I like the screen down better than up. When down all the way I still get some turbulence hitting the bottom of my helmet. I wonder how it would be if I shortened the windscreen? After getting a spare screen stored on the shelf (just in case I don’t like my changes) I hit my existing screen with a saw, removing about 3 1/2 inches.
It looks OK. Things got busy this afternoon so I didn’t get a chance to go on a test ride. I’ll do that tomorrow and see how the results feel. I’ll take some better pictures then, too.
Later….
No new pictures, yet. I took a test ride visiting a friend across the bay. Wind noise is down, but shoulder buffeting is up. I’ll ride this way for a while before I make any other changes, but so far I think it is a trade off that I’ll like. I did notice that if I sit tall in the saddle it gets even quieter, yet. Perhaps I’ll take another inch or two off. I might also try rounding the edge to see if it cuts down on the shoulder turbulence.
These images show what I hope to be the final cut. I want the screen about one-and-a-half inches lower and I also want a curve instead of pointy corners. The screen will be removed and cut on friends band saw to get the smoothest cut possible. The distance from the place where the screen comes to a point between low and high beam lens to the top of the screen will be just under 10 inches when finished.
I took the screen over to a fellow Sunday Morning Breakfast Club rider’s house for the final cut using his band saw. Much easier than using a dremel with a cut-off wheel.
Dave got real close to my guide marks in two cuts. After using the band saw I acted as a human vice, holding the screen while Dave smoothed out the cut surface with a file. It came out pretty good; good enough that Dave will probably admit that he cut it :-)
Once home I put the screen on the bike and did a little more filing then hit the edge with various grades of sand paper, finishing up with some 1500 grit wet paper to polish the edge. I’m happy with the looks of the finished product. Now it’s time for a test ride.
Interesting. Dropping an inch-and-a-half from the first try sure makes the windscreen look better, but didn’t move the wind much at all. The screen is best in its lowest setting (as was the case before I started cutting). I held my hand up to gauge the wind right in front of my helmet/body. Wind strength is minimal from my neck down. There is some downword wind flow from chin to neck. The dividing line is about the bottom of the opening of my helmet. From chin up air is pretty smooth. All in all I’m happy with the results.