Taller Windscreens?

[lefty]

After reading 'Pashnit's' website, I clicked on the link to the Zero Gravity website and saw that they make a 'Sport-Touring' windscreen for my ZX9-R:teeth , but have any of you ever used one of these?
Also, since I want to make my bike more Tour friendly, what types of Tie-Downs do you use?- they were selling some cool ones at the show, but I did not buy them (yet). I currently use a net for backpack. As seen here, but I still reach back constantly to make certain that my pack has not fallen off.

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/images/threads/000/050/337/732136-kawi-parking.jpg

[Raghu]

lefty,

I hated the DB screen on my F4i - caused too much buffeting & thequality of the product was not as good as stock. I would suggest trying the Givi shields.

Also, checkout laminarlip.com

[pashnit]

Lefty, On the FJ1200, I had a 'Maier' which is out of business I think- but it was comperable to the 'Sport-Touring' windshield. Worked great.

I believe I've tried several. I put the Zero Gravity 'Sport-Touring' windshield on the ZX11 after much research from all the available companies and was really pleased with it. I would reccommend this to anyone.

For the Hayabusa- I considered buying a Sport-Touring shield for it also, but opted for a midde-of-the-road approach with the 'Double-Bubble' by Zero Gravity. This too I find I'm really pleased with. Although keep in mind, these are some big thick bikes so they split the air well. Worth every penny.

Another suggestion- if you own a big tourer with a large windshield- Concours, ST, Venture, Triumph, etc- if the windshield is at all cloudy (happens with age)- buy a new one before any long trip. Whatever cloudy-ness is in the shield will amplified by fog, rain, bugs, etc!

[madkiwi]

I replaced my stock shield with a Givi. It made a big difference, and even though it says on it not for use over 70 mph it has been fine up into the low triple digits.

Hey, if they make one for an RF900 they probably make one for anything.

And you thought they only made luggage...

madkiwi

[donoman]

The Givi's are ugly as hell but last time I talked to 'rdcyclist' he raved about it and really made me want one...

[Tom2]

go givi.....

[GAMBLER]

I had a st shield from ZG and was pleased with it. I put the stock one back because I broke it. I would buy another. I think it will make long trips more comfortable for you.

[MrCrash]

Originally posted by lefty
Also, since I want to make my bike more Tour friendly, what types of Tie-Downs do you use?- they were selling some cool ones at the show, but I did not buy them (yet). I currently use a net for backpack. As seen here, but I still reach back constantly to make certain that my pack has not fallen off.

Are you relying solely on bungee cords to hold your bag in place?

If I ever use a bungee net or bungee cords, I always double up with some sort of strap to secure items to the back seat, in case the bungee net fails.

I know of several people who lost valuable items because they failed to do this. I'm no exception. A few of them crashed, as the items found their way into the rear wheel, locking it.

There's safety in redundancy, when it comes to securing items to a motorcycle.

[donoman]

Hey lefty,
I also remember reading some dude who had straps from his backpack or his sweater or something come lose and get lodged in the rear wheel and it made him lose control of his bike...

aka... tie that stuff down really well!!!

[lefty]

Thank you guys VERY much. I'll find the card from those guys at the m/c show and order a couple of those straps from them.

[FunlovinCPA]

Originally posted by lefty
After reading 'Pashnit's' website, I clicked on the link to the Zero Gravity website and saw that they make a 'Sport-Touring' windscreen for my ZX9-R:teeth , but have any of you ever used one of these?



I have the Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen on my Busa, and I HIGHLY recommend it. I can sit bolt upright at high speed very comfortably. The looks on the bike don't suffer either, it blends in nicely.

You won't regret getting one.

[pashnit]

posted by FunlovinCPA
I have the Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen on my Busa, and I HIGHLY recommend it. I can sit bolt upright at high speed very comfortably. The looks on the bike don't suffer either, it blends in nicely.

eh Fun, you wouldn't happen to have any pics of your bike with the sport touring windscreen on it, wouldja? Was just curious what it looked like. I recently put the double bubble on my Busa -pics of my bike here- (http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51023) and was wondering about the different look. Had the Sport Touring model on my ZX-11 and it worked great for travelin'.

Was even thinking of getting the sport touring one as a backup, since they're so cheap, and the busa only uses two bolts to hold it on.

[soniq]

Check out my avatar :teeth . I love mine, but mostly because I can see the gauges now. With the stock screen the tops were cut off. Also, no buffeting, just smooth air flow.

On the Strom I have a DB, and that works great for this application. The original screen knocked me around pretty good, the DB again smoothed out the air and sends it up a bit higher.

Oops, sorry Pashnit. The pic is rather small. I'll see if I can find a better pic. Here you go...

http://www.pbase.com/image/23442474.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/23442468.jpg

[little-al]

I had a "Targa" Sport Touring screen on my FJ1200 and liked it a lot...

I don't think anyone makes bolt-on aftermarket screens for my current bike yet, although the stock screen works well.


al

[lefty]

Pashnit-
After looking at that picture of your new Busa,, you just sold me on the ZG Double Bubble in Dark smoke!!!
I just ordered one!!!!

[FunlovinCPA]

Originally posted by pashnit
eh Fun, you wouldn't happen to have any pics of your bike with the sport touring windscreen on it, wouldja?.

Took me a while to find one, but here's the bus w/ the Sport Touring Screen. From this side shot, you can see how the pilot can sit upright.

