Thumper Club Forum
Technical => Bike Problems/Questions => Topic started by: Richard 003 on November 17, 2006, 10:49:56 PM
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The screen on that fairing I put on the XBR outfit was too high - I was looking through it, and there was much turbulence. So I cut a few inches off the top (surprisingly, without breaking it). Now I can see over it, but I have lots of wind roar as it directs the air straight at my head. Not having a wind tunnel, I'm at a bit of a loss. Would adding some kind of flip-up help?
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i've been experimenting with screens for a while on my honda. i'd prefer not to have one but they keep the cold away quite well.
i've found that it either has to be high enough to send the air over the top of your lid, or a bit lower so that it clears your body but catches you head and neck. anywhere inbetween and you head cops it, not only buffeting but horrendous noise as well.
the best one i ever rode with was a bmw r100gs with the square headlight and mini fairing. it kept the wind off your body but your arms and head were in the airflow. best of both worlds, with no buffeting or noise.
bullet350 (at 45mph screens aren't an issue)
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i've been experimenting with screens for a while on my honda. i'd prefer not to have one but they keep the cold away quite well.
i've found that it either has to be high enough to send the air over the top of your lid, or a bit lower so that it clears your body but catches you head and neck. anywhere inbetween and you head cops it, not only buffeting but horrendous noise as well.
the best one i ever rode with was a bmw r100gs with the square headlight and mini fairing. it kept the wind off your body but your arms and head were in the airflow. best of both worlds, with no buffeting or noise.
bullet350 (at 45mph screens aren't an issue)
I think my challenge is to devise something tall enough to send the air over the top of my head, but low enough that I can see over it, rather than through it. I think I now have the airflow directed straight at my head - not a lot of buffetting, but a lot of wind noise
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I've had to cut a few in my despatching days & found (for me) that the ideal compromise was to sit on the bike & mark the screen at the level that would allow me to see over the screen (sitting upright) during bad weather but during the nicer weather, be able to relax & look through (bugs permitting) with the air flow just catching the top of my helmet. To cut the screens (quite a few) I used a hot air gun to soften the perspex & carefully cut it with a breadknife.
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I've had to cut a few in my despatching days & found (for me) that the ideal compromise was to sit on the bike & mark the screen at the level that would allow me to see over the screen (sitting upright) during bad weather but during the nicer weather, be able to relax & look through (bugs permitting) with the air flow just catching the top of my helmet. To cut the screens (quite a few) I used a hot air gun to soften the perspex & carefully cut it with a breadknife.
I suppose I might have cut it a bit low. Then again, I didn't want to be craning my neck. I used a jigsaw ;-)
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The screen I made for Dolly is quite low, well below head height, but I put a significant kickout near the top that seems to keep the worst off at sub 70mph. Over that I get a bit of buffeting, but It's rare I travel that fast, unless Mr Hayward is leading ;-) I moulded it from perspex heated in the oven and then draped over my dustbin to get the curve in two directions. Have a look, there must be a photo of it in one of the galleries.
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The screen I made for Dolly is quite low, well below head height, but I put a significant kickout near the top that seems to keep the worst off at sub 70mph. Over that I get a bit of buffeting, but It's rare I travel that fast, unless Mr Hayward is leading ;-) I moulded it from perspex heated in the oven and then draped over my dustbin to get the curve in two directions. Have a look, there must be a photo of it in one of the galleries.
Thanks, I will. I think my screen must be about the same height as the shorter Powerbronze varaint now. I might have a go at sticking something on it, by way of a kickout, to see if that helps. Or buy a short flipped screen from Powerbronze, but that would be a bit of an expensive experiment.
Other problem in assessing this is that I can't see how fast I'm going ;-) We had to mount the clocks (XBR on CX yoke) a bit higher to mount the fairing, and the speedo cable doesn;t reach. Anyone had a longer speedo cable made, and if so where?
Cheers
R.
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Why not try an old helmet visor clipped to the top (could be made adjustable if fitted into slots made in screen?)
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RE : Speedo cable ,
How much longer do you need Richard ?
From memory I think it's about 5" longer than standard .
Will check on length tomorrow .
It's not new and I'm not sure what it's off ,might be a Yamaha ?
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RE : Speedo cable ,
How much longer do you need Richard ?
From memory I think it's about 5" longer than standard .
Will check on length tomorrow .
It's not new and I'm not sure what it's off ,might be a Yamaha ?
