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Post your 2021 Model Riding Impressions Here

As I suggested earlier in the thread, the Honda touring screen offered in 2012 was loud, according to owner reports. Apparently it's no better for 2021.
It takes a lot of windshield to give a quiet, turbulence free ride. Aerodynamics are pretty basic and resolute.
 
It takes a lot of windshield to give a quiet, turbulence free ride. Aerodynamics are pretty basic and resolute.
I disagree on an important point. Large tall and full-width windshields fight the wind and force it to the sides and over the top edge which creates a low pressure area behind the windshield. Air spilling off the sides and top and rushing back into the low pressure area behind the shield is very noisy and turbulent. A shield that creates smooth flow across the front and back of the shield allows the split air streams in front of and behind the shield to reattach at the top edge for a very quiet deflection of air over the rider's helmet. If smooth laminar flow can be created the windshield doesn't have to be very big. This is how Madstad makes their systems for the earlier NCs and many other bikes.

The Madstad for the NC700/750 isn't a barn door or even large but due to the slot effect dramatically reduces sound and turbulence. I had the second generation Madstad on my 2015 and my 2013 has a first generation Madstad. Between the two the second gen is quieter but both work very well.

Madstad is looking for a 2021 owner in Central Florida willing to spend a couple hours at their factory in Brooksville so they can prototype a system that fits the new bike.
 
I have not ridden behind a Madstad but have seen guys on various forums buy a landfill of after market windshields without being happy. The ones that seem happiest are the ones with excessively large screens that look out of place on a motorcycle. Just saw one on the Calsci site for an NC 750x and imo looked ridiculously out of proportion to the bike.
 
I know a couple of people over at Sargent and I've bought several seats from them. If the dealer here still has the 2021 that they had last week maybe I can get Sargent to lend me a new seat and try it on the 2021. They used to have a two hour demo program for ride-in riders to try out a Sargent. That's how I bought the first one 15 years ago.

I'll check tomorrow and see if I can do it.
I did go by Sargent today but almost all of their production now is to order and they have very little inventory. Disruptions to materials suppliers are affecting the materials they use to produce seats and seat covers so inventories of finished seats are limited. They don't have a seat to lend me and if they did it would delay Saldog from getting his as soon as possible.

The gal in R & D assures that they did modify the prior 700/750 seat pan to fit the 2021 and tried the seat on the 2021 at the local dealer where I would have taken it. I do know that Sargent has worked with this dealer to prototype new Honda and Triumph seats as I worked there at one time.
 
I have not ridden behind a Madstad but have seen guys on various forums buy a landfill of after market windshields without being happy. The ones that seem happiest are the ones with excessively large screens that look out of place on a motorcycle. Just saw one on the Calsci site for an NC 750x and imo looked ridiculously out of proportion to the bike.
I grant that looks are subjective and there is the consideration of form compared to function. I've had a Madstad on the NCs, a Triumph Tiger 800 and my Goldwing. The one on the Goldwing is smaller and lower than the stock one. Each one was distinctly designed to work with the particular bike. They simply work and it's the only aftermarket shield I would consider. The top edge is about the height of the upper lip and the rider looks over it. The Madstad turns the NC into a bike you can tour on and ride all day at high speeds without getting a bug splat on the helmet face shield while still getting enough of the right kind of air for comfort and ventilation.
 
Update on the Honda Tall Windscreen: I still have my old helmet (the new one arrives today) so my face shield won't stay up over 60 mph. This morning was on the cool side so that didn't bother me much. I don't mind the feeling of the air stream on my head as it is actually kind of nice to help my poorly ventilated helmet and it's not so much that my head is being pushed around.

But the noise is excessive. So much that I cannot hear my podcast very well at all above 60-65 mph. At 70, you can barely make out about 50% of the spoken words, making it difficult to track the conversation. I like to cruise at 75, which is basically "going with the flow" on SoCal freeways in the FasTrak. I did get up to 90 at one point and you can hear nothing but wind then.

To give you an idea of the audio in my helmet, it is a Schuberth C3, well known for being one of the quietest helmets you can buy. It has the Sena 10U audio system installed, which is made especially for this helmet. It gets quite loud. As an aside, a great-sounding audio system that I recommend. When not riding, turning the volume up all the way is uncomfortably loud. Still, with the volume up all the way, it is barely audible at freeway speeds. Imagine all the sounds my ears are being bombarded with. I think a long trip would most certainly require earplugs or noise-canceling earbuds. This was not the case for me before when I rode my Tiger 1200 with a Puig touring windshield, which not only allowed me to keep my face shield open, but I could hear the audio quite well (two notches below max volume) and could even take a phone call at 65 mph, sometimes ducking my head down a little to hear better. People on the other end of the call said they didn't know I was riding a motorcycle as I came through loud and clear.

