Comfort and noise, finding the right balance

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since I surfed here... Life's just so busy these days, even if the divorce does drag on... So am catching up with the forums I used to frequent much more... Anyway...

In the interest of sharing useful information I made a useful, though perhaps maybe too obvious discovery today, but I thought I'd share it nonetheless...

Have you ever been in the position where you are fortunate enough, having got your dream ride or ride(s) all set up just right, suspension tyre pressure, fancy exhaust, tuning, new screen, comfortable seat, decent helmet, the right tank bag or panniers and etc ... and just when you thinks its all OK, and just right, you realize there is something still amiss?

My story goes along the lines of being delighted having found the ideal bike suitably tweaked for oneself... but it was not so good for two up or touring long distance.... Anyway life circumstances change and I find myself buying an additional second bike, much more comfortable but also tweaked as its not as powerful as my other bike and I miss the power. So it gets tweaked as well (free flowing exhaust and retuned) meaning it has a louder exhaust, and screen adaptations notably a palmer bracket (lifts the screen up an inch, is adjustable, and allows an air gap at the bottom of the screen) and a laminar lip (an aerofoil that sticks onto the screen). It's not as fast as my other bike but fast enough, handles as well and is super comfortable!! And wind noise is reduced to a minimum.... but the engine noise is now too loud... even with ear plugs there is still an annoying drone at 70mph plus that is just a bit too fatiguing over the long distances that you got the bike for in the first place. So you get really super effective ear plugs, but then you can't hear the intercom... sigh...

Anyway I experimented with some baffles for the exhaust, much more bearable on the ears, but it robbed the bike of a little of that ooomph and acceleration, and it just doesn't feel the same when scratching along your favourite twisties.....Then one day disaster, the baffles got blown clear out... instant more power and feeling... and noise.....! Back to the drawing board...! I thought I was going to have to get a different exhaust and some dyno tuning, maybe a power commander.... Just how do you get your cake and eat it?

But then on a whim, I took off the laminar lip and whilst the wind noise increased, gone is that annoying drone at 70mph, replaced by a soft less fatiguing engine drone, and gentler sound of wind flowing past.... And OK a little more wind blast, but not really a problem until well over 100mph... And as if by magic at those lower speeds when you want to hear that engine growl, you get just that since the wind noise isn't loud enough to counteract the engine noise.... At last a win win.......! And for those days when you need that extra wind protection, (a really long trip and winter and rain etc ...) well then you get the laminar lip back (and those super effective ear plugs...)


I guess the moral of the story is not to forget just how much a screen effects noise as well as wind blast and that its worth continuing to experiment even when you think everything is just right... variety is the spice of life they say....

In case anyone is interested, my solo preffered ride (comfortable one up, not so good two up over long distance) is an older Yamaha fazer 1000 (incl aerotrim, laminar ears, tweaked suspension, carbs air filter and exhaust) and my more comfortable ride is a Triumph Tiger 1050 (Palmer screen bracket, tweaked engine mapping and exhaust, and decent rear nitron shock absorber)..



In the photo those black things stuck on the side of the Tiger screen are laminar ears.... a little more experimenting... keeps the wind blast off the shoulders .... I rescued them from my Honda silverwing before I sold it, but thats a different story...

And to finish off... I found a full face helmet today that fits really well and enables me to wear my glasses without pain...... Although I've not had a chance to wear it on the Fazer, I'm confidant that unlike my older beloved shoei multi tec flip top, my new helmet a Shoei Qwest will not do an alien face hugger impression at high speed on the relatively modestly wind protected Fazer. And its light, quiet and red and black so it matches both my bikes one being red and the other black!!! Life is clearly looking up!!! LOL So I am now fully kitted out and ready for my next track day....

Apparently the Shoei Qwest is one of the quieter helmets available, and the air vents on it do work really well.... And I can now confirm that I think I have finally found the right balance between engine/wind noise and weather protection....

And I am all excited, going on biking weekend with my girlfriend and a load of folk from the IAM Institute of Advanced Motorists this weekend....

Anyway... Happy Riding!

I've just read this on the Muppets.

Depending on the laws in your area, you might want to consider noise cancelling electronics. For me, though, riding with the stock screen and a good full-face helmet makes noise levels good enough to listen to music in-helmet as I ride. Having music helps reduce fatigue too. :-)