Wind Buffeting

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mcgovern61

mcgovern61

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Dec 3, 2009
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Location
Kingsport, Tennessee
My Bike Models
Former '82 GL1100 "The Slug"
On the trip to the Midwest Meet, I had the chance to ride using my 3/4 helmet and my 1/2 helmet. Speeds varied through out the trip over some 1,750 miles ranging from a continuous 15 MPH on a West Virginia back road for about 10 miles (saw lots of things there that made me scared!) to running on the highways averaging 80 MPH. At first, I was using my 3/4 helmet and getting the snot beat out of me at highway speeds from wind buffeting. I have a Vetter fairing with the 21" windshield, but I was still getting beat up awful. I tried to switch to the 1/2 helmet thinking the lower profile would help and I thought my head was going to explode! I talked with my riding partner Brian who also has the same fairing and was experiencing similar buffeting.

Granted, my bike was loaded a bit heavy to the rear: :hihihi:

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Brian had suggested laying the suitcase over on its side (like in the picture) to help cut down the disturbance. It helped a lot. So I also moved the tent from the trunk rack onto the right saddle bag. It helped some more. I thought it odd that making a clearing behind me would help the buffeting but it did! (Not completely though.) I also noticed at one point that when he was riding in the right side of the right lane and I road on the far left side of the left lane, the buffeting dropped significantly! That was when I realized that even his bike was throwing wind disturbance (wash) in front of my fairing. Once we started riding further apart front to back and side to side, the buffeting was reduced.

So....my question is, has anyone found that a larger windshield alone cuts down the buffeting at highway speeds? Any opinions out there on any other ideas? I intend to continue to ride these highways and will be at that 75 - 80 MPH speed often. I am also removing my Vetter fairing to go to a standard with just a windshield.
 
Most of the buffeting to your helmet is caused by the pressure diffential of high pressure air over the top of the windshield dropping into the low pressure area between you and the windshield. A taller windshield won't solve the problem, but vents will help eliminate most of it. The faster you intend to travel, the larger the vents need to be. I think you can still purchase them from Vetter, the windshild I have with my Vetter 4 has the adjustable round vents in it.
 
I got beat pretty good with no fairing or shield. I've ridden bikes with ridiculously small shields that helped a lot. I'll be getting a shield very soon. Passing trucks at 70 mph is no fun at all.
 
I've had both the stock shield and a higher shield. I'm now running a lower shield that's a bit taller than stock because it looks better.

My experience is buffeting is going to happen no matter what, even with NO shield.

Around L.A freeways there's really no getting away from wash from cars and trucks, it's a way of life riding here but even in the itty bitty teeny weeny bit of traffic we did encounter on the trip to and from Chicago I had buffeting on both the 1100 and 1500.
1500 is less for sure but it is there.
1500's wider fairing may have something to do with reducing it but I couldn't say for sure.
 
I have a taller shield with vents that I wanted to get installed prior to the ride out to Joe's but it didn't happen. It will be installed before my next long distance trip I take on a highway.

This trip was my first long distance trip done by the majority of the super-slab as most of my riding is done without a helmet and on back roads so this trip was mostly uncharted waters for me. During the trip out I had a 3/4 helmet on the entire trip and my head felt like a bingo ball in a bingo machine. On the trip home, the first gas tank was done without a helmet and the buffeting was gone. I just chalked the buffeting up to the highway speeds and the helmet. It will be interesting to compare the results of highway speeds with a helmet and a shield with vents installed.
 
i wear a 3/4 helmet and just replaced a stock height windshield ( on my 1500 wing ) with a one inch taller cee baily tinted windshield and it moved the air stream up almost over the top of my helmet. there is much less buffetting now than when i had the stock height windshield on
 
I found that if I open the two vents and open them pointing up towrads the gauges it helps with the buffetting.Think it helps move the trapped air between you and the winshield.Helps a lot.Maybe some aerodynmics major may have the answer??
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=92321#p92321:19k8hqa9 said:
mcgovern61 » Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:42 am[/url]":19k8hqa9]
I will wait on your report Brian. I might also contact Craig Vetter to get his opinion. He usually responds pretty quick.
Click to expand...

Well working for the Federal Governments has it's benefits. One of those benefits is working a compressed schedule where I work 9 hour days so that every other weekend I can take a 3 day weekend. It is even better when that three day weekend falls on a holiday weekend, and that happened this weekend. I was off at the VA, but I had to work the weekend at that orange and white self moving company, but I made sure that today I was off from both places. Since I was off, I took the time to clean up and change my Vetter windscreens from the 21 inch to the 23 inch that has two of the circle vents. I got the screen cleaned up and looking good, but those vent plugs are still a little yellow but that is a different matter all together.

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Anyway, when riding to Joe's place, my head was getting tossed around so much that my vision was actually blurry. Normally I ride without a helmet on back country or mountain roads so I never really noticed the buffeting before, but riding at speeds of 75 - 80 mph on the freeway, I was feeling it. After changing the screen I went for a ride and duplicated everything as much as I could: with the 23 inch windscreen on and the vents closed and wearing the same helmet and traveling at 75 mph, I was feeling the same affect. My head was bobbing around and the vision was blurry...

So I then slowed it down a bit, leaned forward and popped the vents open. Again I cranked it up to 75 and the buffeting was gone. I twisted it a little more up to 80, and still nothing. One nice thing about not working on a weekday, is that the freeways are usually less congested, so I was able to twist it up a little more to 85... (but that was where the speedo stopped) and for the most part, there wasn't any buffeting.

I had expected to feel a lot of air coming through those vents, but surprisingly, there wasn't. What they did do was get rid of that area of low pressure behind the screen and that is all that I need. Now I just need to get some new vents that look good.
 
I was told that those vents killed buffeting, but I did not know anyone that had them to compare. Next windshield for the Vetter will be the taller 22" with the vents for sure! In the meantime, I still intend to pull the fairing and use a windshield. I will put the Vetter back on for late fall and winter riding since those lowers really help in cold weather. (And it only takes 10 minutes to put the fairing back on!)
 
Mike: interesting video! Using their procedure, my windshield is WAY taller than ideal - dunno what I think about cutting it down...
Brian: I added a vent from a GL1800 (GoldwingDocs.com how-to) just to increase air flow; I'm guessin' it must have, by default, cut down on the buffeting as well...
 
Mike try the Turtle Wax Polishing and Buffing compound in the tub and I then finished off with their Scratch and Swirl in the bottle( finer product does the same job. Just takes longer and more elbow grease)
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=94848#p94848:n9n5zj00 said:
backlander » Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:31 am[/url]":n9n5zj00]
I think I'm gonna try that lens polishing stuff like you can pick up at Walmart, mine are a little dingy also.
Click to expand...

backlander. I use the Mcquires brand works fantastic. Works great on yellowing headlights on your cars as well.
 

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