2006 windscreen mod

[slikfz6]

Did this on my 05 and sure enough no more turbulence!! I'm 5'10" BTW. Wind noise is just a hair more quiet now, rode without ear plugs to work today and no ringing. It all comes down to your helmets design now, so it would be wise to have a decent one. I purchased a hacksaw kit from Harbor Freight Tools it comes with four blades, one is for cutting plastic for about 6 bucks. I went the easy route and bought the clear door protector trim for cars from Auto Zone for about 3 bucks, it's nice cause it has glue on the inside of the trim and looks almost OEM!! Thanks for the Tip!!

 

[abner]

Hey fellas,

Could all the successful posters state what year FZ you have, how much you cut off, how tall you are, and if you cut a vent in the bottom of the screen?

I am considering doing the same, but want to take off as little as possible.

Thanks.

 

[formula154]

My latest windshield mod is I cut the whole wind shield off. I actualy unscrewed it. I think I will leave it that way until it starts getting cool.

 

[krid80]

My latest windshield mod is I cut the whole wind shield off. I actualy unscrewed it. I think I will leave it that way until it starts getting cool.

thinking about doing that myself

 

[cv_rider]

I tried going windshieldless on my '07 for a few rides on someone's suggestion that it reduces turbulence. I found that to be true - very smooth, but the wind blast was too much. It made my neck and shoulders sore. From this thread and my own experience, I think that unless you have a really big windshield, turbulence and wind blast are a zero sum game. I finally went with the CalSci +9.5" (9.5" taller than stock). With this large of a shield, you get to avoid both wind blast and turbulence. The zero sum part of that equation is that your bike looks dorky, but I've never much cared what anyone thought my bike looked like anyway. I feel the turbulent air right at the top of my helmet (I'm 6'1"), so it makes noise, but doesn't push me around. There's another version of the CalSci that is 1.5" taller, and that would probably be like riding inside a cage. I also noticed that when I started using the CalSci that different vents on the full helmet had a different impact on wind noise than before. I messed around with those till I found the best setting. Having the mouth vent open created much more noise.

According to the CalSci website that has a couple of screens on theory of aerodynamics of windshields, the holes in the bottom of the shield reduce low pressure behind it, which reduces turbulence. Another interesting thing it points out is that turbulence is reduced when the shape of the shield is smooth. The Puig DB (which I have and found to be only marginally better than the stock) has two creases in, which seem like they would be efficient little turbulence factories.

 

[DaFiz]

From day ONE I had a problem with the wind buffeting my head, and fitted a Yamaha supplied 90mm taller screen, which only exacerbated the problem.
I cut the old one down (masking tape and hacksaw blade fitted to my jigsaw)
shorter and shorter with each cut until eventually I referred to it as my bikini screen each time a slight improvement. The best of all was taking the screen off altogether and "feeling" it... NO buffeting whatsoever.:rockon:

Perhaps the manufacturers should be offering a SHORTER aftermarket screen rather than a taller one

 

[PatrickS]

This may sound like a very dumb question.... But what is that thing that you use to "round" up the edges after using the sand paper ?

Can you get it from anywhere ? if thats the case, what is it called ?

Thanks

 

[steveindenmark]

This may sound like a very dumb question.... But what is that thing that you use to \"round\" up the edges after using the sand paper ?

Can you get it from anywhere ? if thats the case, what is it called ?

Thanks

I just call it windshield trim and they knew what I wanted. Any motorbike shop should have it or be able to get it.

Steve

 

[steveindenmark]

Hey fellas,

Could all the successful posters state what year FZ you have, how much you cut off, how tall you are, and if you cut a vent in the bottom of the screen?

I am considering doing the same, but want to take off as little as possible.

Thanks.

I have the 2006 FZ6 and I am 5`9".

I did not cut a vent, there is no need to.

If you lok at my photos on the first page you will see where I cut the screen just above the mirror stems.

You can cut it down an inch at a time and try it out until you get the desired effect. Cutting the screen is easy with just a hacksaw. Just follow my directions.

Steve

 

[steveindenmark]

Getting a full face as opposed to a flip open helmet makes a big difference.