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/images/threads/000/050/337/746748-hayabusa1.jpg

[Focker]

I just got the Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen for my Ducati and it is really nice! Good quality and moved the point of wind contact up about 2"

[pashnit]

FunlovinCPA- you can really tell how tall the sport touring windshield is with that pic. Makes it easy to set the bike up for long days. Anyone considering one of these, Zero Gravity makes a good product. Here's pic of same windshield on the ZX11. You can really see in this pic the relation of how tall it is in relation to seat height of the solo corbin.

http://www.pashnit.com/pics/zx11d/zx11travelin3.jpg

[FunlovinCPA]

Originally posted by pashnit
Here's pic of same windshield on the ZX11. You can really see in this pic the relation of how tall it is in relation to seat height of the solo corbin.


wow, and i thought the seat on the Busa was low (which it is, but the whole bike is low too). the ergonomics of that ZX setup are excellent for effortless cruising.

after riding the Busa with the tall screen and getting on my F4 which has a low-slung speedscreen, the difference in the buffeting is amazing.

i like having the dark screen, but it inhibits videotaping from a tank mounted cam. something to consider for anyone looking to record their rides.

[donoman]

How much better are the Sport Touring windshields vs. the Double Bubble designs?

[Focker]

I will try to take a few photos of my bike tomorrow with the new windshield mounted, I need to considering I have had it for 6 weeks without proper photo documentation (also known as bragging rights).
I must say that seat is low on the Ninja!

[pashnit]

posted by focker
I must say that seat is low on the Ninja!

I had the seat custom made down in Hollister at Corbin. You just call over there and make an appointment, and they make it while you wait. All hands on, the dude that makes it has you sit on it repeatedly as he shapes it. You can even go for a ride on the bike before they put the cover over it- and point out stuff you want changed. Shave this, curve this, and so on. And they only charged me $250 for the seat with no fancy stuff. I personally have always had a good experience with Corbin, and they're local to the Bay Area.

http://www.pashnit.com/pics/zx11d/zx-corbin-install.jpg Getting the seat made.

For comparison sake, here's pic of the bike with stock seat- it was owned by a short guy who shaved it- so it's really low, problem was there was no padding left. :cry

http://www.pashnit.com/pics/zx11d/zx11-play.jpg

Other side view: Note the stock windscreen with the pics above of the Sport Touring screen. Huge difference!

http://www.pashnit.com/pics/zx11d/zx-new.jpg
For those that're wondering- that's a Vance & Hines SS2R Carbon Fibor 4 in 1. I eventually put the stock exhaust back on.

[Focker]

I have also had good luck with Corbin but it was all work done on Harleys. Recently I had Rick Mayer do the seat on my LT, I rode up to Anderson and had him work his magic on that one in person. I got a Sargent seat that was lowered 1 inch on the Ducati but did that via mail order. The Sargent is really a nice seat and on our dinner ride Wednesday it worked out well which was its first 100 mile ride since installing it this week. Now if those damn Italians will just ship my performance kit...

[little-al]

I had a great experience with Corbin as well, but "officially" they don't/won't make a seat for my bike 2002+ as the underseat changes make their current pan design unworkable. I've been in conversation with Mike Corbin to remedy this, but so far haven't been able to work out getting my bike or another as a donor for a week or so.

That said, I too went down personally and had them make the seat custom to my needs, and had a great experience. As Tim describes, one is assigned a technician that makes the seat from scratch, starting with the foundation. You are asked to sit and ride on the bare foam(except for a swatch of leather for the test) and modifications are made per your feedback.

Then you choose the material and any designs. The seat goes off to the stitchers, and an hour or so later it's ready for your final test run.

During all of this, they provide you with a free breakfast.

Although you technically need a reservation, my friend went down with me "crack-o-dawn" early on Saturday, and they said they pretty much always have open slots that early, and worked us right in.

Once all said and done, our original seats were shipped back to us fo rfree, and the new seats were great.

We were told several times that if we had any trouble with the seats, or wanted an adjustment after riding it for a while, just come back and they'd take care of it.

My friend on the VFR did just that when he found a fitment problem with his Givi bag setup. We rode down, and they took care of it, no appointment, and no charge or questions asked!

So, overall, a very good experience.

I've heard that some people have had less than ideal results from the mail-order versions, but then again these are "generic" per bike models... so perhaps that's not so surprising.

The moral? ...if you are interested in a Corbin seat, and live near one of their factory showrooms(Hollister, CA and Daytona, FL?) then take the time to go down and have your seat custom made. There really is no comparison.


Or as an alternative, I can highly recommend Rich Maund Cycle Upholstery in Virginia, for perhaps the best seats I've ever seen. He has a low-profile, and pretty much is only word-of-mouth since he's a one-man shop.

Here is one of his old projects(he's a huge sidecar fan, and teaches sidecar riding):

http://www.ural.com.au/Rich.html

Here is a recent seat:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2441144212

Here is a gallery of other seats he has made:

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/rgmaund/lst?.dir=/Rich%27s+Seats!&.

He can be contacted at: rmaund@pinn.net


al

[pashnit]

Another good example of difference between Zero Gravity Double Bubble and stock screen. If you look, the bike on the far right still has the stock screen. Two on the left have the double bubble. You can see the height difference. Good shoot, eh? Has kept me drooling for a long time.

http://www.pashnit.com/pics/hayabusa/3bikes-9.jpg

[donoman]

Dude you're giving me Hayabusa envy, I've never felt this way before

[pashnit]

One more:

Found this one in the archives, while I'm changing out another set of tires- you can really see the relation of the sport-touring windshield to the seat height. But also, how well the windscreen blends into the lines of the bike.

http://www.pashnit.com/pics/zx11d/zx-tirechange.jpg

[Focker]

Here is my ZG Sport Touring windscreen...

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/images/threads/000/050/337/757789-zgsmall.jpg