alot of riding up to vt and used to take the bike to portland, ME every other weekend (back when i was dating a girl up there).. yea.. 300 miles is great, but you get really tired after a few hours, and thats with the stock screen.. wonder how the puig double bubble would work out for me..

I can actually do a back to back comparison story... bear in mind though that this is on a 125, so top speed is around 70mph and no motorway miles.

I had a cruiser style bike with no windscreen, and a friend on a forum had the same bike as me. His came with a windscreen which he didn't want, I wanted to try out a screen on mine so a deal was struck. And all I had to do was ride 80 miles to his house to swap it from his bike to mine, and then ride back.

80 miles doesn't sound like much, but when you're not allowed to use motorways and there are six major towns between your start point and end point, it adds up to around three hours in the saddle each way.

But... it was mid summer, my route took me over the Brecon Beacons along some awesome biking roads, I had the day free and my bike did 100 miles to the gallon so off I went!

Anyway... the point...

I got to ride the same roads (albeit in the opposite direction) both with a screen, and without, and once I had it adjusted at the right angle to stop the turbulence on my helmet (ooer missus) I found that on the flat out sections of the journey it was absolute bliss behind a big screen, there was less noise, less buffeting, the bike felt more stable and less influenced by sudden gusts, and top speed wasn't afected at all... which is pretty damn important when all you have is 12bhp.

Plus, when I was about an hour from home, it started raining. Normally, I'd have been drenched and always end up with a puddle of rain forming in my crotch but the screen did a fantastic job of keeping the majority of the rain off my torso and thighs so I stayed warmer and dryer and kept my concentration levels up.

So... considering there are absolutely no drawbacks to having a screen and lots of benefits, to me it's a no-brainer and I don't think I'll be choosing a naked bike when I do join the big boys club!

+1 to wolfman. I have the naked and fit the yamaha fly screen when going long distance/touring and it is more than adequate at keeping the worst of the wind/elements off and is fitted/removed in 2 minutes.

NakedJ said:

+1 to wolfman. I have the naked and fit the yamaha fly screen when going long distance/touring and it is more than adequate at keeping the worst of the wind/elements off and is fitted/removed in 2 minutes.

Click to expand...

Is this the screen you guys are talking about: