Highway speed wind buffeting

[michael-james]

As a new member and owner of a new 2007 model FZ6 S2 i like to share my riding experience after about 500kms on the clock since new.
First i cannot believe how much wind buffeting there is at around 120kph on the highway even worse if stuck behind a car or truck to the point i really had to hold on as the whole bike seemed to be getting blown about. Pretty dangerous was my first thought. I'm of average height 5'10" so it cant be that. Is it the small fairing screen or shape perhaps?
Second i scrubbed the tyres down so i got about 1cm chicken strip left, on the stock Dunlops it feels quite twitchy and not exactly confidence inspiring leaning over too much. Are these tyres known to be like this.
Would really appreciate any other feedback as i'm beginning to think i chose the wrong bike. I'm sure i never had these problems on my old Kawasaki GPZ750 a while back,
Regards, Michael

 

[Erci]

You're not alone when it comes to wind buffeting. If you do a lot of high speed riding (anything over 100kph) you will likely want to explore ways to make this bike work better for your purpose.
There are several aftermarket windscreen options for it (Puig, ceebaileys, factory touring). Many of us have found that cutting the stock screen down few inches actually improves air flow. I've also cut sides on mine and it helped a great deal.
However, these are geared towards warm weather riding. If you are looking to hide from the wind AND the cold. Cutting the screen may not be the best way to go.
Many of us have also converted to full naked setup. Completely gets rid of buffeting, but offers no wind protection and you get cold real quick on cooler days.

As for the tires, I find stock Dunlops to be excellent and I don't remember reading too many complains about the grip when it comes to these.

Pic of my modified screen before I converted the bike to naked:

 

[michael-james]

Thanks Erci , glad to hear it is a known issue.
I got the exact same color bike as you and i think it looks awesome, Dont really want to be totally wind protected with large ugly screens as the standard one is neat,but i like to go fast on highways and after it's run in it should be able to get up to really high speeds without me feeling like i'm going into a tank slapper due to buffeting. I'm only out to ride for pleasure and not long trips so much, so the cold is not an issue.
Even considered trying out an R1 with the full fairing to check if that was better.
I'll look into getting a better screen like a PUIG or maybe the Yamaha touring screen if that helps. But i dont want to ruin the neat styling as is.
Been reading that the engine and gearbox get better and smoother after the break in period, would that be right?
Thanks again,
Michael.

 

[Erci]

Cut screen may be a good way for you to go, based on what you've said.
Can't tell you about the performance after break-in.. I got my bike used and it was already broken in. As is, it's perfectly smooth except for a bit of vibration at certain RPMs, which is also a known trait of this machine.
As far as R1 goes (or any other supersport bike), they're all designed to be ridden in race position (tucked way down behind the screen).
If you sit upright, it should feel about the same as FZ6 with cut-down screen.

 

[aaronshum]

I have the Puig racing screen, which is still taller than the stock one, and double bouble design. Works well if you lean down at higher speeds. Personally I don't tour so I didn't get the touring screens.

I've contemplated a naked setup but the spring/fall weather is quite chilly up here so I've resisted.

Plus a couple of the highways I take during my commute have pretty strong crosswinds (in a valley) so the half fairings and windscreen helps there.

 

[aaronshum]

Oh, and I very much dislike the stock tires. Going to replace them early next season even though I'm only at around 6k miles.

 

[michael-james]

Yeah the Puig screen still retains the bikes good looks,so maybe thats the best option.
What you find is wrong with the stock tyres.
I find it pretty twitchy especially at the front, hard to say though if it's the uneven road surfaces or the tyres, need to find a newly surfaced road to compare.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Yes, try a different windscreen. Most of us have done the conversion.

However, I will have to disagree with the post about the stock Dunlops.
They suck! Period! Anyways, you have to remember tires are made out of rubber. They have a shelf life, they will lose it's grip over time. Being that your tires are still stock, even though it may have plenty of tread life, they need to be replaced! There is a reason why the tires will have a date stamp, indicating when it was manufactured.

Wondering what tirea to get? Plenty of tire threads for you to read to help you make your decision. But get those tires replaced!

 

[Erci]

I guess I don't push my bike that hard *shrug* so stockers feel great to me. I've never felt them lose grip or give me any other sort of trouble.
I'll be changing them next season.. looking forward to seeing if I'll feel any improvement with one of the top rated sets.

 

[novaks47]

+1 to Vegasrider's comment. I always hear or read about people trying to get their car tires to last seemingly forever. What they don't realize is, no matter what warranty they may have, they have a maximum time limit of 4 years! After that the rubber compound begins to decay, the rubber gets rock hard, and you'll start to see cracking in between tread blocks and/or the sidewalls. I had some 7 year old tires on my VW bug, and let me tell you, it was like wrapping the wheels with ice covered rocks! So frickin' dangerous....

 

[mcteague]

As for tires, I never hated the stock Dunlops but, due to a flat and general worn appearance after 7k miles, I bought a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 2CTs. The bike feels MUCH more stable leaned over now. After a couple of weeks my chicken strips are down to a couple of millimeters. The bike feels more agile as well.

