• A few people have been scammed on the site, Only use paypal to pay for items for sale by other members. If they will not use paypal, its likely a scam NEVER SEND E-TRANSFERS OF ANY KIND.

Question About Wind Screens And Saddle Bags

RF52

Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 28, 2021
Messages
39
Reaction score
25
Points
18
Location
Riverton Utah
Visit site
Is there a popular consensus for best windscreen height for an average rider? Some wind on the top of the head is okay, but must be above eye level.
Has anybody had difficulty with wind due to larger windscreen?
Had anybody had an problems with broken stock windscreen brackets?

Do Givi 37NN saddle bags create a lot of wind resistance and loss of MPG?

All responses would be very appreciated.

Trying to get set up before the end of April.
 
A very popular windshield choice is the Madstad. It has mounting brackets that allow quick manual adjustment of the windscreen angle and height. The Madstad employs an air flow design that allows you to have a screen that lifts the wind pretty much over your head, but you can still look over the top of the screen. The Madstad uses a lot of visible hardware, so some people don’t likes the looks, but it certainly functions well.

I have not had a windscreen cause handling problem, nor head of any brackets breaking (outside of people crashing). With a larger screen you need nut plates to attach the screen as the stock rubber well nuts will not hold well. The Madstad will come with nut plates.

My experience is that side bags definitely do measurably affect fuel efficiency. I use 21 liter bags (only when I need them) and lose as much as 5 mpg. As “they” say, your mileage may vary.
 
It's odd. I've had two other motorcycles with saddle bags. I expected the mpg to drop, once the saddle bags were attached, but they never did. Now I own NC750 and I'm expecting a plummet. Oh well. Can't have it all. Thanks for the feedback on both.
 
I have Givi V35N Monokey Side Cases and there is no aerodynamic impact on the ride. They don't seem to impair fuel consumption much but I haven't took measures.
 
I read a study one time about how un-aerodynamic motorcycles are. Smooth air flow breaks down by 1/3 of the way past the headlight. The rider and saddlebags are in very dirty and turbulent air and don't affect drag nearly as much as it might appear they would.

I second the Madstad system. The slot below the windshield allows the air flow to remain smooth and attached to both the front and back side of it which is why they are so quiet and effective without increasing frontal area.
 
Last edited:
OP--
The Honda saddlebags negatively affect mpg, and every other hard saddlebag option I've seen pushes more wind than they do, so will affect mpg as much or more. There's no handling or ride quality penalty with the Honda bags, though; just mpg.

I've had 4 windscreens on my bike, that I can recall just now:
1) Honda stock flyscreen
2) Honda Touring screen
3) National Cycle V-Stream
4) Madstad

--I can't recommend the stock flyscreen to anyone for any reason other than to prevent things hitting the instrument panel.

--I like the Honda Touring screen because it comes with a well-engineered, larger support framework. Also, it's flexible. How I generally ride with it these days is to put a clamp up top and tie a string (paracord, actually) from that to the handlebar such that I'm pulling the top of the screen back so it points nearly right at me. This still gives my body some shielding from the wind, but leaves my helmet in clean air. It's full-force, though, and some people don't like that. It's turbulent, or at least noisy in the helmet, if you let it sit up like it was made. It's also polycarbonate, as I recall, so it will NOT shatter if impacted.

--The National Cycle V-Stream is great for winter weather here in southern AZ. It keeps lots of air off, including off the helmet. Too little airflow for me in the AZ spring-summer-fall, though.

--The Madstad gives up on the notion of protecting the instrument panel, and on the notion of good looks. It does do a better job managing airflow up high, though, and the lowers do an outstanding job keeping full-blast cold air off the lower body and chest. The most-recommended height from them (18", I think?) lets the air smack into my helmet at about the top of my visor when it's sitting all the way up and angled all the way back. That's also the quietest position, for me.
 
Last edited:
Thank you guys very much! You're impute has been a life saver. Finding the right accessories is painful and expensive. The less ordering I have to do the better. Hunting around for stuff is very time consuming as well.
 
MadStad windshield and Givi v35 cases on my wife’s NC700x. There is probably a MPG penalty but the bike gets such good fuel economy I never noticed it. My NC750x also wears a MadStad but I’ve got box shaped Hepco & Becker Gobi hard luggage on mine.

