wind blast on xt660z... Please help.
 

Does anyone have any advice to stop the buffeting i get at around 80mph.
i am 6ft, use a arai tour x3 lid and get massive buffeting at motorway speeds. I take off the peak on long trips, which works a little. i think a taller screen will help lots. However a lot of the "blast" seems to come up through the forks. I have seen a picture of a mod around the inside of the tank where the forks come through. Does it actually work? How was it done? Any pics?

allo, and welcome :)

turbulence on the Z has been discussed many many times on here - have a look through the old threads in the tenere sections, you'll find a few different results. There's also a link in the mods section (post #3 ) here. theres boatloads of other info there too - keep you busy for a bit- its worth looking there if you have any query in to see if its already been answered, as well as the 'search' feature.

I'm 6'3", i suffered with the buffeting too - couldn't keep ma head still. I've got an TourX2. I now have a metal mule tall screen, a plastic stiffener superglued to the underside of the peak on my helmet (made a massive difference) and i have a pair of spot lamps which sit just in front of the 'air intake' around the forks. Its nice and civilised now, at all but the most silly speeds, which i don't do any more, so its all good. :)

hope that helps,

Pete.

Slow down ???

(and maybe introduce yourself in the newbies section ??)

Got a givi tall screen on mine.makes a big difference,and i am 6foot 4,minimal turbulence compared with other faired bikes i have had.hope thats an option for you mate

Ok, things I have found affect the bloody awful buffeting.
Stock screen, for me was way too low and put the air into the chinbar of my helmet.

I changed the screen for a Metal Mule tall screen.
It still wasn't great so I used a heat gun and an aerosol can to form a flip to the top, and flare the sides out.
Improved.

I also fitted a Kriega tank harness and US5 bag to the tank to help disrupt the air flow through the post-fork section. Made a tiny bit of difference.

I also found that suspension settings made a difference. If the front was too soft, or the rear too hard then the attitude of the bike was changed. Ideally with them equal in sag then not only do you have a better handling bike, but the buffeting decreases.

The buffeting is probably the very worst par of the bike, and it is a real pain until you get it sorted.

im using a givi screen [plus10ml]
and a mra wing ..its very very good ..far better than just the screen
i recommend this set up the results really are worth the effort

link ...


http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=15648


http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5214/img1551vr.jpg
By null at 2010-12-12

To everyone who posted a reply on this thread, thanks very much!
My hand will go in my pocket and hopefully i'll get it sorted.

Cheers.

mra wing
 

just following this thread thought i would put my 10 pence worth in, i have a givi screen on my ten it is a great improvement over standard no question im just shy of 6ft tall,still get the wind tunnel from the front forks but i will try the 'eaves comb' mod listed on here and see if this does what is claimed.Where can you get hold of the mra wing to go on the givi screen this seems another good mod to help with this problem.

Trade it for a XT1200Z worked for me! :p

I�ve been ridin� this weekend and it was pretty windy.....but no buffetting here(and even with these strong winds the Tenere is top-stable!!)! I run the standard screen, I�m about 1.92m and use an Arai SZ/f jet-helmet with screen....no buffetting! So sorry, no solution here....
Greetz, Hans.

I'm also 6ft and i also have a Arai Tour x.
The Touratech screen stopped all the buffeting and also lowers the wind noise.

http://94.100.116.4/1081250001-10813...13_6_Qiu-.jpeg

It didn't solve it for me, I am still messing about with the screen on my S10 !

Swapping the 660 for the 1200 is a f**king expensive mod :120:

Wossat thing round your tow hook ???

I reckon they're a couple of harmonicas to make the wind coming up the forks sound so sweet...:BaseballHat_LNY2EG:

Wossat thing round your tow hook ??? __________________

i think its two of these

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2279/img1691d.jpg
By null at 2011-01-26

True :laughing5: Must say it my 1200 is remarkably low on the buffeting when compared to my old 660 , as that used to fair rag my head off at 80 odd . I'm using a Shoei Hornet which is a noisy lid (vets rattle in the wind) and 5ft 11" 31" leg (as its torso that sets head hieght not leg length

buffeting on the motorway is the only reason I'm moving on from my 660. I've fitted a givi screen but that made very little difference. Ultimately, easier to buy another bike rather than fabricating home grown difusers and spoilers to try and redirect the air.

+1 for Touratech deflector. Expensive, but does a good job. I can ride at 80 with a trials helmet and goggles on with it in place, but my face turns to a blancmange without!

Yep, its LED :)

http://94.100.116.45/1080950001-1081...92_6_oM4_.jpeg

seems a bit extream
that rules out near every production bike made
this side of a LT or victory vision
..every big trailie ive had or test ridden [thats pretty much all of them ]
has had the same issues gs varadero ktm triumph vee strom forums are full of the same posts as this one
..for me . its a easy fix. no big deal
although annoying that it has to be done

wouldnt it be nice if the manufactures fitted a big screen as standard and offered a smaller one as a extra
there not stupid are they ..there all at it grrr

by buffeting I'm not meaning wind blast. I haven't suffered buffeting like this on any other bike.

its a pity that it affecting you that badly
mine is fine now
..i ride all the time open face and am quite happy with it

i guess you will have to walk the walk which is a shame
i test rode the xc tiger last week and its even worse than the ten

me varadero has a huge screen and a mra and some fancy tilting brackets but its unbelievably good ..but unbelievably ugly too .. perfect ..

the stock screen is crap .. what can you do ??

