Aerodynamic draft excluder on a bike?!!

Hello Everyone,
I wrote this for a bike forum, but it is just as applicable to a scoot and your comfort.....
I recently had a genuine DIY idea after reading up about Saeng edging, essentially an aerodynamic windscreen beading.....

http://www.saeng.com/subcategory.php?category=51

http://www.r1200gs.info/misc/aeroflow_saeng.html

I decided that it was a bit expensive for something that may or may not prove useful..... Plus I can't find a UK supplier...
Thus firmly in DIY mode, I decided to have a go myself by spending the princely sum of £5.89 or something like that in B&Q and bought some self adhesive brown rubber draft excluder which I spray painted black and then stuck to the leading edges of my screen.... I mean what with the cable ties to stop the screen deforming at speed, the screen not exactly going to look any more naff than it already is



Not only did it stay stuck on, even at high speed, it appeared to work! Wind noise and buffetting a little reduced, but even more strange the wind noise with my visor open was much more reduced than before, and quieter than with the visor down and closed ?!!! Now I am able to ride at 90mph with the visor open as opposed to the 70mph before..... I could even ride at 55-60mph with the front pivoting part of my modular helmet in the fully up position. Before fitting the draught excluder, those speeds would have been much more uncomfortable with the helmet in open mode.....
It works best with the rubber excluder all the way round the screen as in the pictures below. Initially I tried just the top edge first of all, but it didn't seem to make that much difference.





What an irony! who would have thought a bit of draught excluder could make such a difference, on a bike?!! I suppose I'd better add here that I also wear glasses, so they also offer a little eye protection when I ride.
The draught excluder rubber is very soft and light, and who knows who long it will last? But its worth a try, and a lot cheaper than that Saeng edging. However, If my DIY job doesn't work out, then I might well buy myself the real McCoy, even if I have to get it direct from the USA.
Now its just as fun riding along on my Divvy with the visor open, and instead of needing ear plugs, you hear the engine much clearer above a very reduced wind noise...... And it sounds great! I shall have to try it with my open face helmet which I bought in the Lidl sales to see if they are any good..... I've always been a full face helmet guy, but for commuting in summer when its hot, maybe an open face will be more comfortable?!
In summary I think the main application here is potentially a massive reduction in fatigue due to buffetting and wind noise on longer trips, and the advantage of being able to keep your visor open at relatively high touring speeds. For now anyway, my Divvy seems to offer better top half weather protection than my BMW K100RT that I used to have years ago. I'll report back on the open face helmet in due course.

Happy Riding!

Bernardo

Bernardo,

How is your Do-It-Yourself project working out for you? Still holding together?

jdeereanton wrote:

Bernardo,

How is your Do-It-Yourself project working out for you? Still holding together?

Yep it's still going strong... Even flat out at 130mph it stayed stuck on no problem, though I tend not to go at this speed or remain there that long... A sustained 90-100mph, still fine! Have ridden in all types of conditions, except heavy rain (I have my Silver Wing for that, more comfortable than any bike even in heavy rain!)

This cheap DIY job really works well, in fact so well that the quietest way to ride is with the visor open, even up to 90mph.... Seriously, ear plugs not required unless you insist riding with the visor down. My journeys are now always rewarded with a lovely inline four, burble/howl (depending on speed and throttle position) and induction growl even on my state of the art, late 80s tech Yamaha sounds delicious. Note that the height of the screen is now just right for me, in that with normal riding I peer over it without needing to move, or if the weather does get nasty, ducking down even an inch or two removes almost all the slipstream. This is the best set up I have ever had on a bike, even better than when I had my K100RT with the aerofoil windscreen (or my silver wing with the laminar lip)

By the way its great with my open face helmet aswell, but again best with the visor open, or maybe I'll consider taking it off altogether, and get a face mask for those odd cooler days.

The only thing I didn't like about the set up is that I could see the sticky side of the draught strip through the windshield....so I stuck some of the draught strip on the rider side of the screen aswell..... Whole thing looks much better now...

I can recommend it!

Put it this way, recently I have been testing other bikes including a triumph (triple) sprint, a (triple) Tiger 1050, and a yamaha fazor 1000.... They outperform my dated yamaha divvi in almost every way except for comfort and probably economy. A week or so ago at the end of a mornings road testing, I was glad to get back onto my bike.... Actually on the spur of the moment I rode around the same route, but really going for it (I normally ridemy bike more conservatively) and OK not it was not quite so fast as with the other machines but still a whole lot of fun and no neck ache or back ache.... Have decided I will for the moment be hanging onto my bike for at least another year... Besides, there's loads of other machines out there yet to test.....

Then again that fazor is one sweet torquemonster of a bike.....

Bernardo wrote:

Then again that fazor is one sweet torquemonster of a bike.....

