I thought I would start this new thread so that all the issues that affect air flow can be found on one thread. Things like screens, spoilers, deflectotrs, helmets, would all fit in here.
As it seems that air flow is the biggest issue with the AT it should be useful to have one place to go to on the Forum.
I will start it off by mentioning my experience with the R1200RT electric screen. The screen was fantastic, as you raised it the bubble of calmness travelled up until you were fuuly protected from the wind and it was quiet. Well not entirely so. For the last 10% of the raise the screen angle would get more vertical and this had a strange effect. The air pressure behind the screen would change and you got a drumming sound. This confirms what others have said about screen angle being so important and its why the Adventure bikes with their upright screens struggle with smooth air flow .
I am a tall chap, sitting on a tall Seat Concepts rally seat with a stock windscreen. My helmet is flying in laminar flow above the "wave". All is well. Airflow is managed and now I have moved on to more exciting issues like where to go riding tomorrow.
Looking for the golden unicorn for airflow is so individual, personally of all the bikes I've owned the standard CRF with standard screen is the best I've encountered out of the box.
Good to keep the conversation going. There are two other threads with pages of suggestions and modifications to improve wind flow and eliminate buffeting as much as possible.
You can change -
Screen
Seat Height
Screen Angle
Screen brackets and risers
Helmet
Jacket
Wind between forks and fairing
Add Laminar lips
Remove screen altogether
Cut windscreen down
I’ve just found what works for me after a few screen changes. I’m 5’ 11” with the seat on the high setting and prefer to wear an Arai Tour-X.
Standard screen = not great with head bobble setting in over 60mph.
Tall Honda screen = awful at speed. Luckily, found this out on my dealers demo bike.
MRA Sports screen = nice short screen that worked well but got a load more bugs on my visor. No real bobble to worry about as my lid was not in turbulent air.
Touratech medium Rally screen = supposedly designed in a wind tunnel my arse ! Great up to 65mph, head bobble after that. Disappointed as it was very expensive, but then out came the Dremel.....
TT Rally screen with top upright lip cut off = Nirvana. Bobble free up to 80mph, there can be a slight vibe between 80/85 which can be dismissed with a slight dip of the peak, then fine again into three figure speeds.
I’ve never tried the wind blocker tank attachment as I feel that it could take a bit of weight off the front wheel while cornering at speed (acting like a small sail as the wind rushes up through the wind tunnel between tank and fairing). But that’s maybe just paranoia on my part. Personally, it would be better to have a deflector on the bottom yoke like many other bikes I can think off.
ATAS with seat on lowest setting, 5’ 11”, 32” inseam. shoei x-spirit. High screen is not that good above 55mph, so I either have to go higher or much lower. It’s been quite a while since I had a bike with the a low screen, but that’s what I’m considering for the summer, to get max cooling effect for vented jacket and helmet. Q. What’s the AT like with the very low screens, do you get clean direct air to your chest and helmet, or is it still quite turbulent?
Winter riding, I’ll have to have a think, maybe just add one of the adjustable extender type screens. Or a higher screen than the tall oem.
Davy F, you say you’ve got the seat on the highest setting, is that the standard seat?
Great, thread is rolling now. As I mentioned in my ATAS ride review I am six foot five and suffer badly with helmet (Shuberth full face) vibration. Is there anyone near my height that has experience of the MRA Vario Touring screen.
I thought I would add some comments on ear plugs.
Firstly ear plugs are essential in my view and they come in all shapes and sizes and quality. I use the expandable foam plugs made by Moldex. They are called Spark Plugs and are rated at 35db. I bought a large quantity of them (200?) from the Internet a couple of years ago. Cant remember where I got them or what they cost.They are tapered and brightly coloured.
So here are my top tips for ear plugs:
Check the db rating. Its not a linear scale so for instance going from 33 to 35 is worthwhile
In an ideal world chuck them after each ride, but that's not going to happen ? I don't use mine for more than two rides.
Don't swop them between ears as thats a good way of transferring an ear infection. At cafe stops put them in a small container so you know left and right. Lifting the petrol cap flap and sticking them in there is asking for trouble.
Insert them with clean hands.
I have seen so many people take their helmets off and the ear plugs are sticking out each side of their heads. If the plugs are not inserted correctly they are a waste of time. Try this test:
Roll an ear plug into a narrow cylinder then place it on a flat surface. Take note of how long it takes the ear plug to revert back to its original shape. Ideally that should be the length of time you should hold your finger on the end of the earplug after its inserted.