I test road one last week and ide agree with the fact that the tigers buffeting is imense and twice that of the ten, which was quite dissapointing as i had to pay �45 because of my age.

Stick in a piece of birdcomb: 4 quid, 4 minutes...

... that bike must come really easy!!

HJ

I'm just trying to justify wanting a new bike.

I'm with A7UFO, the Ten doesn't have windblast issues, it has some very wrong aerodynamics, mixed with strange ergos meaning you get a very unpleasant sensation.
I didn't find the new Tiger a problem.

sorry...

uhm... its engine does vibrate a lot though... (no cure for that)...

... there you go!

Go get yourself another bike!

;)

HJ

at the NEC 2010 bike show i asked the Yamaha man on the stand if they will bring out anything to combat all this turbalence 'NO' and they have had no complaints of a problem.........head in sand yamaha man i thinks.
just put up with it now....

or of course it could be that noone has actually contacted Yamaha about it, because it's so much easier to complain on an internet forum ;)

nope...I've moaned about it in writing direct to Yamaha. Even got a letter back from them saying it's the first they'd heard of it.

Last summer when I was going to go for a trip I wanted to be free of the noise the original windshield creates.
The idea to extend the windshield came to mind saturday night and I was leaving sunday afternoon.

So this is the quick, easy, effective and really cool solution:
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2973/p8010115.jpg

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/6249/p8010111.jpg


It's a piece of plastic and some duct tape :toothy11:

It made 110km/h feel like 80-90 did before the mod so it was at least effective.
I've got plans to make a somewhat more elegant (not too elegant of course) solution soon :)

Tupperware??

Necessity is the mother of Invention!:icon_biggrin:

Almost. "Hammarplast, made in Sweden" :icon_mrgreen:

Exploring the wind issue yesterday in preperation for my big trip in June, Did 90MPH indicated for a couple of miles. and the rest at 70 to 80

I found it almost a dead calm if leant on the tank behind the screen but will have looked like a teenager on a fizzy:D It therefore needs a bigger screen, of that there is no doubt.

My adjustable one is designed but not had time to make it yet so will buy something for the short term.

Al.

You're an engineer Al, bigger screen = increased vacum behind it = more air turbulance behind the screen.

I've always found that you get more 'head blast' on bikes with bigger, flatter fronts than you do on a naked bike.

If I were you, I'd try to borrow a screen and see if it works first. It may well suit you (we're all different), but there are a few folk who have battled with this and still never reached a final conclusion.

For your big trip, you realy don't want to be riding at daft-miles-per-hour, slow down, take it easy and enjoy the ride. It all about the journey, not the destination (a bit like life). I've done the ride-flat-out-till-you-get-there thing, and it sucks. Never again, I'd rather take it slow, enjoy the ride and cover less distance.

Indeed, I am, Glad you noticed:039:
I know what you mean of course and I intend to take it easy, the trip in France Spain is all mountains and back roads. Its only the bit in the UK where we may need to get a move on. Im allowing 6 hours for the trip from Harrogate to Portsmouth and the return does not matter as I have no ferry to catch in Harrogate.

I found on my last bike BMW RT (not comparing the 2 in any way) that raising the electric screen to full on the motorway actualy did suck you in towards it. Dropping it a tad was great and zero wind problems.

Borrowing a screen, are you offering? but seriously, I could always make a pretend one from anything (got old visors somewhere) and tape it to the existing one to try out the theory I suppose.

Thanks for the input
Al.

If I had one....

I went through the same issue with my Varadeo, a bigger screen actually made it worse, but trimming a little off the original improved things. It took me a loooonnng time to figure it out!

On the Tenere I just don't get (notice) turbulance. I have a HG cross-bar bag that maybe helps (some seam to think it does). Or it could be that I just relax a little more these days and go a little slower. Could be the peak of the Shoe is lower/better shaped/suited than the Aria was, could be lots of things...:075:

Harrogate to Portsmouth in 6 hours, shouldn't be a problem. 261 miles, average 60mph should take around 4 hours. I made Portsmouth to Carlisle is 5 1/2 hours on a Saturday morning.

I have been able to remove virtually all turbulence by adding the TT spoiler on top of the standard screen and using the HG Tuareg handle bar bag to block the air stream from between tank and fork legs.
The remaining turbulence seems to be caused by the mirrors now.

your mileage may vary though, depending on how tall you are and how you are usually positioned on the bike.

you could also try removing the screen alltogether. Or -what seemed to work on my TDM and Diversion- drill some holes in the screen just above where it comes over the dash. This will reduce the vacuum behind it.

Harrogate to Portsmouth in 6 hours, shouldn't be a problem. 261 miles, average 60mph should take around 4 hours. I made Portsmouth to Carlisle is 5 1/2 hours on a Saturday morning.[/quote]

Always pays to alow plenty of slack for those unforseen thingys don't it - Headed down to Dover from home on a trip to France - Flat rear tyre after a stretch of road works in Yorkshire - Had to wait for the RAC guy to pick up a trailer and then take the bike to the nearest Dealer - wouldn't repair a tubed tyre at the side of the road. Lost a lot of time and had to push on to get to the ferry.