Windscreen options

[Ray]

Made the pilgrimage today, to Aeroflow - still owned and operated by 77 y-old, Paige Ortiz (with some help from his wife and Beau, the latest in their line of Aussies) and tried out the medium touring screen, in anticipation of some temps in 15 deg F range on the way back to St. Louis next week.

I was very comfortable on the way out with the medium sport screen (measurements earlier in this thread) and temps in the 30s, and never had to plug in the vest. (With Rukka 3-finger gloves and a down sweater in the collection of clothes I carry, the BMW Rallye suit I wore in the 117 deg F heat in eastern Washington in late June this year, could now double as a snowmobile suit.) On the other hand, if the weather holds, I'd like to hit southern CO on the way back, and was wondering what a touring screen would do for my hands. (No, I don't use Barkbusters, and I never replaced my old handlebar mitts, which tended to depress the brake and clutch levers at speed - but I should note, modern versions, especially with the hand guards, look like a great option for even more protection.)

So for my 6'2+ frame, the extra two inches of height of the medium touring screen over the medium sport screen, throws the air to the top of my face shield. In the high position, airflow runs smoothly over my Shoei X-14. (Bonus for those who enjoy music on their rides.)

Hands are protected a little by the mirrors. The sport screen adds a little more, the touring screen adds a lot of protection for the hands.

The design is great. The touring screen is notably a little thicker than the sport screen. Stiffness is adequate.

Relative airflow both sides of the screen seem optimized in either position. (One reason the engineers at BMW and Paige don't recommend obstruction of airflow on the backside of the windscreen by mounting a navigator against the screen.)

Downsides -
A lot of real estate for bugs.
To easily move the screen up and down while riding, the mirror arms need to be raised a cm or so. If one only moves their screen while stopped - as recommended in the manual, not an issue. (I know there was some interest in wider mirrors by some of the wider riders on the other forum..., so I mention this here.)
No smoke version (though for customers who want that appearance in a taller screen, Paige has occasionally, a la @Lee, used a template of a shorter screen to paint the back of the screen. The top 2 inches of the screen reportedly disappear.

Photos below.

[Ray]

Medium smoke sport screen.
Paige Ortiz with medium touring screen on my bike.
10-month-old Beau.

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[Grumpy Goat]

Nice. Thanks Ray. Does Paige still have his RS?

[Ray]

Does Paige still have his RS?

Today's ride was a 2021 RT. He was so excited about changes in handling, he offered tp let me take it for a ride in LA traffic, while he mounted a demo screen, to see how it handled..... As I would only have this one time to pick his brain, and more opportunities to ride the new RT, I declined as gracefully as possible. (It was in the first 5 min.; I don't think he was trying to get rid of me.)

Ended up spending about an hour at the shop, kicking tires, talking about some of the same dirt we've chewed in life, chatting with his wife, and scratching the dog.

[Chris216]

Ray, how much do you think the medium touring screen would interfere with a set of Barkbusters at full lock? I'm running Barkbuster storms with Helibar risers and they just touch the mirrors at full lock.
Chris

[Ray]

Ray, how much do you think the medium touring screen would interfere with a set of Barkbusters at full lock? I'm running Barkbuster storms with Helibar risers and they just touch the mirrors at full lock.
Chris

Good question. I'll post a photo, but it strikes me that if the hands are protected by the Barkbusters, one would probably be comfortable without the touring screen.

I'll post a picture when I load up the bike this AM for a long overdue trip up the coast from LA to the Bay area.

[Ray]

Area of contact with brake lever at full lock. (No risers).
(I'm a 2-finger guy, so no issues, even when practicing the low-speed exercises I was reminded of during a brief session of authority training last summer....)

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[Ray]

I should note, we have discussed before how the blue bikes resemble somewhat those of law enforcement.. I noticed yesterday that with the bigger screen even more folks were slowing down and pulling over to let me by.... Bonus feature.