So, how to insert :
Roll plug into a cylinder so that it can be pushed well into the ear. If the shape is very long and narrow it will bend as you try to insert it. Too short and fat and it wont go in far enough. Pull your ear up and out to open up the ear canal. Push in the plug so that it enters a good way into the ear.Once in position hold your finger on the plug as it expands so that it cant expand out of your ear. This last part is really important and will frustrate your mates who are sat with engines running ready to go.
Hope these comments help.
I'm due to pick my ATAS up tomorrow & I had noticed some helmet buffeting on a reasonably varied test ride with a brief bit being steady speed dual carriage. I don't think it was the worst I've felt on previous bikes that being a Yam Tenere 660 which made my head bob like a noddy dog toy, next worst was my old KTM950Adv. So watching this thread with interest. Though from my own fiddling on previous bikes, its not always one size fits (or fixes) all. Oddly my current bike is a naked and it is fine so larger/higher isn't always better if the airflow it creates catches your helmet in the wrong spot, though my two worst turbulence bikes had tall narrow screens so wonder if it was air spilling off the sides (of the screen) that rattled my lid.
Picked the ATAS earlier than expected, mainly as my centerstand hadn't shipped so couldn't be fitted shortening PDI. Took it out for a couple of short rides and was reminded that the screen for me was causing turbulence at speeds over 40!.. I had the seat on low as I'm still adjusting to the DCT and found it got slightly worse if I sat bolt upright /raised my head slightly so I'm thinking for me a lower (maybe std AT) screen maybe the better option.
Congrats on the ATAS. You didn't have as very good day for your first ride. Good weather starts on Saturday, I promise. A lower screen is likely to lower the turbulent air level and make things worse when you are not sitting bolt upright.
I am not sure if the AT and ATAS screens are interchangeable. The ATAS screen has six bolts but I believe the AT has four ? I am also not sure where the ATAS screen height sits in relation to AT. It will be higher than AT normal screen but maybe lower than AT high screen
I am 5’10.5 and 31.5 inseam. All the screens I tried to get smooth air over the helmet failed. I have a very low one and liked it for a while but since I bought the Madstad I have simply left that on all the time. Very little peak buffeting but enough airflow to keep cool. FWIW I think the buffeting is coming from the sides of the fairing and has little to do with the screens. Honda’s recent addition of two types of fairing deflectors would seem to say they think so too
Kev - useful stuff on earplugs and I would just add one tip - wet the rolled cylinder with saliva before inserting (your own saliva is to be preferred). This helps stop the thing bunching during insertion and provides lubrication as it expands. I never have to hold my finger on the end of the green maxlite ones that fit my ears best. I have talked to so many motorcyclists who have given up immediately on foam earplugs but they have just been pushing them in dry to the first few mm of earcanal. Used properly the foam ones have several huge advantages over any other type
Mike
The screens are interchangeable...you just don’t use the middle bolts on the frame. Saying that, the MRA sports screen I had came with six holes and I had to cover the middle holes with small caps to make it tidy...quite pointless having the screen mounted with six bolts on a short screen. The airflow is much better with a short screen as it moves that turbulent air down away from your helmet and your lid is now basically in clean air. People always seem to want bigger/wider screens to hide behind and unfortunately the AT dynamics seem to work against this.
Wetting the ear plugs, I will try that. I find that my left ear plug often dosnt go in correctly. I have to stop and re insert it. You really notice when one isn't in properly. I cant believe that I rode for maybe 15 years without ear plugs. Mind you the speeds were a lot less as you had to stop a lot to pick up bits that fell off the old brit bikes. My first road bike was a BSA Gold Flash with a double adult Busmar sidecar ! Followed by something with more street cred - a BSA Gold Star DBD34. Aye, back in the day - - -
My left ear plug is a problem too. So much so that I’m reluctant to take that one out during the day and will put up with only half hearing my mates during the coffee breaks. The green ones Are very soft and so don’t cause any earache for me after a couple of hours like the cylindrical yellow ones. But being so soft means the rolled up cylinder is often difficult to insert in my twisty left ear canal. So I always keep several pairs in the fridge - the cold makes them stiffer
Mikr
Which screen for my ATAS and 6 foot five frame ?
