Getting Frustrated with Seat and Windshield Issues

[drdubb]

I'm 5'7" with a 28" inseam
I use the SC low, beads, and a Madstad. I find that i start to feel the seat at about 100.miles. i get off a bit and then move on. I completed 16-400plus mile days this summer and was fine. Bar risers and highway pegs are very useful.

 

[drstimpy]

Don't lock in...stand, move, sit to one side then the other. Esp stand...I do it for miles sometimes putting weight on each leg. Your body is not designed to sit in one place. I also lean way forward with an arm across the frunk holding my weight so I can tuck in behind the screen. I have puig and deflector and I think it's great for me at 6'1"


Some must watch while others must sleep

 

[TigerDude]

It seems to me that if you really want to be out of the wind, this isn't the bike for you.

 

[Triumph 'n Shadow]

There is not a bike built that will protect you from crosswinds.
That is the way it is.
If you feel you really need protection from crosswinds you would need something around you like the "Cone of Silence".
I hear there is a non-functioning CoS on sale by CONTROL down in DC.
Regarding crosswinds, just accept them since you cannot stop them.
Focus on the frontal winds.
Those are the ones you have some control over.

And by the way, my opinion is the NC is more than just a commuter bike.
Each bike is what you make it.

God bless, stay safe, and enjoy your ride!!

Michael

 

[Gibsito]

Have you tried riding without the windshield? I say this because with my NC700S with the stock windshield, I have basically 0 wind protection and that works just fine for me. I used to have some turbulence but after switching to a tighter jacket that is gone as well, now it's relatively quiet no matter what direction the wind is blowing. Of course it'd still be quieter behind a full fairing with a big screen, but at least I don't get any buffeting caused by a windshield

I have tried riding without a windshield - yesterday. I could try to get used to that again as I used to ride that way all the time with previous bikes, but I prefer the wind off of me as much as possible these days. Also, I have hearing issues and I'm much more sensitive to the helmet noise than I used to be. I have two full face helmets, one is a bit quieter than the other but they're both loud without a windshield. I would need ear plugs all the time. I would prefer to get the windshield issue resolved. I have no expectation of riding in a bubble of still air, but I do want it better than it is now. The cheap National Cycle wind deflector I had on my Honda Shadow worked better than this Puig does.

I bought some Lexan yesterday. I'm going to fool with this for awhile, and if I can't get it dialed in I will likely sell my Puig and get a Madstad.

 

[VE258]

360 Degree Cycling Bicycle Bike Mount Holder for LED Flashlight Torch Clip Clamp | eBay

 

[MZ5]

Shaping one's own seat is not particularly difficult, and will result in the absolute best possible seat. That said, one needs to have a 'spare' seat to play with unless one is willing to forego riding for an extended period during the shape-and-try-it phase. When I say build one's own seat, I mean purchase foam and shape that; not simply re-shape the factory foam. At the end of it all, you'll probably need an upholstery shop to cover your new creation, unless it ends up being very, very similar in shape and size to the factory unit.

I am also unhappy with the windscreens Honda offers (I have both), and with the aftermarket one I bought (the V-Stream tall one). The aftermarket one may give you what you seek, it's just not what I ended up wanting. It's quieter, and has a different character of sound altogether, but it blocks _too much_ air for my desires of this bike, excepting in the winter.

Good luck, and hope to hear what you end up with that suits you.

 

[Triumph 'n Shadow]

Can you get two windshields, a tall and a short, that use the same mounting hardware?

This way you can switch between a short screen for Summer and a tall screen for Winter.

Is there a manufacturer that produces multiple size screens that use the same mounting system?

God bless!!

Michael

 

[ld_rider]

Is there a manufacturer that produces multiple size screens that use the same mounting system?

National Cycle Vstream does it using the same mounts. I have one of their 22" touring screens with a MRA X-Creen variable spoiler and a dark tinted 15" screen for buzzing around town.

I'll probably pick up their 18.5" screen also, which might be the sweet spot since the 22" touring is a bit high with the MRA spoiler mounted on it.

I can convert the motorcycle from a dedicated long distance ride (bags, aux fuel tank, touring screen) to a somewhat sporty town bike in about 12 minutes. Windscreens attach with four bolts to the mount which obviously stays on the motorcycle all the time.