Coo cheers. 5" would be ample. It's need to fit into a CX speedo drive though (front end is CX650). I have XBR clocks. Trouble is I don;t actually know whether it;s an XBR or CX speedo cable ...
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It's 7" approx longer than the one on my Xbr , total length of 41" .
The ends are standard Xbr ,square speedo end and slotted for the drive .
Do you want a photo to compare the ends with your cable ?
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It's 7" approx longer than the one on my Xbr , total length of 41" .
The ends are standard Xbr ,square speedo end and slotted for the drive .
Do you want a photo to compare the ends with your cable ?
Good grief, that's long ;-) Yes please, a photo would be wonderful.
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Wouldn't just about any Honda speedo cable fit? Try getting one from a big trailie (Translap, Africa Twin, Dominator, etc.)
As long as the drive end is the same design (held in with a bolt across the groove) then it should fit.
Cheers
GC
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Wouldn't just about any Honda speedo cable fit? Try getting one from a big trailie (Translap, Africa Twin, Dominator, etc.)
As long as the drive end is the same design (held in with a bolt across the groove) then it should fit.
Cheers
GC
Totally agree ! No Problem...
Jethro
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Wouldn't just about any Honda speedo cable fit? Try getting one from a big trailie (Translap, Africa Twin, Dominator, etc.)
As long as the drive end is the same design (held in with a bolt across the groove) then it should fit.
Cheers
GC
There you go problem solved ,and they agree , Richard ..
So is it a CX650 speedo drive or a XBR500 drive or are they the same ?
Sent the photos of the cable ends to your freeserve address last night .
Hopefully they will answer the drive question .
If you want the cable send me your address and I'll post it ,ASAP.
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There you go problem solved ,and they agree , Richard ..
So is it a CX650 speedo drive or a XBR500 drive or are they the same ?
Sent the photos of the cable ends to your freeserve address last night .
Hopefully they will answer the drive question .
If you want the cable send me your address and I'll post it ,ASAP.
Email received, looks exactly the same. Thanks. I'll reply to your email now. Cheers
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Wouldn't just about any Honda speedo cable fit? Try getting one from a big trailie (Translap, Africa Twin, Dominator, etc.)
As long as the drive end is the same design (held in with a bolt across the groove) then it should fit.
Cheers
GC
Thanks for sending that, xbrmz, that was bloody quick. Much appreciated :-)
There you go problem solved ,and they agree , Richard ..
So is it a CX650 speedo drive or a XBR500 drive or are they the same ?
Sent the photos of the cable ends to your freeserve address last night .
Hopefully they will answer the drive question .
If you want the cable send me your address and I'll post it ,ASAP.
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It's good to hear you got it OK ,
If I keep getting rid of things at this rate I should have room for another bike by 2020 ?
Hopefully I'll catch up with you at this coming years annual rally ,unless I end up on one of my detours .
Didn't make this years to busy looking at bikes in York ,I'm just to easily distracted .. :)
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It's good to hear you got it OK ,
If I keep getting rid of things at this rate I should have room for another bike by 2020 ?
Hopefully I'll catch up with you at this coming years annual rally ,unless I end up on one of my detours .
Didn't make this years to busy looking at bikes in York ,I'm just to easily distracted .. :)
York? when were you in york? Drop by if you're in york
Not only will this speedo cable make my screen experiments more scientific, but it will provide much-needed reassurance - I know which local roads are safe at what speeds on the outfit, and it will be useful to be able to calibrate my entry into what I know to be a 40 mph bend, while remaining on contact with tarmac at all corners ;-)
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York? when were you in york? Drop by if you're in york
Not only will this speedo cable make my screen experiments more scientific, but it will provide much-needed reassurance - I know which local roads are safe at what speeds on the outfit, and it will be useful to be able to calibrate my entry into what I know to be a 40 mph bend, while remaining on contact with tarmac at all corners ;-)
Equipped with sppedo cable, I can now tell how fast I'm going, which is useful as I already know which bends round here are too fast on this unballasted outfit ;-) I took the thing to Sherburn and back on Sunday, and have come to the conclusion that the wind from the screen is no worse than when the bike was unfaired, the bike still gets to 60+ quite quickly (barring headwinds), and I can duck down behind the screen anyway, at such elevated speeds. I therefore declare the outfit sorted :-)
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Equipped with sppedo cable, I can now tell how fast I'm going, which is useful as I already know which bends round here are too fast on this unballasted outfit ;-)
I should proof-read my posts ;-) What I meant to type was "I already know which bends are too fast at 50 on this unballasted outfit"