I have tried 2 helmet skirts but they wear out and split really quickly...within a week.

steve

 

[RobK]

I wanted to take a second and explain why a shorter windshield reduces turbulence and why holes in the windshield also reduce turbulence. A very simple way to explain this is through the basic mechanics of "lift". While to be technical this isnt true lift but what is going on is very similar to the mechanics of how an airplane flies. As wind passes under a plane wing it creates an area of very high pressure under the wing because of design. On the flipside the area over the wing forms an area of very low pressure. (If you are really curious I can explain why this is but I will spare everybody for now). A basic principle of physics requires that systems at high pressure travel to systems of low pressure, so simply put the air under the wing tries to get to the area over the wing and creates lift. Now while what is going on with a windshield is not exactly the same it is similar. The windshield is curved and a tremendous amount of air hits the front of the windshield. Now at the same time the area directly behind the windshield gets sort of vacuumed out by forward motion. So now we have an area of high pressure on the front of the windshield and an area of low pressure behind the windshield. As wind passes over and around the windshield it tries to get into that pocket of low pressure even though forward momentum prevents it. This is what causes those unstable and uncomfortable bursts.
1. For the smaller windshield: The windshield is smaller and so the pocket of low pressure is smaller and the amount of air hitting the front is smaller due to a smaller surface area, therefore it yields less air flow up and around and generates less turbulence and applied force from wind blast is very constant.

2. For the holely windshield: Even though it does not seem like air passes through because in truth it doesnt have air flow that is because the holes allow the system to stabilize pressure on both sides of the windshield. Therefore when the air comes up and around it doesnt have AS MUCH (still some due to other forces) driving force to cause discomfort. So, you should never really feel a significant amount of true air flow through the holes (though you may feel some) but turbulent forces should be reduced.

Sorry guys, I'm a big nerd I know, but if you ever have questions about physics I'm your guy

 

[hedmisten]

I am going to try this during the winter, when I only commute on the bike.

 

[Smittyboy]

So, I'm not sure cuz after all that I can't retain any of it... Are the people who tried this and are happy with it over 6' tall? I'm almost 6'2'' and get pounded by the wind, also the noise is a bit excessive, but that's made worse by my flip up helmet... Not worried about noise, just wind!

 

[abacall]

Decided to give it a go. Chopped it and painted it flat black. Looks great, sorry no pics yet. Sometime next week.
I went for a ride that included city riding, highway riding, and canyons.
*In the city, no discernible difference. I guess the lower screen helps you see clearer in front of you :don'tknow:
*On the highway (65-85 mph), huge difference. Turbulence is way down, the wind rarely jerked my helmet around. However, the wind is definitely stronger. The difference is that the wind resistance is smooth as opposed to violent. I also rode in some serious head winds and crosswinds. In the headwind it was pretty loud in the helmet, and there was some jerking around. The crosswind was killer, but it felt the same as with the stock height.
*In the canyons it was much nicer. At a rate of 35-70 mph the wind was so smooth and even. I like that a lot. :thumbup:

Overall satisfied, especially with the look and canyon performance. It was easy to do with a Dremell, it took less than an 1.5 hours with paint time included.

 

[steveindenmark]

Another satified customer.....:Ø)

Steve

 

[playbygolf]

OMG, YOU ARE MY HERO!! I JUST NOTICED this problem and was looking for a new windscreen that was smaller with no success. Thanks so much. I'll post up some pics when I do it. Definitely happening soon, I'm riding around without a windscreen at all at the moment!! :thumbup:

 

[steveindenmark]

So, I'm not sure cuz after all that I can't retain any of it... Are the people who tried this and are happy with it over 6' tall? I'm almost 6'2'' and get pounded by the wind, also the noise is a bit excessive, but that's made worse by my flip up helmet... Not worried about noise, just wind!

This is a good question...I am only 5`9" tall and it it great for me.

I believe the height of the rider bears a big influence over all screens.

Who has done my mod who is over 6`?

Steve

 

[jtarkany]

Thanks for the How To...Took 3 inches off :thumbup:.

 

[wstcstguy]

help, i have this same windshield. the holes in the windshield aren't flush with the rubber nut that the plastic screws go into. the head of the screws pop off when i tighten them!? there seems to be a triangular gap under the windshield.
anybody else experince this?

 

[jtarkany]

Yes, I had the same problem, went to Lowes with my plastic screws and found some longer sheet metal screws, same diameter, same thread count. Just snug them down, don't crank them as they are just going into the rubber nut.

Still have the gap but the wind screen is now more secure.