MNeedham73
06-22-2008, 02:58 PM
This is the only real complaint I've had about my bike. Even at moderate speeds (35-45mph) and with the windshield, I was experiencing an insane amount of buffeting.
It was bad enough to make my vision double at times, as the wind was coming up from under the windshield and catching the bottom of my helmet. After a long ride, my head, neck, and back were very sore from it. It also made wind noise nearly unbearable, to the point that last week I started wearing ear plugs. I could put my hand, palm down, in front of my chest while riding and actually watch the oscillations in air pressure move my hand.
So, I went looking for some lower air deflectors to help limit the problem. Problem was, Yamaha doesn't make any for my bike yet, and the only ones I did find, a guy was making them out of his garage and was charging more for them than I felt was reasonable ($165 for two pieces of lexan with chrome brackets is a bit much, IMO).
Thanks to a fellow member of the V-Star 1300 forums I participate in, I went a different route and found a set of deflectors that while aren't designed for my bike, would work with some very minor modifications (drilling one hole in each deflector to accomodate the bolts in the windshield bracket).
Picked up the deflectors and did the work yesterday afternoon and took the bike out for a ride. The difference was so extreme it was like I was riding an entirely different bike. Hardly ANY wind noise at all, no buffeting, no nothing..just a slight breeze going by..enough to keep me cool riding on a hot day. Tried it both with and without my helmet. I was able to ride with a baseball cap on without having to reverse it on my head, it's that much better.
Best $70 and 2 hours worth of work I've experienced in a long time. Certain people here (Tom lol) may find this blasphemous, but the deflectors I bought and modified are actually Harley-Davidson parts. (http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441849429&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302287489&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302287489&bmUID=1177631316038&bmLocale=en_US) Whatever works ;)
Here they are installed. I actually think they look pretty cool too. :)
It was bad enough to make my vision double at times, as the wind was coming up from under the windshield and catching the bottom of my helmet. After a long ride, my head, neck, and back were very sore from it. It also made wind noise nearly unbearable, to the point that last week I started wearing ear plugs. I could put my hand, palm down, in front of my chest while riding and actually watch the oscillations in air pressure move my hand.
So, I went looking for some lower air deflectors to help limit the problem. Problem was, Yamaha doesn't make any for my bike yet, and the only ones I did find, a guy was making them out of his garage and was charging more for them than I felt was reasonable ($165 for two pieces of lexan with chrome brackets is a bit much, IMO).
Thanks to a fellow member of the V-Star 1300 forums I participate in, I went a different route and found a set of deflectors that while aren't designed for my bike, would work with some very minor modifications (drilling one hole in each deflector to accomodate the bolts in the windshield bracket).
Picked up the deflectors and did the work yesterday afternoon and took the bike out for a ride. The difference was so extreme it was like I was riding an entirely different bike. Hardly ANY wind noise at all, no buffeting, no nothing..just a slight breeze going by..enough to keep me cool riding on a hot day. Tried it both with and without my helmet. I was able to ride with a baseball cap on without having to reverse it on my head, it's that much better.
Best $70 and 2 hours worth of work I've experienced in a long time. Certain people here (Tom lol) may find this blasphemous, but the deflectors I bought and modified are actually Harley-Davidson parts. (http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441849429&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302287489&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302287489&bmUID=1177631316038&bmLocale=en_US) Whatever works ;)
Here they are installed. I actually think they look pretty cool too. :)