At this point, I would say that if the standard is to be able to hear a spoken-word podcast or take a phone call in the helmet's audio system at 65+ mph, the Honda Tall Windscreen fails. Not that you would want to do this, but to give you an idea of how loud the wind noise is. I know my use case is different than many of yours. If I was mostly riding in the country and on mountain roads and canyons (in my dreams), then this would not be a problem. This means I'm still going to be on the lookout for a better windshield or maybe I'll put on a deflector, which honestly, I think looks like crap. Or maybe ANC earbuds (with transparency) are the solution, if I can get the helmet on without them falling out.

I'll let you know if the C3 Pro helmet makes any difference (not holding my breath).
saldog, Thanks for the update on the windscreen. I may try a Laminar lip on mine to see if that helps. They have a 'universal Honda' lip they say works for the NC750.
 
I did go by Sargent today but almost all of their production now is to order and they have very little inventory. Disruptions to materials suppliers are affecting the materials they use to produce seats and seat covers so inventories of finished seats are limited. They don't have a seat to lend me and if they did it would delay Saldog from getting his as soon as possible.

The gal in R & D assures that they did modify the prior 700/750 seat pan to fit the 2021 and tried the seat on the 2021 at the local dealer where I would have taken it. I do know that Sargent has worked with this dealer to prototype new Honda and Triumph seats as I worked there at one time.
Thanks for the update. It is encouraging to hear someone from Sargent say they tried it on a 2021. That is not the response I received.
 
I'm looking at the C3Pro and also the E1. Both use the exact same shell, same face shield, but the E1 uses a different top vent and a different chin bar. Chin bar is supposed to dramatically increase airflow into the helmet. E1 also comes with an adjustable sun peak, which I would probably remove completely.

I'm curious to hear about your soon to arrive C3Pro and if the face shield stays put, also if the ventilation has been improved.
I was able to do a quick test ride with the C3 Pro. I didn't go on the freeway, but I did manage to get up to 68 mph briefly. The face shield stayed all the way up just fine, but at the first position, it will close around 62. In the second position, it closes around 65. I don't do the middle positions because I don't like looking through the edge of the shield, so I only tested all the way open after that and I couldn't ride fast enough to make it close. I suspect that if all the way open, while it might be fine at 65-70, it might slam shut above that and that is kind of a jarring sensation when that happens. I'll find that out tomorrow.

The C3 Pro is such a nice helmet. Plus, my C3 is so old that I now realize how I was depriving myself of so much for so long. The ventilation is much better and the aerodynamics seem better too, with less wind noise. The helmet is also much lighter. I got the matte black and it looks cool too. Me likey.

I didn't transfer the audio system hardware yet. Maybe over the weekend. Riding home with the old C3 today, I tried Apple AirPods Pro with noise cancelation on and transparency mode off. Volume turned up to about 90%. If you've ever used Apple AirPods, you know that even at max volume they are not that loud. There was no problem at all hearing my podcast at 90 mph. This works so well, I am tempted to forego the Sena system and just use these earbuds. I gotta believe it is much better on my ears as well because the ANC excels at canceling white noise like the rushing wind. I can still barely hear the drone of the exhaust oddly enough, so I think I would also hear a car horn, siren, or screeching tires. I think this will sound even better with the new helmet. I'll give a better test ride on my way to work tomorrow, where I will have sustained speeds near 80 for 10-15 minutes.
 
Here is the Calsci shield. It could vey well do an excellent job of blocking the wind, but I would not have one on my bike simply because of the look.

I understand. The Parabellum and Rifle designs are similar and like you I probably wouldn't like any one of these. What I disagreed with "to a point" was that aerodynamics and windshield design are absolute and a windshield has to be excessively large to do away with noise and turbulence. Systems like the Madstad and Firecreek's Windbender work with the wind to promote smooth quiet airflow instead of simply blocking or diverting it.

On my 2012 I went the route of a small and sharply raked windshield (National Cycle Wind Deflector )and kept my head in rushing clear air but I evolved from that to Madstad because of the Tiger I owned after the 2012 NC. The Tiger 800 had a beautifully sculpted windshield but it was terrible for noise and battered me with turbulence. I bought the optional taller adjustable touring shield and it was only good in two distinct speed ranges. When adjusted to Dr. Jeykll's quiet and serene ride under 60 mph it became Mr. Hyde's evil over 65 mph. The reverse was true. When adjusted to high speed it didn't work at 55-60 mph. Luckily I bought the adjustable one used on a Tiger forum and was able to sell it at not much loss. The Madstad Tiger 800 system was their best selling system at one time and it was amazing in how it transformed the Tiger to mile-eater for me. When I bought my 2015 NC I had a Madstad on it right away. In fact they prototyped the gen 2 system on my bike about a week or two after I bought that bike.
 
