I am still a newbie as I only have 3k miles ridden/ mostly on XLH883. Question, re: windshield. I will attach a pic but my new Fat Bob has a 15" smoked windshield & I am getting horrible wind noise in my helmet. I wear a full-face modular type Harley helmet & haven't tried riding w/o the shield yet.

Anyone else have any similar experince w the shield? It's fine when I crouch below (like sport bike) but at comfortable cruising >40mph, I get all kind of deafening wind in my helmet.

I appreciate any feedback here as this is my 1st big twin & never had a shield. I got it thinking it would help on rides of over an hour. Maybe I will just ride w/o it...who knows?!

 

I have tried 3 different shields on mine to use on long trips and have preferred my full face with no shield over any of them.

Lots of threads on the buffeting caused from shields and what works for one may not another since there are so many factors. Takes alot of adjusting and the addition of other things for most to get it down to a tolerable level.

I think the 2 main things that help is the right height and some lowers. Its always the wind coming from below that gets me on mine. Never tried mounting any lowers on mine though.

 

Nice bike. Congrats. Haven't seen a fat bob with that color scheme yet. I think that your windshield issue is a common one. Not sure of the fix. I like to ride naked (sans screen).

 

Yeah, try it without a windshield. My last 3 bikes were all awful with aftermarket windshields. I also used a modular helmet but I tried an open face without any improvement in the wind noise. It's much better without any windshield at all. Foam earplugs help but taking off the shield helps even more.

 

I have the same (but they didn't have black yet) windshield on mine. I have ridden back and forth across the country and had a devil of a time mostly with buffeting above about 55-60mph. Tried raising and lowering the shield to little avail. Got a laminar lip, smoothed the air MUCH. Without the shield 14-16 hour days at 70-80 mph would be really more than tiring, especially with any strong headwind adding to the flow. The sound of the wind rushing by is gonna be encountered with or without the shield, but that is what earplugs are for. The laminar lip may be somewhat goofy looking, but IMO, so are lowers and engine "guards" on a Dyna. the shield is easy off tho for non interstate travel.

 

Thanks for all the good feedback here/ that is just what I was looking for...I rode today w/o the shield & prefer not to have it on. Maybe I just haven't got used to it on the Hwy yet. Earplugs really didn't help much at all.

 

Centerline,
who makes the windshield on your bike?

 

i just came back from a 600 miles trip without windshield BUT with a simple handlebar bag (saraceni). The bag took lots of pressure from my chest. i am still amazed about how efficient this set up is. It was a very comfy ride in combination with a full face helmet. Was cruising at 70-80 mph most of the time. No windshield for me.

 

Its the shape of the shield that's is your problem thats why the recurve style shield are becoming more popular because a flat shield tries to block the wind instead of channeling or directing it up and over. Its all about direction of air flow. With the traditional old school screens the higher the screen the more you have to look over it and the less wind resistance the exposed part of your head is going to feel. The lower the screen the better visibility you get and in my opinion the better look of the screen itself but the less wind resistance area it covers. Its form over function. Better visibility equals (normally) less wind resistance whereas better wind resistance or protection from wind buffeting equals less visibility because you have to look through the screen instead of over it.

I had a handle bar mount MS demon screen that was about eye level and it reduced wind buffeting greatly but it was a handle bar mount and didn't look as nice as the HD QD screen plus it bueffeted my handlebars out here in the desert with 65mph wind gust which was uncomfortable to say the least. I also ran an MRA Vario windscreen for while and the adjust ability of it was great but again it was handlebar mounted so during really strong wind buffeting it messed with the feel of the handlebars and the smoothness of turning which I didn't like. So in my opinion fork mounted screens are the better way to go.That being said the HD QD screen is basically a semi curved piece of lexan that blocks wind from the front at least as much as the dimension of the screen will allow. You can get some improvement by adjusting up or down to your liking but since it doesn't really tilt or have a recurve section to direct air up instead of over and back thats about all it does. Kind of like standing behind a big object when the wind gusts.

If you look at the various contoured shapes of different brands of screens you can see how they might all offer a different wind resistance pattern. Harley shields are more for looks than aerodynamics because unlike crotch rocket cafe racers were not trying to squeeze out every bit of resistance reduction we can to increase top speed and acceleration. Well at least not most of us anyways lol.

Now look at the recurve shields for Harley fairlings and you can see the concept of deflecting wind flow up and over the rider instead of just blocking the wind from the front like the QD shield does. Honestly I would like to see someone start making a QD shield with a recurve top and see if that makes a major improvement or if its a waste of time.

http://www.longrideshields.com/fairingmountedpage.html

You have another option but its up to you and your fab skills or your ability to find someone local who can work with plastics. That is to have them add a recurve section to your current windscreen to help channel some of the air flow up and over where your head is it instead bleeding off over the top of the screen and damn near straight back.

Or just suck it up and learn to live with, I ride with a 1/2 helmet and a cut down QD screen out here in the Vegas area with 65-70mph wind gusts. Really sucks when it hails or sleets.

 

I have the same shield ( 15" detachable ) on my Fat Bob and it works great. No buffeting problems at all. 21,000 miles with the shield so it's safe to say its not coming off.