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Windscreen

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Later or sooner, someone will make a large touring screen for our bandits. Heck, I had bought an R11GS BMW in '95 < the first year > and it took years before aftermarket caught up. Same with my '06 DL1000.
You are going to have to have a heck of a large screen out there to get some quite and still be able to see over it. Most big quite touring rigs have you look through the shield. I want some air on the helmet for cooling purposes but I wear ear plugs all the time.
 
Not trying to start any controversy, but I've never understood the complaints about the Bandit screen. I'm 6'3" and I sit in clean, no buffeting, air with the stock screen and am very happy. I don't understand the desire to sit behind a barn door for a windshield? On longer rides, I wear ear plugs which makes it a little more quiet but even without, it's still comfortable.

Please no flame, just stating I don't understand what all the complaints are about. :giveup:
 
JMBJ,

Would you mind posting some rather detailed pictures of how/where your SW hardware mounts? I already have the Suzuki luggage rack mounted to my bike for the Suzuki/Givi top box.

I would like to figure out if the SW Motech hardware will mount and be functional with my Suzuki luggage rack in place. In addition, I have yet to call Twisted Throttle to see if SW Motech stuff has the adaptor plates for the newer swoopy doopy Givi cases that Suzuki offers for the Bandit.
 
JMBJ said:
Please no flame, just stating I don't understand what all the complaints are about. :giveup:
Click to expand...

Let's see if I can explain this to you in Long Distance Touring aspects. ;-). We generally want protection from Bugs, Direct Rain, Heat, Road Stuff ( that vehicles kick up in front like small rocks, dust, etc. ). Optimal is the line of the top of the windshield coming just below your line of sight to the road. These are not barn door type shields but well designed tall touring shields. I never like the look through type shields on some major touring rigs. I had my BMW R11GS, R11R and R1150GSs set up like this and did many 600 to 1000 mile days chasing rallies about the country. I even got my DL1000 like this with the stock windshield by using spacers and had no problems on a round trip to California with a couple 700 mile plus days in the saddle due to a miss calculation on my part getting to Hollister to have a seat redone. ;-).
There is a large difference in doing day rides with your upper body in good clean air flow and doing the miles in all kinds of weather day after day for a few weeks or months on the road.
IN my YOUNGER DAYS, I toured all over the Lower US with no windshield. As I got older my body wanted more protection without going to a touring rig. I just did get off Adventure types bikes with longer suspension due to age, legs ain't what they used to be to hold up with just the tippy toes or sliding my hiney over. Still miss the Adventure bike ride though.
I also need a bike that I can stand on the pegs when doing loose gravel or just to relieve the hind end.
I can get what I want with the shield by adding another to the existing shield but would prefer to have it one piece even if it looks a bit strange being so tall. ;-) Gosh, should just look at some of the touring shields for The BMW GSs out there. But, they work. Function over beauty and form.
I happen to like the engine, transmission and seat height of the 1250S Bandit and will keep striving to make it a great sports touring bike to fit my needs and wants.
I wear ear plugs on all my bike rides out of town and at times, even in my noisy truck on some of the roads that pass for asphalt roads down here. ;-)
 
Just got back from a 1000 km w/end away with a pillion and my new clear Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen. Here are my thoughts.

It was a mixed bag of riding with a large component travelling on highways at speeds ranging from 100 to 130 km/h. The first thing I immediately noticed about this screen was that the airflow was not only significantly reduced around my upper body and neck area, but the blast of air I would get up the inside of my Shoei XR1000 helmet was practically gone. I found this aspect of the stock screen and my Powerbronze DB screen quite uncomfortable in cold weather........thanks to the ZG ST screen no more cold nose and dry eyes!

At highway speeds I found the airflow clean and the ride much more relaxing. I was surprised at how much warmer my jacket was due to the decreased wind blast in cold temps. I now find that the airflow hits my helmet about mid visor. I didn't really want a totally protective screen as they're too hot and stuffy in the warmer weather nor would I expect it from a sports tourer. So I'm finding the balance between exposure to airflow and protection around the neck and upper body area to be about right for me.

The quality of the screen is good and the acrylic thick and sturdy. Optically it has very little distortion. You look over the screen and even when I was tucked in through twisty bits of road I never felt it interfered with my view ahead.

The new screen is still fairly noisey. I'd reckon it was no more than about 10 - 15% quieter than the stock screen. It doesn't bother me too much as I wear ear plugs.

The pillion had no real complaints. She thought she felt a bit more protected from the wind blast. The dreaded helmet wobble still exists if she moves too close to the rear of my helmet but it doesn't appear to feel as violent. The fact that this problem didn't go away with the new screen was disappointing but it's something I'm learning to live with when 2 up.