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Here is the Calsci shield. It could vey well do an excellent job of blocking the wind, but I would not have one on my bike simply because of the look.

Yeah I’ve had my eye on the medium one. The large (I assume in the photo) is too tall looking to me. A little pricey after shipping is added, so I may wait a bit before adding another to my growing collection of windscreens. Waiting for Puig and Givi as well.
 
I wiped my new bike down after I rode it home from the dealer and used detailers spray and a microfiber and the stock windshield scratches really easy.
 
Yeah I’ve had my eye on the medium one. The large (I assume in the photo) is too tall looking to me. A little pricey after shipping is added, so I may wait a bit before adding another to my growing collection of windscreens. Waiting for Puig and Givi as well.
here's the CalSci medium on my 2015 DCT -- I didn't mind the look (seemed about the same as any similarly sized screen I was looking at). I replaced this with another CalSci but had them do one without the side "wings" that my hand guards would hit at full lock. Like the MadStad, the CalSci creates laminar airflow behind the screen using the little vent at the bottom. I've liked the CalSci since I installed it in 2016. For reference, I'm 6' with a 32-33" inseam.

CalSci Medium on 2015 DCT.jpeg
 
here's the CalSci medium on my 2015 DCT -- I didn't mind the look (seemed about the same as any similarly sized screen I was looking at). I replaced this with another CalSci but had them do one without the side "wings" that my hand guards would hit at full lock. Like the MadStad, the CalSci creates laminar airflow behind the screen using the little vent at the bottom. I've liked the CalSci since I installed it in 2016. For reference, I'm 6' with a 32-33" inseam.

View attachment 46471
Thanks, Greg. That helps me visualize it. Nothing at all wrong with how that looks in my opinion. We are the same height/inseam as well. Maybe I'll be getting one sooner than I thought.
 
here's the CalSci medium on my 2015 DCT -- I didn't mind the look (seemed about the same as any similarly sized screen I was looking at). I replaced this with another CalSci but had them do one without the side "wings" that my hand guards would hit at full lock. Like the MadStad, the CalSci creates laminar airflow behind the screen using the little vent at the bottom. I've liked the CalSci since I installed it in 2016. For reference, I'm 6' with a 32-33" inseam.

View attachment 46471
Do you look over, or through the screen?
 
here's the CalSci medium on my 2015 DCT -- I didn't mind the look (seemed about the same as any similarly sized screen I was looking at). I replaced this with another CalSci but had them do one without the side "wings" that my hand guards would hit at full lock. Like the MadStad, the CalSci creates laminar airflow behind the screen using the little vent at the bottom. I've liked the CalSci since I installed it in 2016. For reference, I'm 6' with a 32-33" inseam.

View attachment 46471
yours doesn't look near as bad as the one in the Calsci pic I posted. I'll bet yours is 3 or 4" shorter than the that one.
 
I bought the optional taller adjustable touring shield and it was only good in two distinct speed ranges. When adjusted to Dr. Jeykll's quiet and serene ride under 60 mph it became Mr. Hyde's evil over 65 mph. The reverse was true. When adjusted to high speed it didn't work at 55-60 mph.
That's how the shield on the FJR was. Ok all the way down, ok all the way up, terrible anywhere in between.
 
That's how the shield on the FJR was. Ok all the way down, ok all the way up, terrible anywhere in between.
I rode with it all the way down on my FJR. The wind pushed me back a little and lifted the weight off my hands. That bike had me leaning forward just a little too much, even with the shims I put on. Mine was a 2005 before the bars were adjustable.
 
I agree, the seat is pretty bad. It is top on my mod list. Not many options at the moment short of sending your seat in for a custom build. Sargent and Corbin don't seem to realize there have been changes for 2021. It would be interesting to try a 2016+ Sargent or Corbin on a 2021. One other forum member tried a 2012 factory and Corbin seat and they did not fit.

I may break down and try a Seat Concepts and install myself. I just sold/shipped my RDL front seat from my FJR and it cost $50 to ship.
TNHoosier and Saldog, I feel your pain, literally. I am trying to take progressively longer rides on my 2021 NCxd but somewhere about 170 miles into the trip the seat becomes uncomfortable. I am not sure whether it is the cumulative effects of riding in the warm weather or I have to build up some muscles to "pad my seat" to be comfortable on the seat (if you get my meaning). So I would like to ask those individuals who talk about the long rides that they take - how do you do it?
 
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