I have been doing my research today as yet again its a rotten day. It seems I have three options
MRA Vario Touring. Its cheap, £94. You can adjust the spoiler on the top
Madstad. Its not cheap, over £300 for the highest in smoke. You can alter screen angle and height
Batzen screen risers. Not sure of cost. You can keep OEM screen or get another. Can alter angle and height
Probably no one has yet fitted an aftermarket screen to the ATAS. I am not sure if the Madstad and Batzen will fit the ATAS (different dash)
The Honda Bolt on / stick on fairing deflectors have me baffled. As Mike 5100 says Honda may well know what they are doing but it seems odd that something low down could affect the top of the helmet
I haven't decided what I'm doing with the screen yet. I'm still using the stock screen and I'm going to wait until my Batzen mount arrives and I can adjust the screen up/down before deciding if I need a different screen. The main thing I might want is a wider screen rather than taller, I think the turbulent air comes from around the sides more than anything.
From the description on this video:
"The Batzen Wind Screen Risers You can get these by sending an email to Wolfgang Roth at gsadventure@gmx.net"
Wolfgang answers his Email pretty quickly and gets the product sent promptly.
Just had a 60 mile ride on the ATAS. I was keen to find out how I could reduce the helmet buffeting.
I waved my hands about trying to find where the turbulence was from. I think a lot of drivers thought what a friendly chap, waves at everyone.
I am 6 foot 5, seat on high position.
Results of hand waving - Air was spilling off the bottom of the screen / top of fairing and coming around my sides and upwards. I could feel air movement on my chest. Also the air off the top of the screen was hitting me at the top of the visor. I held my hand just above the visor (Shuberth full face) and my hand was vibrating, certainly not clean air.
There didn't feel as though there was much air coming up from the forks. HOWEVER. I took a towel with me and rolled it up and sealed off the space between tank and forks. Buffeting then noticeably better.
This is interesting as I don't believe the small flow of air from the forks could possibly cause the drumming on the helmet. I could hardly feel it with my hand. However blocking off that space did make a considerable improvement. I was cruising at 70mph with reduced vibes. I think that whats going on behind the fairing and screen has a lot to do with what happens to the air once its passed over the front of the bike. Could it be that me stuffing the towel in caused a change in pressure in the space between rider and screen. maybe the air that could no longer find its way between tank and forks then made its way up the gap between forks and fairing, ie up the inside of the screen.
Anyway investigations continue. I am most interested to hear how other ATAS owners are getting on and reading their modifications reports. I am now leaning towards the fairing deflectors which I was initially sceptical about.
When you get tired of experimenting and want the REAL solution, here it is. I have tried multiple screeens and THE answer is the Madstad brackets and screen. They move the screen forward enough to allow air under it which relieves the vacuum. I have used their product on my previous Tenere with great success, and on the AT.
Others have had good success with the Madstad as well on this forum.
Good luck!!
Thanks Texasten. You seem to have trodden the road I am embarking on.
Just looked at the Madstad and it seems to tackle the problem a different way to others. As you say it moves the screen forwards thus allowing it to be wider at the bottom. Also can tilt as well as raise/lower. Not sure about how it looks mind.
I really don't know which way to go:
Madstad
MRA Vario
Batzen risers - with either MRA or OEM screen
Honda deflectors
The Madstad is more than 3 times the price of the MRA screen and four times the price of the Batzen. But actually price is not really the issue, its a fix that's important
Madstad is the ugly child in the screen family :wink2: it might work, but I ain’t fitting that to my bike anytime soon. If you want a RTAT tourer you’ll probably end up with something like that, but it isn’t the answer if you want to keep the good looks of the AT.
I’m out on my ATAS tomorrow afternoon with the oem deflectors and spoilers fitted and with make a home made steering head screen today to try after an hour or so, I’ll let you know the results.
Thanks Hovis. I can see where the clear deflector and the upper black deflector go but the lower one has me beaten. Maybe its not for front airflow - possibly radiator outlet ?
I now have two car wash sponges between tank and forks - quality job eh, should take attention away from a Madstad if I get one !
BK, the long odd shaped ones go down behind the radiators, to deflect heat away from the rider. You need to drill three 8mm holes in the black plastic panels (marked the the backside) for the rubber tabs to be pulled through.
I can't find the Batzen Screen Adjuster. I'm 6'0 and I mostly ride the stock side in the low position. I ordered the Honda "winglets" and they arrive today.
The Madstad seems like a working solution but it seems a little ugly and expensive.
Anyone know where I can get a Batzen Adjuster and does anyone have the large MRA screen ?
Thanks.
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