Buffeting....I finally know what it means.

[NM Shadowman]

+1 to the dry cold. I've ridden in 40º fog in the Central Valley of California and that seemed colder than 20+ degrees on a sunny clear, dry day here.

[lowside]

For me, with Memphis Shades batwing, I had the same problem, until I moved it DOWN, counter-intuitively. By snugging it down close to the headlight as possible, no more buffeting.

[Shadzilla]

it includes tailgates & margaritas right? (Jimmy Buffetting)
big parrothead here btw~

anyway, I'm adding a 12v power switch behind the windshield so it's currently off.
Today I had to go out on a 40 mile round trip errand & took the bike.

holy cow, what a difference!!!!!!!!!!!! I definitely wasn't cruisin' like normal!
It was more like hold on for your life & lane checking about gave me whiplash

can't wait to finish mounting the 12v socket, I'll put a pick of that in my album today.

[Scrapdog2grand]

Rising the Wifes VLX with out the wind creen at 60, is a lot worse than the ACE I have with no windsceen at any speed.
But we did get her the Hondaline small sceen and even cut it down a few inches. and I must say it works great with no buffeting. the price is right also.

[Rev.SpongebobSP]

Very interesting thread. I was considering purchasing a new shield, but will work on lowers in the spring after doing the palm test.

Thanks yet again guys!

[DRVMN]

Adding Memphis Shades Lowers to my bike (I have a Memphis Shades Alley Cat windshield) cured about 98% of my buffeting. It's the air that flows from below the windshield, up and past the tank that caused my buffeting issues.

[David Edwards]

I have a 96 honda shadow that came with a SLIPSTREAM shield. I have the shield down against my head light, but can not get the correct lean that i think i need because of the bracket design. Any ideas other than a new shield? thanks

[adlowe]

Windscreen or not is a very personal decision. Cruisers definitely look "cleaner" without. After a long ride, I definitely look cleaner with. And feel better, too. Most of my riding is long distance (1000+ mile trips) anymore so I choose a windscreen. I still enjoy pulling it off for local rides from time to time, though.

Buffeting is definitely an issue though. Eliminating it isn't as easy as most people make it seem. If the windscreen is tall enough then, no doubt, most of the air that bounces your head around is coming up from the bottom. Lowers can help. Surprisingly, so can a tank bag. Since most of my traveling is done with a tank bag, that's been my solution. I've also got the gap over the top of the headlight just about as small as possible and the windscreen angled back as far as possible. I even changed the speedometer mount and the nut on the backside of the windscreen to get more angle. That all works because I have the tallest Memphis Shades Fats I could get -- 21". (Measurements told me to get one barely over 20". I went 21" with the idea of cutting it down but have never gotten around to it. Works just fine as is.) I'm still keeping my eyes out for a good deal on lowers.

If the windscreen is too short, you *probably* will get a good deal of buffeting from the airflow over the top. With a FF helmet, this would happen if your chin is above the top of the windscreen. Add that to the buffeting coming up from below and you'll feel like you're shaking your fillings loose. There isn't much that you can do to eliminate over-the-top buffeting short of getting a new windscreen.

Ideal height is when you can look over the top in your normal riding position & posture but still duck behind it without any discomfort by slouching a little. I can give instructions on how to find that height with a piece of string, a line level, a yardstick (or measuring tape) and a helper.

[Hondaguy]

Originally Posted by pixelpusher

I've got a Memphis Shades "Big Shot" on my 1100 Spirit.
I added a light bar and lowers. That eliminated it for me in most situations.
....but my shield is a different shape and angle than yours, so I dont know if adding lowers would do the trick for you.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

THIS is how you solve it. Get the right tools for the job. Sometimes we have to give up aesthetics for comfort and ride from the inside out. Many people don't like windshields "because they don;t like how they look"

I ride from the inside out and don't trade off comfort for the benefit of those who see me passing by for a moment.

[tigrzeye]

Lowers helped to get rid of almost all of my helmet buffeting on the Shadow. I had a Memphis Fats 17" windshield and used the Memphis Shades lowers. Windshield angle also helped before I added the lowers, it took a bit of playing with that adjustment as well, but it didn't solve the problem.