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Henry Martin spends his nights writing fiction and poetry, which predominately deals with the often-overlooked aspects of humanity. He is the author of three novels: Escaping Barcelona, Finding Eivissa, and Eluding Reality; a short story collection, Coffee, Cigarettes, and Murderous Thoughts; and a poetry collection, The Silence Before Dawn. His most recent published project is a collection of Photostories in five volumes under the KSHM Project umbrella, for which he collaborated with Australian photographer Karl Strand, combining one of a kind images with short stories and vignettes. He is currently working on his next novel narrated in two opposing points of view. He lives with his family in the Northeast.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Windscreen Upgrade


One of the first things I noticed while riding home from the dealership on my, then new, G650GS, was the wind noise around my helmet. Too excited about my new toy, I did not pay much attention to it. After all, it was only a 180 mile-long ride. There were so many new things to get used it, such as the heated grips (yippee), the ABS (still not sure how to feel about it), and the powerband (switched to the single cylinder “thumper” from a 1200 inline 4).
Yet, on the first joy ride – a 400 mile-long trip to the White Mountains, I found the wind buffeting to be more than just a nuisance. My ears were aching anytime I hit speeds above 70 mph, and suing earplugs, something I never had to do before, did not make the problem go away. That day, I came home with a terrible ear pain.
At first I thought that my old Nolan helmet was no longer up to par and needed replacing. Nevertheless, when I went for a ride with a different helmet, the problem persisted. If I were to ride the bike as I intended to – hard and far – I needed to address the noise issue.

The G650GS (and its predecessor the F650GS) has terrible aerodynamics. The mirrors stick up and to the sides, the front fender is high up, and the small windscreen over the instrument cluster just does not cut it. In fact, the windscreen itself is the likely culprit of the excessive wind buffeting.



After researching viable aftermarket options and compiling a list of likely candidates, I got on the phone and called every BMW dealership in my vicinity, trying to figure out which screen they would recommend and why. Well, by the time the day as over and the phone wires were red-hot from excessive use, I had eliminated all but one maker – ZTechnik.

Ztechnik is (from what I was told) the maker of BMW OEM screens in the US. This fact by itself speaks to the quality of their product. Yet, Ztechnik also produces four different screen options for my bike, from a short sport screen to a tall touring screen, a two variants in-between. I decided to go with the Vstream Touring Screen (model Z2412)

What sets this screen apart from the others on the market is the fact that the screen itself looks like it is supposed to be on the bike. In other words, it does not look awkward or out of place. Its contours compliment the GS design, and its height is not overwhelming. It flows well.

The other thing that sets this screen apart is the material used and the standard warranty. Not only is the screen thick, shatter resistant, and scratch resistant, but Ztechnik also provides an amazing 3-year warranty on their products.

Well, I pulled the plug, so to say, and ordered one from the dealer (as Ztechnik does not sell direct to the public). The dealer arranged for a drop-shipment to my house, so I wouldn’t have to drive 2 hrs to get it.

When the package arrived, I set to play. Inside the box were a well-packaged screen, mounting instructions, and some screws and washers.




Removing the OEM screen was a breeze.



Installing the new screen was an easy job as well. I have only two negative things to say about this, and it is the use of weak rubber washers under the screws (the washers rip with just a small amount of torque) and the use of Allen-head screws (too easy to strip the head). To fix this, I purchased some neoprene washers (much tougher) and ordered some stainless steel torx-head screws that will be the same size as the stock BMW screws (except length).



The taller screen vibrates a bit more than the stock screen when the engine is under heavy load and low RPMs. However, this is neither annoying nor does it damage the screen. Simply twist the throttle or downshift and it goes away. In high speeds, the screen is very stable.

As far as quality and design, the first impression was great. “But how does it ride?” you may ask.

It rides great. My first ride with the new screen was about 380 miles to the coast of Maine and back. While I generally avoid highways, I took a highway just to test the screen. 70 mph, 80 mph, 85 mph, and the buffeting was much, much better. I came home without any ear pain. The bike is considerably quieter, as the screen send the wind above my head (or to the top of the helmet).

Now, I have over 3,000 miles on the bike with this screen and I am still happy with it. Riding in rain is more comfortable now, since, for the most part, my torso remains dry. Covering long stretches of pavement is no longer a problem either. The amazing thing is, that after all this riding there is not a single scratch on the screen, even after numerous off-road adventures where sand and gravel flew high. One time, when my bike decided it needed a rest and lay on its side, I was sure the screen would crack, but it did not. 



In the interest of full disclosure, I am not associated with Ztechnik in any way, nor did I receive any discount on this product. I’m just a happy customer.        

2 comments:

Jay Dub said...

I was just about to ask for a "long-term" update but then I noticed this article was from Jan of this year. :) So, ... mid-term update? I [think I] need a taller screen cause I get beat to death by wind on my 2007 f650gs. Also, the noise.

Thank you.

Henry Martin said...

Jay,

Noise is better. I hate to wear plugs, so I get more noise than someone wearing earplugs or listening to music (or both at the same time).
On my last trip (2200miles in 4 days), the screen did well. Anything below 80mph was good, and above 80mph, when passing trucks on the superslab, I was more worried about crosswinds knocking me off the bike than any noise.

What helped as well was a new helmet. My old Nolan was just too worn out to dampen any noise. My Gmax is great on slow, local rides in cold weather. But, the new Scorpion EXO1000 that I bought before my trip did awesome on both the highways and side roads. It is neither the quietest helmet, nor the lightest helmet out there, but it fared better than I expected.

When passing trucks, I would just lean and rested my torso atop my tankbag and I had no wind noise or wind resistance to deal with.

So, as far as I'm concerned, it was money well spent.

I posted the article in January, but I installed the windshield in the fall. I probably have close to 5k miles on it now.
Hope this helps.