One unexpected benefit of the Vstream mount was that it gave me a place to mount my GPS (using a Touratech holder) almost directly in my line of sight. No need to glance down at the top of my frunk at 75 mph to see the map. It is slightly below eye level. Works with both screens, no need to remove it.

 

[Gibsito]

360 Degree Cycling Bicycle Bike Mount Holder for LED Flashlight Torch Clip Clamp | eBay

I love that. How does it clamp on to the windscreen? It's hard to see in the photos. Is that the part that's supposed to hold the flashlight (torch)?

 

[Gibsito]

National Cycle Vstream does it using the same mounts. I have one of their 22" touring screens with a MRA X-Creen variable spoiler and a dark tinted 15" screen for buzzing around town.

I'll probably pick up their 18.5" screen also, which might be the sweet spot since the 22" touring is a bit high with the MRA spoiler mounted on it.


I can convert the motorcycle from a dedicated long distance ride (bags, aux fuel tank, touring screen) to a somewhat sporty town bike in about 12 minutes. Windscreens attach with four bolts to the mount which obviously stays on the motorcycle all the time.

One unexpected benefit of the Vstream mount was that it gave me a place to mount my GPS (using a Touratech holder) almost directly in my line of sight. No need to glance down at the top of my frunk at 75 mph to see the map. It is slightly below eye level. Works with both screens, no need to remove it.

I like the width of that tall touring screen. Looks like it would redirect more wind where it's really needed - at helmet level.

 

[ld_rider]

I like the width of that tall touring screen. Looks like it would redirect more wind where it's really needed - at helmet level.

The screen was ok...but....

Adding the MRA-X-Creen made all the difference in the world. Without it, I would probably have given up on ever having <somewhat> decent air flow around my helmet. I ride with a super quiet Schuberth C3 Pro and ear plugs. The noise and especially the buffeting was insane with that large touring screen. The shorter,15" tinted screen was actually quieter and I think smoother, but obviously had 10x the wind blast against the upper body. For me, that was too tiring on my daily 60 mile interstate commute and would be intolerable on a long tour.

The Vstream 22" w/the spoiler would be perfect (as perfect as I think I could get) if it were a couple of inches lower. That is why I'm ordering an 18.5" screen.

Hey, it is only $$

 

[lue42]

As an alternative to the expensive MRA and Puig clip on wind deflectors, I ordered one of these before I decide to buy a MadStad. It is still on the slow boat from China (I hope it arrives soon) but for the cost it is worth a try.
I will review when I get and install it.

FYI, I am 6'2 and have the Givi touring screen and my current wind noise and buffeting is awful.

 

[dduelin]

The Madstad is adjustable thru a 3" range of vertical so it's not so important to have two shields of different height for the same mounting hardware.

 

[ld_rider]

The MRA-X Creen gives about about 5 inches of height adjustment, and of course angle of attack adjustment (tilt) relative to the wind stream. Obviously if you have a 22 inch high windscreen like I do, the MRA isn't going to make it shorter, the MRA can only make it higher :-(

 

[smithb9]

While the madstad might be great, it looks like a barn door on the front of the NC in my opinion. I had the puig + visor and still got the helmet/shoulder buffeting you describe. I opted for the Ermax +15 touring shield, and no more issues. Its smaller than the madstad so I think it looks like it fits better, and it is wider at the top than the puig so no more weird buffeting. I was fully planning on putting the visor on the Ermax, but decided I didn't need it, have over 1000 miles on it now.

my only gripe is that it doesn't have the cool plate or bar at the top as a place to mount a GPS.

 

[GunNut37086]

National Cycle Vstream does it using the same mounts. I have one of their 22" touring screens with a MRA X-Creen variable spoiler and a dark tinted 15" screen for buzzing around town.

I just got the 22" installed and had absolutely ZERO wind noise, even with my helmet vents open. Unfortunately, the top of the screen is dead even with my eye level, which annoyed me to no end after a couple of miles. I can raise it up a few inches, but that was the lowest setting on my adjustable bracket.

One unexpected benefit of the Vstream mount was that it gave me a place to mount my GPS (using a Touratech holder) almost directly in my line of sight. No need to glance down at the top of my frunk at 75 mph to see the map. It is slightly below eye level. Works with both screens, no need to remove it.

This IS an outstanding benefit and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a HUGE factor in me picking the Vstream over another brand.

 

[Gibsito]

I've made some changes to deal with these issues and thought I'd post what I've done so far.

