Tall rider - buffeting/very bad wind noise, unridable almost, solutions?

Posted to the windscreen section but think it's low traffic as no replies so asking here:

Just bought a 2001 ST with a taller stock looking screen, it has the 'flip' at the top. Oh my, the buffeting and noise is horrendous. Above 45mph it is painful to ride, also the bike 'shimmys' left to right very slightly as I feel a shudder from the air at the front. I'm 6'4 and have a 34 inside leg, if I duck down 3in and give myself back ache two things happen, my helmet goes silent and I can no longer see as I'm now looking directly through the top edge of the screen. Oh and I get backache.

After reading I was looking at the MRA Maxi screen, is this the best bet for me to be able to see over the screen still but get the buffeting reduced and air over the helmet so it's not noisy?

Thoughts appreciated, Greg.

I'm not as tall as you at 5'9", but I too was unhappy with the OEM screen and buffeting. Tried a taller Rifle screen first, but by far the best for me for the last 10 years or so, has been the Clearview screen. They are available in different heights and, if they still make them the same, you can have the cat's eye cutouts, same as OEM, and the OEM grey moulded "eyes" will fit right into the Clearview eyes. The Clearview is wider than the Rifle as well. Less buffeting on the arms.

I just noticed you are in the UK, which likely makes the Clearview (made in USA) a less likely option.

+1 on the use of the ClearView shield w/cateyes......with the added LaminarLip, not any better can be had, IMO. That combo also greatly improves stability in high winds and left/right rear corners of 18wheelers when passing.

Thanks guys, what I'm nervous of is if I crouch lowering me 2 or 3in, it's fine. so anyone say 6'2 tall would be saying my screen was fine... Anyone out there 6'4 or more with experience of these screens?

I assume you are wearing ear plugs?!

I am not as tall as you but was bothered by the buffeting of the stock screen. I solved most of it by putting spacers in the mounting bracket that allowed the screen to be tilted down more. This opened up the bottom of the screen to allow air to pass under it and reduce the vacuum behind it. Net result was a much smoother airflow over my helmet thus reducing the noise and the buffeting.

Rod

I posted this in your wind screen post. I have a cee baily with gold wing cut out. standard height, +2 width. no more buffeting. Steady stream of fresh air from vent.
Dave

6'2" 33" inseam
try the stock windshield first, I've had reasonable luck with it. However, I like it down low with wind in my open visor .....

I also have the handlebar risers which seems to help my configuration .....

I hate looking through a shield and always run my down accept in very cold weather , wind hits right at the top of my helmet on my 03 ST and I,m 5.11''. My noise will very on what helmet I,m wearing . I think a stock or shorter shield would help in the buffeting your getting . Good luck !

MIKE

I'm 6'5" and had the same problem. some one suggested that I cut a piece of plexi glass and clamp it to the windshield to see what size will work the best. I cut a piece 14x4 and clamped it to the oe windscreen. It worked out so good I carefully drilled and mounted it to the inside of the windscreen. 2inches was all I needed but will eventually buy a 2 over windscreen see attached picView attachment 162098

I ride a ST1100...I'm 6'6" and 35" inseam....stock seat. I have ridden with a stock shield, Laminar w/lip, shorty Laminar Sport, Clearview XL with Goldwing vent, and a Clearview Medium.

At our height, to obtain relatively clean, quiet air you probably have to choose a short shield to be above the turbulance with little wind protection (shorty Laminar) or riding behind a large windscreen. I currently have a Clearview Medium and I think it's a pretty good compromise of noise, airflow and protection. I look over, not through it. I don't like to look through a shield and also don't care for the look of the big barn door windscreens on the ST11 so the air hits me about mid helmet and I end up with some wind noise...but I wear -33dB earplugs almost all the time. I think I may try a Clerarview Large with a Laminar lip next for long trips on the freeway.

I used the Clearview XL almost exclusively in the winter months because it was too warm in the summer months. I will probably get another one for this bike to use in the winter months.

