To: V-Max Compulsives
This week I had the opportunity to drive three v-maxes all with
differing windscreen protection. The difference in the comfort level was
tremendous. One of the drawbacks of sitting up straight on a V-Max is
your body acts like a parachute if you don't have protection. While
some would complain about the esthetics there are screens that are small
enough and offer protection as well. Here's my impression.
1.NO WINDSCREEN- Saturday I drove 60 miles on a max with no screen. I
mostly ran 75-80 to keep up with the traffic. The effort to hang on left
my arms feeling like I had just been through an arm wrestling contest.
Deja Vu, arm wrestling for beers at a bar. When passing big trucks I
noticed far more wind force altering the motorcycle tracking than on a
bike with a small screen. My helmet would start to float around 75-80
Mph. This effect only begins to happen on my own winscreen around 105
mph. Riding a max in this configuration seemed like a contest of wills.
Physics and you banging it out. The discomfort level changed the focus
of the ride for me.
2. YAMAHA (flycatcher) WINDSCREEN. Suprisingly this little screen makes
a marked improvement in the comfort level. For me it deflected the wind
off my body and up to my shoulder blade area, I'm 5'7". This probably is
a welcome effect in hot climates since it directs a lot of air under
your helmet. You do get helmet buffeting. The benefits of having one of
these little units is you don't even know it is there. If you don't like
windscreens at least get this.
3. MEMPHIS SHADES 'SHOOTER"- This is what I have on my bike. Since
owning this bike it has been on the bike. In fact I have never driven
another's max until this weekend so I was not aware of the extent of the
wind force on those that don't have some kind of screen. After riding
all three I'm firmly convinced that the 'Shooter" screen is far slippery
than the other choices. It simply eliminates your body from the
slipstream. While your helmet is still physically higher than this
screen for good visibility it is unaffected by the slipstream. I have
gone a touch over 125mph and never had to duck out of the way of the
wind. At that speed trust me you want to be able to see a long way off.
The other benefit I became aware of was I never gave a second thought to
passing big rigs because they had no effect on me. I mistakenly
attributed this stability to the weight of the bike. I was wrong. It
was the slippery profile that was getting me through that wind barrier.
On the other two bikes I found myself tensing up on the anticipation of
passing the big rigs all the while hanging on hard as I reached 85-90mph
in order to pass. I still get a heavier bug or two on my face shield
with this windscreen. Their heavier mass is not going to be channeled as
easily as the wind over my head. The Shooter is constructed so that
there is an equal amount of area below the brackets as above. I'm sure
there are a few out there that have had windscreens rotate backwards on
them because of poor design. This one doesn't. Take a look on my web
page http://home.earthlink.net/~patahearn as to how the shooter
looks. By the way they come in colors. Color at the bottom and they fade
to clear at the top. My reason for writting this was simply as a result
of the suprise I got in the comfort level of the three configurations.
If you are getting worn out driving distances at least treat yourself to
the YAMAHA windscreen. The combination of being worn out, getting
buffeted by big trucks and high speeds reduce your safety margins. NO, I
don't work or even know anybody at MEMPHIS SHADES. Cheers.
--
Patrick Ahearn
VMOA #570
86 CLYMAX
Sarasota, Florida
My V-max Home Page
http://home.earthlink.net/~patahearn
V-MAXES for Sale
http://home.earthlink.net/~patahearn/wsn80F9.html
This is where I work
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/ClassifiedsCt/floridacars/floridacars.html
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