Few are thrilled with the looks, but most who try fork fangs find they do make a big difference. It's not like they're visible to you when riding the bike, and when it comes to function I'll choose it over form almost every time.
I think helmet types have a lot to do with buffeting. I used to not wear helmets, but as I got older, I thought it was a good idea to start wearing one, so I went with a half-helmet. I had no issues with buffeting with the half-helmet on my '14 Limited, even with the stock windshield. Later, I switched to an 8" LRS Recurve and still no buffeting.
A couple of years later, I thought I would switch to a different helmet, so I took a ride to Cycle Gear up in Houston to try on Shoei helmets. I ended up buying a Shoei Neotec modular helmet. I got on my bike to ride the 40 miles home wearing my new helmet. When I got on the I-45 and up to highway speeds, the buffeting I experienced was so bad that it felt like my eyeballs were rattling around in my head. I couldn't focus, no matter how hard I tried. Every car looked like three cars and I was surrounded on all sides. I thought about pulling over and taking off the helmet because the buffeting was so bad. I ended up making it home safely, but it was a scary experience.
That's when I started looking for a solution to the buffeting issue. Of course, I read about the fork fangs, but I just didn't like the looks of them. I thought a different windshield might be the solution. Then, I saw a post by someone who recommended the DK Custom Cooling Deflector Wings. So, I bought a pair and installed them. I've had no buffeting since.
Agreed with the posts above regarding buffeting it’s exactly like putting your head in paint can shaker . I think we all agree we’re on a motorcycle got To feel wind which is not a problem at all , I like it but buffeting and wind are 2 different animals and it only happens with windshield on my bike . I went through 2 gonna try one more time see if I get it right this time or,I’ll be riding without for now one.
DIRTYHARRY if you see this post , you mentioned you wear a 3/4 helmet with face shield, do you also ride with windshield or without ?
I took the windshield off of my road king and put it up stairs in my shop soon after I bought my Harley new in 06. I do have a clock works removable faring but don't always ride with it on. I've ridden Old Hondas back in the mid 60's,Yamahas, Suzuki's an had a 47 Indian Chief. The only thing that the wind did was cause a little arm fatigue as it hit me in the chest while riding. I've never experienced "buffeting" as described in previous posts. As I stated before I've been riding since the mid 60's and ridden almost all of the modern Harleys from 0 to 75 mph on express ways and never experienced anything like what was mentioned here. Rain has been my worse experience.
Few are thrilled with the looks, but most who try fork fangs find they do make a big difference. It's not like they're visible to you when riding the bike, and when it comes to function I'll choose it over form almost every time.
I have the ones from JES Customs myself.
Same here.
I don't think they look all that bad plus, with them, I can light a zippo behind the fairing at 70mph.
I tried a LOT of different things. Windshields, the dog dish, etc. The ONLY thing that worked was the fangs. Not a fan of the way they look but you do what you gotta do. And I have black forks so the black fangs more or less blend.
It is a balancing act though, even with the fangs. If you have fangs and then add a big windshield, you will get what I call "back pressure" which is the wind essentially swirls from behind and hits the back of your neck. It's kind of like riding in that old 3 row station wagon with the back window open - it sucks the exhaust right in the car! I learned about it when Cheryl opened a bottle of water behind me and the altitude change caused the bottle to gush water out. It went straight forward at my neck and splashed the inside of my windshield.
What I have learned is that you want the shortest windshield you can stand with the fangs. The airflow over the low windshield will push the air out behind you instead of allowing the back pressure in because the airstream is so high over your head with a big windshield.
Many of us have traveled your path. There are so many factors that effect this complex puzzle. I wear prescription glasses, so if my helmet shakes, so do they, and I can't see sh#t.
A lot of the problem is the air coming from the lower part of the fairing which comes up to fill the low pressure area. The 'Fangs' definitely help. I did not like the looks of them though. So, for my '14 SG, I made spoilers, mounted to the fork behind my lights which solved 70%, and another small one mounted on top of my lowers which fixed the other 30%. They are hardly noticeable, and no wind at 85mph!
i had a couple sport bikes if i rode them without a helmet, i would loose my breath around 55 to 60 mph. the first cruiser i had problems with was a 83? honda gold wing 1100 a factory striped model. they came without bags and fairings. i think the wind shield was added to it over the years, this bike i had to tuck in the front of my t-shirt or it would balloon up or float up. my beard would be up in my face, i never rode it with a helmet you could feel some buffeting without one.