The Laminar shield was pretty good at creating a fairly quiet pocket of air but was a little short and narrow for me.

The short Laminar was great at about 55mph...above that i got too much air up under my chin.

Helmet makes a difference too. I have both a Bell Star and a Bell RS-1. The Star moves more air and is more stable, but a cost of more wind noise. The RS-1 is quieter but not quite as stable on head checks in dirty air...though still very good.

Laminar


Clearview XL...


Clearview Medium


Short Laminar

I'm short, but the guy who sold me his bike was 6'4" and he ran with a stock windscreen. He was an Iron Butt type, and logged major miles on his previous ST and what he could on the one he sold me - so evidently the noise did not bother him. I wanted maximum quiet so I bought a Calsci windshield (again, a USA product and not maybe available to you). I wrote a review elsewhere on this site.

I suspect that noise levels are heavily influenced by the helmet, windshield, and the rider's perception of noise levels. Before I bought the Calsci (taller by 1.5 or 2") I tried all windshield positions, ducking down, and even standing on the pegs to get as high above turbulent air as possible. For me, looking through the shield is quietest and smoothest.

BTW, nothing beats riding in early morning still air with no traffic. And riding behind a semi truck is either quiet if I'm too close or the buffeting is almost enough to punish me.

[QUOTE;1834657]I agree. I mostly have my visor open, sunglasses on and screen down. I wear ear plugs. I only raise the screen a bit in rain as it blows the rain off the visor. I am 6 foot 2, used to be taller and 34 inseam...Mind you my large round aerodynamic shape probably manipulates the airflow too.[/QUOTE]

lol to airflow. I don't get the ear plugs thing, I have ridden bikes over 23 years now and never even thought about it. I didn't notice an issue even riding the naked GS500E at 85mph for 100 miles. I was absolutely stunned to have gone after an 'ultimate touring machine' that was the worst thing i have ever ridden for noise, borderline I nearly considered ditching it the following day. Won't ear plugs cause a problem with me hearing the sat nav and talking on the bluetooth on the phone? If it's so nosy in there that I require plugs, the mic isn't going to work very well and I'm not going to be able to hear the other person I'd imagine. That kind of thing is again why I went after a full on tourer that everyone else seems to think is massive and will allow you to sit in a bubble of still air.

Rant over, maybe one of these screens mentioned will do the job.... Fingers crossed I really do want to enjoy the bike!

That red pan looks nice, same top box E52 Maxi I think as going on mine, just got to get my lid painted then backrest and luggage rack and additional lighting mounted up.

Ok so I bit the bullet and bought a MRA vario maxi smoked. I'll let you all know how I got on. ?120ish all in from these guys, he was very sure on the phone it would fix the problem. It's endorsed by the ST1100 club of North England and the guy on the phone says he has sold hundred and is very confident it's design will totally fix the buffeting. So here goes.....

http://www.bikehps.com/acatalog/Honda_ST1100_Pan_European_1993-2002_MRA_Adjustable_Motorcycle_Touring_Screens.html#aCOL31920

Greg123 said:

lol to airflow. I don't get the ear plugs thing, I have ridden bikes over 23 years now and never even thought about it. I didn't notice an issue even riding the naked GS500E at 85mph for 100 miles. I was absolutely stunned to have gone after an 'ultimate touring machine' that was the worst thing i have ever ridden for noise, borderline I nearly considered ditching it the following day. Won't ear plugs cause a problem with me hearing the sat nav and talking on the bluetooth on the phone? If it's so nosy in there that I require plugs, the mic isn't going to work very well and I'm not going to be able to hear the other person I'd imagine. That kind of thing is again why I went after a full on tourer that everyone else seems to think is massive and will allow you to sit in a bubble of still air.

Rant over, maybe one of these screens mentioned will do the job.... Fingers crossed I really do want to enjoy the bike!

Click to expand...