So far I'm liking this new screen. I can't wait to continue testing it with a few good solo rides. So far I'm very satisfied with the purchase. I'm 5'11" long.
 
achesley said:
Let's see if I can explain this to you in Long Distance Touring aspects. ;-). We generally want protection from Bugs, Direct Rain, Heat, Road Stuff ( that vehicles kick up in front like small rocks, dust, etc. ). Optimal is the line of the top of the windshield coming just below your line of sight to the road. These are not barn door type shields but well designed tall touring shields. I never like the look through type shields on some major touring rigs. I had my BMW R11GS, R11R and R1150GSs set up like this and did many 600 to 1000 mile days chasing rallies about the country. I even got my DL1000 like this with the stock windshield by using spacers and had no problems on a round trip to California with a couple 700 mile plus days in the saddle due to a miss calculation on my part getting to Hollister to have a seat redone. ;-).
There is a large difference in doing day rides with your upper body in good clean air flow and doing the miles in all kinds of weather day after day for a few weeks or months on the road.
IN my YOUNGER DAYS, I toured all over the Lower US with no windshield. As I got older my body wanted more protection without going to a touring rig. I just did get off Adventure types bikes with longer suspension due to age, legs ain't what they used to be to hold up with just the tippy toes or sliding my hiney over. Still miss the Adventure bike ride though.
I also need a bike that I can stand on the pegs when doing loose gravel or just to relieve the hind end.
I can get what I want with the shield by adding another to the existing shield but would prefer to have it one piece even if it looks a bit strange being so tall. ;-) Gosh, should just look at some of the touring shields for The BMW GSs out there. But, they work. Function over beauty and form.
I happen to like the engine, transmission and seat height of the 1250S Bandit and will keep striving to make it a great sports touring bike to fit my needs and wants.
I wear ear plugs on all my bike rides out of town and at times, even in my noisy truck on some of the roads that pass for asphalt roads down here. ;-)
Click to expand...

Thanks, good explanation. Most of my touring travels are 2-3 day trips with mileage under 500 per day. I guess I just didn't realize that there were so many really long distance riders on here.
 
JMBJ said:
Not trying to start any controversy, but I've never understood the complaints about the Bandit screen. I'm 6'3" and I sit in clean, no buffeting, air with the stock screen and am very happy. I don't understand the desire to sit behind a barn door for a windshield? On longer rides, I wear ear plugs which makes it a little more quiet but even without, it's still comfortable.

Please no flame, just stating I don't understand what all the complaints are about. :giveup:
Click to expand...

I am 6'2" and get the same results as you. I have had many bikes over the years and have found it very hard to get the perfect set up for any bike by changing windshields. My 05 FJR was ok for me but it thrashed my wife on back so I changed windshields twice trying to get a good result without much luck. The funny thing is first time on the 1250 she loved how well she was protected from windblast. This really suprised me considering the small size of the 1250s shield, it just goes to show you that there is no one setup that is universal for all body sizes. I would love to try the Suzuki touring windshield to see if it improves on a good thing but I am skeptical and dont want another unused replacement windshield hanging around in my garage.
 
My progression of protection:

1) Naked bikes - CB100, CL360, 400F,
2) Bikini fairings/little windshields added to - Ducati 900, Guzzi V50
3) Fully faired full dresser - Yamaha 750 triple
4) BMW type "S" bubble cafe' fairing added to - 550F, BMW Roadster
5) Givi A750 (cut down), Omar's Street Tracker - BMW 1150, Bonneville
6) Sport touring 1/2 fairing - FZ1, Bandit

But the bottom line is this. The ONLY bike that I bought AND EXPECTED protection from the elements was my full dresser Yamaha. Everything else, all I wanted to do was simply take some of the wind pressure off my chest, offering relief to my arms from having to fight from holding onto the bike (at speed).

I accept wind noise (I wear ear plugs), I accept turbulence (I'm on a motorcycle fergodsakes!), and I accept the onslought of bugs, particulate, dust, and heat (I wear a full face helmet).

--BUT--
I sometime mess around with screens just to find the sweet spot that it might offer.... I might cut 'em down a bit (with success!).

That said, the double bubble design of the Suzuki "Touring" screen is a marked improvement over the OEM that comes standard on the bike.... and it looks better too. I might be inclined to try the Zero Gravity, because it worked remarkably well on my FZ1.... and it looks good. If I wanted to spend money for a screen that FUNCTIONED better than it looks for my cold weather riding, I would go with that new two piece adjustable.
 
Yeah, somebody posted about how his Madstad is nothing short of miraculous. Talk about somebody pleased with the effectiveness of a screen ! ! !

Last I read, after a lot of experimenting and finding the perfect combination of angle, height, and positioning of his Madstad, he was planning to make a clean single piece bracket that replicated the exact position he settled on. I'd like to see if a pair of tinted screens would be enough to hide that adjustable bracket.....

If I wasn't so hung up on the cosmetic appeal of my bike, and accepting of inevitable wind blast, without a doubt the Madstad sounds like the way to go.
 
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