Wind Buffeting
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Stage I
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: america
Wind Buffeting
I have a stock 2011 FXDC. I bought a windshield from HD that is suppose to work. No matter where I position the shield my helmet is buffeted like a vibrator. I have tried lowers to no avail. I am 6' tall and sit on a cruising seat. I sit kinda high in the saddle. Is there a solution?
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,382
Likes: 4
From: Kennewick, WA
Without the shield and in the conditions that I ride in, the full face helmet would be the way to go.
The OP didn't mention where he lived, how fast he normally rode, or the distances he normally traveled.
I live in an area with lots of open roads, but also lots of big bugs and roadside birds, but not too many semi's to clear my path. A windshield keeps the wind from constantly trying to push me off the bike and allows me to ride faster, longer and more comfortable. Having a pheasant, magpie, sparrow, blackbird, quail or crow surprise me is not as big of a threat with a windshield to duck behind.
I accept a windshield as a fact of life for most of my road riding. When riding semi-aggressively in a group, the shieldless riders are struggling to keep up and are soon mounting some kind of a windshield.
Pretty funny when we'd pull over for a break and brew, the shieldless guys are talking about the swarms of bees, wasps or bugs we just went through and how they were getting into their collars or wherever and biting or stinging them, the rest of us don't know what they are talking about.
Behind a shield it makes little difference to me if I'm wearing a half, 3/4 or full helmet, though the full helmet seems to pick up more turbulence and give me double vision a bit more often when the cross winds are just right.
Those are just my own observances. Take into consideration that my situations are probably different than your own.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 6,235
Likes: 65
From: Joliet, Illinois
Riding semi-aggressively would put you well behind my shieldless, helmetless ***.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,739
Likes: 10
From: Suffolk, England
I have a stock 2011 FXDC. I bought a windshield from HD that is suppose to work. No matter where I position the shield my helmet is buffeted like a vibrator. I have tried lowers to no avail. I am 6' tall and sit on a cruising seat. I sit kinda high in the saddle. Is there a solution?
Slightly longer answer: They are all like that and you can either learn to live with it or ditch it for something else. Its justs a poor design - a slab of clear plastic stuck up into the wind that causes a vortex of wind behind it. You can play with the mounts and angle and might get a slight improvement but but if you are like me then you'll never like it.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3,766
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From: Roseville, CA
OP, perhaps a well made FF that has proper aerodynamics.
oooh! Until you swallow a bug or get a bee in your eye.
oooh! Until you swallow a bug or get a bee in your eye.
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,382
Likes: 4
From: Kennewick, WA
I'm sure that semi-aggressive to me would be more than you are capable of keeping up with. My riding partners and I aren't new to bikes, we are just retired racers without much sympathy for wannabe tough guys.
Furthermore, I suggest you read the entire post before making such an off-the-wall comment.
Last edited by HemiOrange; Oct 6, 2011 at 02:10 AM.