How long before you upgrade Bernardo .

Really interesting. And it looks great on the bike. Unusual color...wow

honda_silver wrote:

Bernardo wrote:

Then again that fazor is one sweet torquemonster of a bike.....

How long before you upgrade Bernardo .

Buying that Silver Wing really tampered with my life style..... Even Mods were not enough! Damn machine well and truely got me hooked back on two wheels. So I went out and got a bike aswell, then tweaked that albeit not for performance but rather comfort. I figured that it had all the performance I needed when you want it, but most importantly is an easy going machine plenty enough low down torque and the ability to ride it how you want, and not feel the need to go faster all the time.... This bike will do for me for a good few years I thought. My big problem or should I say mistake was I went on testing other machines, and I guess sooner or later you find something that is bigger, better, lighter, or whatever... Especially when my bike is 14 years old! Actually she was a lucky find, and basically been a Sunday ride all her life...... Which is kind of what she is for me, although now summer is looming I am using her more more and more, with the Silver Wing as my ever ready workhorse for all the versatility stuff, commuting, shopping, and bad / cold weather riding... Anyway bearing in mind that I stopped biking around 12 years ago, I guess the yamaha felt familiar and as far as old bikes and reliability go, its rated as one of the best along with the likes of the Honda VFR 750.... As my cash flow was limited, the yamaha when she showed up on E-bay was the obvious choice. Alas later I did have to spend a few hundred pounds more money which I hadn't budgeted, getting a new exhaust fitted as the old one although it looked good, and seemed OK was on the way out. The new stainless steel exhaust was in fact cheap, it was the labour getting it fitted that was costly.

But to get back to the point, some of the modern machines today even at five years old or more are well, just awesome... Even the BMW R1200GS handles like no big trailie ever should..... Very versatile that one, and super comfortable... But I have got all that with the S'wing..... Besides it is unlikely that I am gonna go off road.

Also I know that if I go for a sports bike I'll be riding everywhere too fast and taking too many risks. Also I find them uncomfortable, thanks to some old back injuries, hell when it comes to it 90% of the time I'd be taking the S'wing. But alas I am still a bit hooked on power, well torque to be precise..... So that rules out the smaller 600s lovely as they are, besides the S'wing does nicely in that spot, and ironically since all my Mods knocks out as much torque as top 600 bikes. And I have to be careful to stick with machines that don't bring out the go faster demon in me... Anyway the BMW 1200 GS was top of the list, but I think the fazor 1000 has bumped it off top spot..... I am gonna need to try out the Honda CBF 1000...... I have already decided I don't really want to go for a full blooded tourer, more more sports tourer / inbetween machine.

But what I have learnt, is that the more bikes you try out, the more you appreciate what you have, including your own riding skills, and improving on them. Occasionally you also find out what you might be missing, or breathe a sigh of relief as you climb off the latest ride and unkink your neck shoulders and hips... So far about 80% of the bikes I ride I find either uncomfortable, or too "go faster feed the demon machines".

So I have for now decided to just chill out and save money for now, enjoying what I have whilst seeing what life and the biking world have to offer. What is for certain is that the S'wing is gonna stay. I might review that if and when the piaggio MP3 hybrid is launched, though to be honest that is gonna cost more than I can justify / afford..... I mean why go for that when at half the money for just a few thousand pounds a torquemonster bike could be yours

driftwoodpoint wrote:

Really interesting. And it looks great on the bike. Unusual color...wow

Thanks! Yes, you don't seem to see that many dark green bikes these days... The original bike had a dinky little windscreen, and no fairing lowers..... The previous owner had the lowers added, and I fitted the taller windscreen, bar risers, and wind deflectors which incidentally are the laminar ears designed for the S'wing! The shaft drive was a bonus, though a costly one in terms of weight which makes for a hefty 239kg.... All the bikes I have been testing recently are around the 200-210kg mark. Most modern sports machines tip the scales at 170kg!!!

Bernardo wrote:

My big problem or should I say mistake was I went on testing other machines, and I guess sooner or later you find something that is bigger, better, lighter, or whatever...

The grass always seems greener elsewhere ... until you live in the grass.

Bernardo wrote:

But what I have learnt, is that the more bikes you
try out, the more you appreciate what you have, including your own
riding skills, and improving on them. Occasionally you also find out
what you might be missing, or breathe a sigh of relief as you climb off
the latest ride and unkink your neck shoulders and hips... So far about
80% of the bikes I ride I find either uncomfortable, or too "go faster
feed the demon machines".

Wow ... a lot of people never learn that.

Bernardo wrote:

So
I have for now decided to just chill out and save money for now,
enjoying what I have whilst seeing what life and the biking world have
to offer. What is for certain is that the S'wing is gonna stay.

Sound wisdom.