The seat - The Sit & Fly seat cover that greenboy posted about looked interesting. And as it would happen I was going to be camping 25 miles from ProCycle later that week, so I stopped by their shop and bought one. Sit & Fly doesn't make any covers to fit the NC specifically so I brought my seat along so we could determine which size would be big enough. They make several of these in different sizes for long, narrow dirt-bike or dual sport type seats, and they also make a few for split rider/pillion seats. Turns out the small size of the rider seat was big enough to cover my seat, although there was lots of excess at the front and rear that would need to be cut off. They sold that to me for $24.95 and I brought it home, cut it up and zip tied it on. I have taken a few very short rides with it on there and can definitely feel the difference, mostly because of the airflow between my butt and the seat. The final verdict won't be in until I take a long ride, but I think it's very promising at this point.


Sit & Fly seat cover, available from ProCycle in Springfield, Oregon, or a little cheaper on Ebay from Vietnam.

The Windshield - I had mentioned earlier that I bought some Lexan from Home Depot. I got an 18" x 24" piece, 0.093 inches thick, for roughly $22. This stuff is incredibly strong, supposedly 250 times stronger than glass. The downside is it scratches very easily. It comes with a plastic film covering both sides and I left that on during the cutting and bending process. I cut a V in the bottom of it, and rounded the top corners. I decided to make three vertical bends in it - one in the middle, and one on each side 3 inches from the edge. I did not have a heat gun so tried using a blow dryer on it to get it soft before bending it but there wasn't enough heat to make a difference.

I found a data sheet on Lexan somewhere and discovered it could be bent cold, so ended up doing that and it worked quite well. I had built a makeshift bending break on the edge of my workbench with a 2x4 and a couple of door hinges. I first tried laying the Lexan flat on the workbench and using the break to bend it downward, but was limited to a maximum of 90 degrees due to the workbench being in the way, and soon discovered that wasn't enough to make a bend of more than just a few degrees (it bounces back). I finally saw that if I bent it upward instead of downward I could go further than 90 degrees, and that did the trick. I bolted a piece of angle iron over the Lexan (with indoor-outdoor carpet between the metal and the Lexan for protection) to bend it around, as well as to hold it down to the workbench while bending. That worked out quite well. There is some fogging right along the bend but I don't find it to be very noticeable.

With that completed, I mounted it to the NC after marking and drilling out the holes for the mounting screws. Then I cut out an approximately 2" by 6" section from each side to allow for the handlebars in full lock. Mounted in the low position it is about 3 inches taller than the Puig was when mounted in the high position.

I then took it for a test ride. The result was a big improvement over the Puig Windshield. I could ride with my helmet visor open or closed with almost no wind issues, and the Lexan is much wider than the Puig so I believe it will be a big improvement in crosswinds as well, although I haven't been able to test it in windy conditions yet. Just as a test, I put the Puig clip-on visor on it in its lowest possible position and it was about as good as it gets, wind wise. The problem with that was I was then looking through the visor to see the road and I'm not comfortable with that, so I may at some point try to make a visor out of Lexan that sits lower. But that's really not needed since it's very acceptable riding without a visor at all.

So, I'm hopeful that these issues are resolved. Next time we get some wind I will go for a long ride to know for sure how much of an improvement these changes have made, but so far I'm encouraged by the results.

 

[VE258]

black cabinet liner from home depot

 

[Short Time]

This has been a very helpful thread. With a mere 500 miles on my new NC I'm hardly qualified to give much advice, but since I didn't see any reference to a gel seat pad I thought it might be worth tossing out there. I transferred a gel seat cushion over from my other bike. I believe it is a medium size cruiser model. Oversize for the NC seat, it tends to hang off until it molds over and begins to take the shape of the NC seat after some use. I like it better than the air hawk - yep, I've been burning through seat fix dollars too over the years - which even minimally inflated left me feeling disconnected and floating on the bike. The gel pad has made a huge difference for the investment. It has the added affect of raising me up a half to one inch and eliminating any forward slope.

As for the windscreen, wow, I'm soaking up the suggestions myself. I'm shocked at the noise levels produced by the stock screen even with ear plugs. Buffeting isn't bothering me as much as the noise. I do wear a full face helmet. I'm 5'11" with a 32" inseam.

Thanks everyone for all of the replies. What a great place!