The buffeting is a pain. I don't feel knocked about but dislike the booming noise once I hit 50mph or so, even with ear plugs. I added a Puig and that helped a little. At least it makes it easier to duck completely out of the wind on cold days as compared to the stock screen. For Summer use I cut down the stock screen all the way to the faring pillars but it really didn't help much. I attempted the "speed holes" mentioned above but did not cut them in far enough and sort of left that project unfinished. I like the naked look but fear cool\cold days would have me longing for some protection. And, highway riding is much calmer with even a small windscreen.

Tim

 

[Cloggy]

:welcome: to the forum Michael-James :rockon:

I hated the stock dunlops, I agree with you I found they felt really twitchy. When they wore out I fitted Michelin Pilot roads 2CT and it made such a difference :thumbup:
I have the taller yamaha windscreen but this just takes the buffeting off of the chest and onto the helmet.

 

[michael-james]

Thanks for the feedback guys,
I'm really looking forward to getting the machine broken in so i can get a real feel for what it can do. Bad stock tyres permitting of coarse.
As for the buffeting it feels quite cramped on the bike to be able to duck down behind the screen too much, the distance feels to short due i expect to the high forward position of the bars, anyone modified them or is there another type that would fit perhaps ?

 

[red06]

As a new member and owner of a new 2007 model FZ6 S2 i like to share my riding experience after about 500kms on the clock since new.
First i cannot believe how much wind buffeting there is at around 120kph on the highway even worse if stuck behind a car or truck to the point i really had to hold on as the whole bike seemed to be getting blown about. Pretty dangerous was my first thought. I'm of average height 5'10" so it cant be that. Is it the small fairing screen or shape perhaps?
Second i scrubbed the tyres down so i got about 1cm chicken strip left, on the stock Dunlops it feels quite twitchy and not exactly confidence inspiring leaning over too much. Are these tyres known to be like this.
Would really appreciate any other feedback as i'm beginning to think i chose the wrong bike. I'm sure i never had these problems on my old Kawasaki GPZ750 a while back,
Regards, Michael

you need to make yourself very relaxed when riding in high wind , especially your hands , this is the only way to ride a sportbike in high wind without getting blown off the road

i have a tall givi windscreen on my 2006 , it is alot easier to ride in the wind
with it compared to stock

 

[sixsix]

I just put the puig racing screen on mine and the wind buffeting got worse? What is the eaisest way to cut the screen? I want to try that before I go naked.

 

[Erci]

Thanks for the feedback guys,
I'm really looking forward to getting the machine broken in so i can get a real feel for what it can do. Bad stock tyres permitting of coarse.
As for the buffeting it feels quite cramped on the bike to be able to duck down behind the screen too much, the distance feels to short due i expect to the high forward position of the bars, anyone modified them or is there another type that would fit perhaps ?

Slide all the way back on the seat (push up against the *step* in the seat) to give yourself more space. Having said that, a lot of us switch stock bars out. FZ1 bar is one of the cheapest ways to go, which allows you to maintain stock bar ends and drops hand position as well as moves it forward, giving you more space.

 

[Erci]

I just put the puig racing screen on mine and the wind buffeting got worse? What is the eaisest way to cut the screen? I want to try that before I go naked.

I had the same experience with Puig. It was an improvement at lower speeds and it made it much easier to completely tuck behind it at higher speeds, but sitting upright on the highway felt worse than with stock.

Dremel with cutting wheel is the easiest way to trim the screen, from my experience.
Make a template (many ways to do this.. do a search here or just be creative).
Tape of the screen with masking tape on both sides (where you will be cutting it). Draw the template on masking tape and start cutting.
You can then either lightly file the edges or take a blowtorch to them for really clean finish (practice the blowtorch technique on discarded piece first).

 

[Erci]

The buffeting is a pain. I don't feel knocked about but dislike the booming noise once I hit 50mph or so, even with ear plugs.

This was the part I hated the most and the #1 reason I converted the bike to streetfighter. I can honestly say that conversion completely fixed both issues for me. There is no more buffeting at any speed, unless I'm behind a boxy vehicle at relatively high speed. Noise level has gotten so low that I no longer use ear plugs for back-roads rides (60mph or less and most of the time 45 or so). It's quieter without ear plugs than Puig with ear plugs.
Not trying to convert anyone.. just stating my experience

 

[mcteague]

This was the part I hated the most and the #1 reason I converted the bike to streetfighter. I can honestly say that conversion completely fixed both issues for me. There is no more buffeting at any speed, unless I'm behind a boxy vehicle at relatively high speed. Noise level has gotten so low that I no longer use ear plugs for back-roads rides (60mph or less and most of the time 45 or so). It's quieter without ear plugs than Puig with ear plugs.
Not trying to convert anyone.. just stating my experience

I was out on a windy day yesterday which seemed to make the buffeting that much worse. Standing on the pegs made things MUCH better, even at 50mph. So, I'm looking into going naked. I just wish there was a kit that did not require making brackets and cutting wires. I like the look of Yamaha's naked headlight best so may go that way. Too bad we can't get the original FZ6 headlight kit here in the US.

Tim

 

[Erci]

Too bad we can't get the original FZ6 headlight kit here in the US.

Tim

FZ6N kits used to be available here, but for some reason were more expensive than FZ1N kits (something like $900+).
If I was going to convert now, I'd go with this: FS:- FZ6N Naked FZ6 Headlight assembly---NEW--$275 - Sportbikes.net

Best bang / look for the buck, imo. I'm very happy with my setup, but it's much less OEM-looking.