Windshield Opinions

[trapper]

Lawrence....Jump on the Maggie, run 'er up to about 60-70mph and you've got your wind tunnel test...   

[dan twomey]

So, I actually researched this issue quite a bit a while back. I have some experience with aerodynamics and my comments are pretty much just a concurrence of what has already been stated. 

About 80% of "Buffetting" is caused when the air from under your windshield meets the air coming over the top of your windshield.  The other 20% is the type of helmet your using and how the air coming over the top of the windshield flows (or tumbles) over your helmet.

Adequate lowers and a properly adjusted windshield will cure the problem by either reducing the turbulence (tumbling of the air) or moving the point where the two airflows meet to an area where you won't feel it.  And as stated before, the type of helmet you have makes a difference too.

As much as I love the Magna, not too many people make a windshield and/or lower that can solve this problem for every size of rider.

[TLRam1]

Lawrence....Jump on the Maggie, run 'er up to about 60-70mph and you've got your wind tunnel test...   

For the really cool effect and a most proper test......tie a smoke bomb to a pole and hold it out front as your going down the road, now move it around to see where the smoke goes! 

Report your finding here.

or follow a mosquito fogging car.

[greg_o]

  Perhaps we need a wind tunnel test...

Naw, a Magna makes its own wind tunnel....the key here is to mount the shield with hardware that lets ya adjust it while your riding

[L J VFR]

As i was riding home from work yesterday, i took in all opinions we had discussed during the day. I did notice my jacket was pulling towards the windshield on occasion. I also noticed that my windshield was above my nose.  So then i did the stupid test of standing up on the pegs to see how much wind the windshield was actually blocking.... then i sat back down and smiled and realized that I wasn't that bad off after all.     I may want to look at getting a "wider" windshield, i think that may help some...     Lawrence, you are right... it is hard to herd cats.... Thanks guys... Lance

[trapper]

After numerous trials, my windshield is mounted well above my nose which makes for a very comfortable ride.  I do have a bit of difficulty, though, in fog or rain, but still manage

[lragan]

I am out of adjustment range.  The top clamp is up against the triple tree, and there is but one set of holes.  oh well...

[Greg Cothern]

I always adjust my shields to be even with my chin, and angle them back as much as possible.  This helped me tremendously with the "head in the paint mixer" syndrome....
I found that is was better to have the wind making contact with the forehead portion of my helmet just a bit to keep things from shaking about.
The smoke bomb actually is a pretty good idea, but maybe try it stationary with a fan placed in from of the bike.   

[lragan]

Achieving laminar flow from a fan and smoke bomb, in order to see what the pattern would be when the bike is moving through still air could be a bit of a trick. 

When debugging new model aircraft designs, we would fly from the back of my pickup on the runway at the then inactive jetport in Frisco.  With the pilot and the cameraman in the pickup bed, we would fly alongside at a steady speed to debug flutter problems, etc.  We had to move away from the truck by about six to eight feet to get out of the turbulence caused by the cab and find still air.  Several runs at increasing speeds were sometimes necessary, but running the videos in slow motion was quite revealing.  Once the mode of flutter was identified, it was usually simple to modify the structure to damp the resonance or remove the excitation.

It would be really cool to get a video of a smoke stream over a windshield.  Riding at speed in smoke may not be such a cool idea however.

[trapper]

You know....I always seem to be running around in a fog, but somehow...when I get on the bike, things seem to always clear up...!!!   

[ezrydr]

The chin?  Mine comes up to just about even with my chin (maybe a teeny bit lower) and the wind comes right back over it and hits the lower part of my face.

And that's exactly the area that needs protecting.  I can wear a jacket to keep the wind off my chest, my helmet covers my head and the face shield comes down about to my nose so that's OK too; but on a cold and/or rainy day, there's nothing covering the lower part of my face so that's exactly where I'd like to have some coverage.  And used to, with the old Windjammer and the extra-tall windshield, but not now.

(I realize I could replace the windshield with a taller one - it would have to be about 5" taller, I'm sure somebody makes them - but I wonder what a windshield that tall would look like, not to mention the aerodynamic drag.  And then again there's the expense...and no, I don't do eBay, I don't do business with any outfit that discriminates against firearms if I can help it.)

All this is starting to make me wonder - something I hadn't thought of, and should have -

You guys wear full-face helmets, don't you?  That would explain some of these comments.

[lragan]

Indeed, I wear a full face helmet, with shield that mates over the entire face area.

In my first motorcycling experience 40 years ago, I had a Bell Magnum helmet.  I was definitely in the minority in the helmet wearing department, as almost all riders had none at all.  The face shield was a flat piece of plastic with snaps in it that snapped onto the outside of the helmet, and was quite open at the bottom.  Lot of stuff came up into my face.  When it rained, I coped by tilting my chin down. 

Most exciting thing that came up under that face shield was a tarantula.  Landed on my chest and headed for my face.  Close as I ever came to losing the bike over the side of a mountain road!

So, I am grateful for the full face shield.  After recently running smack into a red wasp -- between my eyes-- at about 30mph leaving my neighborhood, I have learned to put it down before I drop into first gear !!

[Magnum Magna]

The face shield was a flat piece of plastic with snaps in it that snapped onto the outside of the helmet, and was quite open at the bottom.

That was my first helmet also.  My second helmet had a filter lined plastic thing that covered my mouth it would plug up into my goggles.  It helped the dirt but no real protection. 

[TLRam1]

William,

Along with my winter shield I have a full face flip-up helmet I wear for the coldest months and a Dickie that goes around my neck which I pull it up over my chin if wearing the full face and nose/chin if I am in my 3/4 helmet.

In the cold you would probably be fine with a Dickie you could do the same and pull it over your chin and nose. Mine has velcro in the back for easy on/off. 

I do get a steady wind on my helmet but not the turbulent wind that throws your head in unknowing directions. 

[Magnum Magna]

You guys wear full-face helmets, don't you?

Ful-face and in the cold i have a sponge type material that covers the top of my nose down in to my jacket.