Just thought I would share my experience with trying to eliminate wind buffeting on my new 2021 Street Glide Special.
I have been riding my new SGS for more than 5 weeks now, and found that with the stock windshield (I believe it is a 4” height) any speed over 65 mph and I was getting my head knocked around by wind buffeting. I am 5’7” with a 30” inseam.
The buffeting was so bad with the stock SGS windshield, that my vision was blurry, I was became dizzy, and I had headaches after the ride. It was like someone was hitting my head with a rubber hammer 5 times per second. Forget going up to 80 mph. I thought I would have brain damage after riding.
So first thing I added was the Kuryakyn Triple tree wind deflector. While it did not change the buffeting, I did note that the wind coming from below the tank hit me at chest level instead of just under my helmet, and the ride seemed smoother and quieter. Though there was no change in buffeting, I decided to keep the Kuryakyn Triple Tree wind defector on the bike.
Next I tried adding a Klock Werks 5” Flare windshield. I found that with the 5” Flare, the buffeting was slightly reduced, and instead of coming on at 65 mph, started to come on at 70 mph. I also noted that if I leaned forward about 6-8” (toward the windshield), the buffeting stopped completely. I really did not want to keep leaning forward, and a 5 mph gain did not seem that much to me, so I removed the 5” Flare and continued to search for a better solution.
Then I tried no windshield at all. Just the SGS fairing. Interestingly, without any windshield, I found that I was able to go up to 75 mph with no buffeting. My head was just in the wind. At 80 mph, however, buffeting started, but was less that if I had the OEM windshield or the 5” Flare windshield. A downside was that I did not really like the look of the SGS with no windshield.
Next I tried both the 4.5” and 7” Harley Windsplitter windshield. I really like the look of these shields. The 4.5” was like the 5” Flare. Same results for me. Buffeting started coming on at about 70 mph.
The 7” Harley windsplitter looked very nice on the bike. With it, buffeting started coming on at about 75 mph. The 7” was about the same as when I rode with no windshield (with the buffeting coming on at 75 mph).
Still not satisfied, I decided to just cut rectangular holes in the stock OEM windshield that came on the SGS. My thought was to reduce the vacuum behind the windshield. Much to my surprise, I eliminated the majority of the wind buffing. Above 75 there was some buffeting, but it was very much minimized, and better than the Harley Windsplitter or the Klock Werks Flare.
I was not crazy about the looks, but I did like the decrease in wind buffeting.
I next purchased the Harley 7” Windsplitter and cut rectangular holes (this time near the bottom of the shield). This did not work at all - being the same as the 7” Windsplitter with no cut.
I finally gave in and decided to try the H-D fork mounted wind deflectors - “Fangs” as they are often called. Many on the forums mentioned that the Fangs would work... Got them, painted them satin black (since they only come in chrome), and mounted them.
Success! The H-D Fork Mounted Wind Deflectors were the solution for me. No more wind buffeting at all, even up to 90 mph. This with the stock windshield.
I really tried not to go the route of the Fangs, as I was not crazy about the look. But the huge advantage of no wind buffeting, and with the fangs painted black, I can live with it. The look is actually starting to grow on me, and I think it’s pretty cool.
Other downsides to the Fangs? None for me. I do notice that the wind sound is much decreased, and I can hear the engine and radio much better. Also, there was some increase in the feeling of heat from the engine on my leg.
I know - pics right? I’ll take some tonight and put them up.
R,
Sanjuro
I did all the same things as you and found the
fangs to work out the best, no more buffering
and I even think the look good. I also did the mid frame deflectors and the fairing deflectors they also help.
Dale
Fangs work on my RK, I don't care much for the look but without them my glasses won't stay on, blurred vision bad, they beat up the bridge of my nose and the buffeting is like when you only roll down the back windows in your car and it starts the WOMP, WOMP WOMP WOMP......
Fangs work for me for most of the buffeting. However, I have to add that which helmet I wear makes a difference. I still get light buffeting with my full face in the winter but when I use my 3/4 or 1/2 shell, I have absolutely zero buffeting. I think this is because dirty wind can grab the chin piece of the helmet.
03-18-2021, 03:12 PM
