Wind Buffeting Question

[husky390]

Hi all,

My wife and I are new RSV owners and are on our first trip with it in Texas. Before we left, I installed a Madstadt windshield but we’re experiencing some nasty buffeting no matter what position it’s in. To be fair, we’ve been fighting some crazy crosswinds for the past two days but is this normal with an RSV? I don’t recall ever being knocked around like this on my past bikes.

As for the bike, other than poor gas mileage, it’s been fantastic and much more comfortable than my old FLHTCU. 
 

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by husky390

[RDawson]

I’m not familiar with that shield but I base a short shield that was terrible. I’m running a Bagger shield that’s good, a couple others good also. Keep the engine up around 4K and let it breathe. The mpgs are pretty good as long as the carbs are clean and good plugs. 

[YamahaLarry]

Running two up on open highway in 5th gear you won't get very good mpg. I haven't done it for great distances, but I would guess mid 30s at best. I do run interstate a lot and average 36-38 mpg, but I do run it pretty hard at times.

Only thing I can say on windshield is that I've never experienced that with stock shield.

[husky390]

Well, we rode  1,700 miles with no issues other than the buffeting and poor mpg which really wasn’t an issue since we had to stop about every hour to cool off from the Texas heat last Saturday. So far I’m pretty happy with this bike and the best mpg I was able to get was 33mpg. 

Edited May 9, 2022 by husky390

[videoarizona]

In higher wind situations on the highway, I would suggest 65 to 70 mph in 4th gear. Let the motor work. Both 4th and 5th gears are overdrive gearing. So 65 to 70 is fine in 4th... Especially in winds...2 up. It's possible mpgs will improve. I never shift into 5th until 75...

On two lanes at 65 mph... I'll stay in 4th all day.

Carb tuning is very important on these motors for best performance and mpgs. They are sophisticated systems and will last forever if taken care of. 

Buffeting: I get some from above windshield and some from below... Coming up from either side of tank. The above winds were mostly cured by the largest windshield I could find. Clearview makes one that's wider and taller than stock. I added a vent which is huge in the Arizona heat. The below winds I've left alone. Yamaha already added 2 different spoilers below... Guess they are doing the best they can. 

This buffeting is typical of a fork mounted fairing. A solid body mounted fairing liked the 1st gens have is far better at weather protection...inherent in the design. 

Oh...there is a trade off...with the large Clearview, I do have to look through the windshield at all times. Not much of an issue as it doesn't rain much in AZ! But on a cross country trip I carried Rain X product and it did a great job keeping the rain sliding right off! Through Oklahoma thunderstorms, I was able to see just fine....

On another bike, I found a Clearview that had a lip on top to redirect the wind. That...and tilting windshield back to match the fork angle made a huge improvement over stock. 

Ideas for you...hope this helps...

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by videoarizona

[husky390]

12 hours ago, videoarizona said:

In higher wind situations on the highway, I would suggest 65 to 70 mph in 4th gear. Let the motor work. Both 4th and 5th gears are overdrive gearing. So 65 to 70 is fine in 4th... Especially in winds...2 up. It's possible mpgs will improve. I never shift into 5th until 75...

On two lanes at 65 mph... I'll stay in 4th all day.

Carb tuning is very important on these motors for best performance and mpgs. They are sophisticated systems and will last forever if taken care of. 

Buffeting: I get some from above windshield and some from below... Coming up from either side of tank. The above winds were mostly cured by the largest windshield I could find. Clearview makes one that's wider and taller than stock. I added a vent which is huge in the Arizona heat. The below winds I've left alone. Yamaha already added 2 different spoilers below... Guess they are doing the best they can. 

This buffeting is typical of a fork mounted fairing. A solid body mounted fairing liked the 1st gens have is far better at weather protection...inherent in the design. 

Oh...there is a trade off...with the large Clearview, I do have to look through the windshield at all times. Not much of an issue as it doesn't rain much in AZ! But on a cross country trip I carried Rain X product and it did a great job keeping the rain sliding right off! Through Oklahoma thunderstorms, I was able to see just fine....

On another bike, I found a Clearview that had a lip on top to redirect the wind. That...and tilting windshield back to match the fork angle made a huge improvement over stock. 

Ideas for you...hope this helps...

 

Thank you. I spoke with Clearview yesterday and am going to give their XXL a try. If I don’t like it, I’ll have them shorten it a bit. 

[videoarizona]

This is what you should get when Clearview installed. Hope you got the vent. If not, call them. 

[husky390]

10 hours ago, videoarizona said:

This is what you should get when Clearview installed. Hope you got the vent. If not, call them. 

I’ll definitely be getting a vent. 

[Richie C]

We had initially suffered from bad mileage and heavy buffering, but when we cut 4" off the original windshield it immediately want away.  I now have the Clearview Medium and it is perfect.  The 5" extra width makes a huge difference.  Light grey with no vent.  

My wife and I run 65 on the highway and get between 38-42 MPG. It's only if we sustain the speed past 75 that we see a decline in mileage, and even then it's about 36 at worst.  BTW, we are not stick people and are running the bike past it's payload limit.  Your poor mileage may be a combination of windshield and tuning.

[BratmanXj]

When I first purchased my '99 it had a short eBay special windshield.  I could ride fine without a helmet (non-helmet state) but it would shake me senseless with any of my helmets on.  Ended up getting a nice deal on a short Clearview with vent off this forum and all the buffeting went away.

1.  The Clearview had a recurve on the top to kick the wind up and over your head

2.  Its wider than any of the stock shields to kick more wind to the side

3.  The vent eliminates (or lessens) the low pressure bubble behind the fairing & windshield, again smoothing out the airflow around your body & helmet.  Most people get upset when they don't feel a discernable flow of air when they open the vent thinking its going to be like a cars A/C system.... its more about fluid dynamics and air pressure control.  

[RDawson]

I went with the Clearview medium with vent. The vent blows a jet of air straight into my chest. I like it other than the height, getting ready to order a taller one. May have a deal for somebody when the taller one gets here. 100 miles on it.