FWIW you order the MadStad based on your height. Taller screens for taller riders. They have recommendations on their website for sizing. You should see over the top of the windscreen but the air should be deflected so your helmet is in quiet air.

front view, easily observe my screen (right) is taller than hers (left)

fullsizeoutput-7098.jpg
 
Last edited:
--The Madstad gives up on the notion of protecting the instrument panel, and on the notion of good looks. It does do a better job managing airflow up high, though, and the lowers do an outstanding job keeping full-blast cold air off the lower body and chest. The most-recommended height from them (18", I think?) let's the air smack into my helmet at about the top of my visor when it's sitting all the way up and angled all the way back. That's also the quietest position, for me.
I made a tiny flyscreen from a helmet faceshield that protected the instrument pod and acted to smoothly direct air up the back side of the Madstad shield. The first generation Madstad had an aluminum base plate that did the same thing. The version made now omits this so I made my own. In some of the numerous Madstad threads I have attached pictures of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MZ5
Just for fun, I'm dropping in a home-brew wind-screen lift contraption for ya'll to oohh and ahh about. I built it for my FZ07. I'll be selling the FZ07 once it's all cleaned up. It does terrible in wind, which is why I moved over to the NC750X. Anyway, in my desperation for getting a tall enough wind screen, I built the "riser" pictured. The bracket at the top has the screw mounting holes for the VStream + Tall Touring Screen, which wasn't tall enough. What is pictured is square tubing from Lowes, cut and drilled, and painted black. You can also see the steel bar offsets on top that the VStream mount is mounted to. So, have a hoot on me. The air flow that it allowed under the screen was a huge advantage; no buffeting.
 

Attachments

  • Lift.jpg
    Lift.jpg
    156.1 KB · Views: 48
Just for fun, I'm dropping in a home-brew wind-screen lift contraption for ya'll to oohh and ahh about. I built it for my FZ07. I'll be selling the FZ07 once it's all cleaned up. It does terrible in wind, which is why I moved over to the NC750X. Anyway, in my desperation for getting a tall enough wind screen, I built the "riser" pictured. The bracket at the top has the screw mounting holes for the VStream + Tall Touring Screen, which wasn't tall enough. What is pictured is square tubing from Lowes, cut and drilled, and painted black. You can also see the steel bar offsets on top that the VStream mount is mounted to. So, have a hoot on me. The air flow that it allowed under the screen was a huge advantage; no buffeting.
Necessity is the mother of invention. If it worked well then looks become secondary to form.
 
One thing often overlooked with the NC and windscreens is there is a lot of air that comes around the turn signal stalks, over the frunk, hits your body, and goes up your body to the bottom of the helmet causing a lot of noise. Madstad figured this out and added winglets that sit behind the turn signals. I have the first generation madstad which didn't come with the winglets so I made my own and they make a huge difference in comfort. I'm a fan of the madstad with it easy to adjust. I lower it when it is hot outside or riding off road, raise it for rain or night driving to catch the bugs.
 
Head buffeting is okay in small amounts. Feeling the wind on my torso is okay to a point as well. It's the constant pressure that is wearing. In general, my windscreen setups consist of medium screen sizes that block the wind down to the middle of eye level since I have a mask on anyway. That eliminates a lot of neck strain. Broken wind to the arms, shoulders, and torso is a welcome part of riding. For me, it adds to that free, open feeling of riding and gliding down the hwy.
 
I made a tiny flyscreen from a helmet faceshield that protected the instrument pod and acted to smoothly direct air up the back side of the Madstad shield. The first generation Madstad had an aluminum base plate that did the same thing. The version made now omits this so I made my own. In some of the numerous Madstad threads I have attached pictures of it.

I was considering how to build such a thing just today as I rode to work and back (mostly back). I had recalled that someone had built one for their Madstad, but couldn't recall who it was. Now I know the username to search for. Thanks.
 
Head buffeting is okay in small amounts. Feeling the wind on my torso is okay to a point as well. It's the constant pressure that is wearing. In general, my windscreen setups consist of medium screen sizes that block the wind down to the middle of eye level since I have a mask on anyway. That eliminates a lot of neck strain. Broken wind to the arms, shoulders, and torso is a welcome part of riding. For me, it adds to that free, open feeling of riding and gliding down the hwy.
I think a lot of this depends upon how the bike is used. I am NOT disagreeing with you.

Just pointing out that for my local rides, which are typically a couple hours round trip, I am often happy to have wind on me. But when going on a long distance trip, where I'm in the saddle for 4, 6 or even 8 hours, even if that is broken by some coffee/lunch/water stops, then I want to be out of most of the wind as that wind seems to wear me out by the end of the day.

Honestly if Madstad offered a quick detach mount, allowing me to swap windscreen sizes, I'd buy it. A smaller coverage screen for local rides, especially on hot days in suburban traffic. Then use my larger screen for rural highways and higher speed trips. On really warm/humid days I notice that if I happen to ride my wife's bike, with her smaller Madstad, I am much cooler as I get more wind.
 
Last edited:
I was considering how to build such a thing just today as I rode to work and back (mostly back). I had recalled that someone had built one for their Madstad, but couldn't recall who it was. Now I know the username to search for. Thanks.
I still have the template for this flyscreen I made from a smoke face shield for a helmet. If there is interest I can scan it to a document for preservation and reuse.



IMG_3141(1).JPGIMG_3126.JPG
 
That smoke screen looks great Dave!

My experience with the first gen Madstad has been that I can lower and angle it for riding around town with plenty of air and then raise and angle it more vertical for highway riding. Highway is where I found the noise problem from the air running up the chest and hitting the bottom of the helmet. With the winglets I still get plenty of air to stay cool but not so much that it is causing excessive noise.
 
Back
Top