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[Chris216]

Thanks Ray, it does look like the Barkbusters would interfere with that screen, oh well.
Chris

[darrell]

I’ve used this on my GSA bikes when selecting a windscreen or cutting one to a better height.

http://www.nationalcycle.com/bible-height-windshield

[mojoguzzi]

Resurrecting this thread--was looking at the Vario touring screen from Hornig (or others, of course):

https://www.motorcycleparts-hornig.com/B...ium=E-Mail

I'm not happy with the current sport shield in cold weather. Love to have a bit more protection but also want to ensure it doesn't introduce buffeting. I get wind noise with my current screen in its up position (I'm 5' 11")

[maxredline]

The Vario is a nice looking screen.
The air flow seems to be the most popular here, It also looks like a nice screen.
I am surprised there is no mention of a Puig
https://puigusa.com/uploads/products/110...c-test.pdf

[ESquared]

Back in February, whilst waiting on RS #2 and binging on accessories, I came across a For Sale post over on the "other site" (RIP) by an owner in CT who was moving on from an RS to an RT, and he was stripping some very nice farkles. I picked up the Wunderlich Marathon Screen and a Vario deflector, along with a set of Side Wind Deflectors from him for a very reasonable sum and the whole kit was in pristine condition.

Anyway, after 250+ miles of getting pretty beaten up by the standard screen, I used up a chilly Saturday morning getting it all installed. Install was easy, given the relative uselessness of the Wunderlich instructions, so I didn't take any pics of any steps - too boring. The screen and side deflectors are a dark tint and Vario is slightly lighter (and a bit goofy looking), but it seems to work!

I'll post "after" pics within the next day or so. It's more or less an early generation Vario, and there's a "bigger/better" version out there now for another couple hundred bucks, but I'll just keep trying out its infinite number of possible positions until it's totally dialed in.

Got a brief, brisk, 20-mile test run in this afternoon, and it makes a big difference in terms of keeping my arms, torso and head out of the fray, but it sounds like the Vario is directing 100% of the airflow through the top vents of my helmet (Shoei GT Air-2). Can't feel it but sure can hear it! Maybe need to tip the Vario more "up"? We'll see!

[Motorhead1977]

I have the Puig touring screen I have a long torso and it works well for me.

[Grumpy Goat]

Weather is getting warmer in these parts, and it will soon be time to put the deflector on the top of my MRA X-creen in the horizontal position (on both the RS and the Tracer) and keep the windscreen in the lower position.

As it gets hotter (as in Texas hot) my best solution is smaller / no windscreen which is quieter and smoother, but is only good for non-long distance rides. In the case of the Tracer I have a really small windscreen which I swap in during the hottest months.

One thing is for sure is that, for me, the main (only?) flaw with the RS is the stock windscreen, and replacements are not perfect although each of us will sooner or later land on a solution that works (or we get accustomed to what we have). Other bikes are quieter and that makes for a less fatiguing ride too ...

[TriangleRider]

MRA Vario in the winter, stock in the summer.



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[ESquared]

When it comes to these add-on "blades", how interchangeable are they with the various screens? In other words, will most of the Vario blades work with the Wunderlich Marathon screen? And, if there's uncertainty, I'm assuming it makes sense to try to get both companies to agree that their respective parts play well with the others?

Lots of "contact us" back-and-forth, I guess, but it seems that many of these vendors aren't keen on taking back an open box blade, whether it was installed or not...

[Grumpy Goat]

When it comes to these add-on "blades", how interchangeable are they with the various screens? In other words, will most of the Vario blades work with the Wunderlich Marathon screen?

You can buy add-on universal blades that will clamp onto anything reasonably flat - slightly curved. I added one to my Tracer - see here. Inexpensive too and so far has not broken.

[36654]

I am surprised there is no mention of a Puig

I've been running the Puig touring screen for a few years. It's mounted in the lowest position and I'm 6' ~ 6'-1". No bar risers

[ESquared]

I like the look of these blades vs the Vario deflectors offered by Wunderlich. Here are a couple of pics from this AM. Howling north wind and in the 40s, so I didn't take things outside; I apologize for all the background "noise" in these shots. The front and rear shots show how the side deflectors do their thing; it also seems to me that they're designed to work well with the Wunderlich Marathon screen (top mounting holes, "up" position) to create this quiet pocket, but I may be all wet. It also seems like that weird blade isn't centered, but it may be all the background scenery - will have to measure!
Anyway, it's good for now, pending more road testing, but I still think a proper blade might be better.
Comments, thoughts?