Before buying any windshield try removing the shield altogether. Go ride and see how you like it.
After doing that I decided to cut my shield even with the fairing.

Thanks guys and I'll try the ear plugs!

Greg123 said:

Thanks guys and I'll try the ear plugs!

Click to expand...

Greg,
There are several ear plugs that significantly reduce wind noise and still allow you to hear music/voice prompts, intercom, etc. These are what I use but, like a lot of things related to riding, peoples tastes/needs are different.
Rod

http://www.criticaltool.com/howard-leight-lpf-1-d-max-lite-ear-plugs-uncorded-bulk-refill-box-500-box?gclid=Cj0KEQjwrPqnBRD56dGe1o_WlZsBEiQAb5ugtw0F8BnufzhoSwa7-pNsoXGJeMg88jrnfethH3tnaYMaAsws8P8HAQ

LOL. I must be doing something wrong.. I rode most of my 50k on my 1300 with the windshield down! Only put it up for rain.
I also spaced my windshield out to get more air behind it to reduce the turbulence caused by too much vacuum. no problems in the last 49K.
All my bikes in the 70's,80's didn't' have practically anything for a windshield. Lots of miles and smiles on them too.
maybe it was the 3/4 helmet? I don't recall much or seen much of full face helmets back then.
I can't stand that windshield getting in the way of my line of sight, especially if i got sun visor down. just too much to look through.

A good thread going on here. At 6' tall I guess I'm small...but with only a 30.5" inseam, my back height/length puts me in the same (more or less) league respecting head height above the seat as you 6'4" boys with longer legs. So I'm going to consider myself an equal here when it comes to upper body position - which is what we're discussing.

Yes...I suffered the same issues. When I purchased the ST100 it had the original low profile "cat eyes" windshield. It was easily a foot below my line of eyesight and proved pretty useless. I debated about the Clearview Windshield but in the end purchased the largest one possible. I would have liked it to be just one inch taller than it is...but this windshield is the best compromise for tall guys or guys with long backs.

The vent is amazing...except in rain (even when fully closed) you do get a fairly steady stream of drips flying back at you having drifted through the front "grille" area. It could use a rubber style seal to fully close it off...but with all that's out there it's still the best.

Sometimes I wear earplugs and sometimes I don't. Just depends. My Bell Revolver helmet makes some high pitched whistling noise with the front face shield full closed - it's the same with other helmets I've owned, so I don't blame the windshield on this. If I keep the shield slightly open, it's much quieter.

These pics below 1st taken enroute to Tail of The Dragon (last June) and the 2nd one right on the Dragon gives you a perspective of eye position with this 2X Large Windshield. Sometimes I think I could use another 1" height in the windshield before it would encroach on my view of things. Love the look of the partially smokey windshield though and still get many comments on the streamlined look of the bike.

Not nearly as tall, but replaced the stock shield with a clearview. Get a shield that is sized appropriately and I think you'll like it.

I have two full face helmets same brand different generations. The new one is more egg shaped and is much better. Quieter, doesn't yank my head around as much when I turn my head. And, it's better ventilated.
YMMV

(Windscreen) size isn't everything. It's all in how you handle it (the air flow). :-D

Buffeting is due to the turbulence spilling off the lip of the windscreen. The turbulence is caused by differences is air velocity and pressure between the air being pushed up and over the front of screen and the air drawn into the low pressure region behind the screen. Vents and offset surfaces like the Laminar Lip and Vario help to smooth and redirect the air coming off the top of the screen to reduce turbulence. Just like a slotted flap on an airplane wing, watch the smoothness of the airflow on your next takeoff or landing.

I'm 6'2" and my ST1100 came with a +4" Cee Bailey and I had buffeting right at my forehead. I went to a Laminar Lip and now the turbulence goes over my helmet. I bet you'll be pleased with your Vario as it is the same principle as the Laminar.

I also wear earplugs. I want my ears to be ruined by listening to Rock and Roll, not by motorcycling. :-D