Heavy fog and darkness = NO windscreens!

[Stig / Major Tom]

I dislike riding behind a screen for 2 reasons -

Rode out in the dark and into a pretty heavy fog & mist - on damp roads this morning.
Fog meant I was swiping my face shield every few seconds.
No problem......but if I'd also been dealing with a tall screen misting up and becoming opaque on both sides in the swirl of moisture....  well - that is just not a safe way to ride at night in the dark while dealing with headlights!

One might get away with it in the day light - but not when it's pitch dark out in deer country.

It was still pretty foggy in patches coming home......




Stig

[rjs987]

That's one of the big reasons I decided many years ago I would never again ride on a bike with the windshield I had to look through. My Gold Wing had a tall Tulsa shield that extended above the top of my helmet. When I sold that bike I never again owned a bike that had a shield I could not easily look over while sitting normally on it. I even cut down the shield on my ST1100. The top edge of that one was just barely above my eyes, at my eye brows. I could look over it if I really stretched up as tall as possible. So I cut off 3 inches to bring it down to the level of the tip of my nose. I was tempted sometimes to cut another inch or two but that was just enough. Both my Burgman scooters had stock shields that were up to chin level which was perfect for me for deflecting the wind to where I wanted it. My CTX1300 was the same after installing the "tall" Honda shield for a little more protection from the cold winter winds. My current AK has the stock shield that is similar to the Burgman stock shield. I hear of riders replacing that with a Givi taller shield that they have to look through and just cannot imagine having one of those. Maybe for something wider than stock but if it were taller than stock I would cut it down.

[Mancashire]

To my way of thinking, if the weather is too bad to ride behind a windscreen, it is too bad to ride without one. My desire to ride has never influenced my judgement on when the weather was good enough to ride. Then again, maybe I have turned into a wuss in my dotage.
 
I will confess that I have ridden with a windscreen that was too tall. That is until I trimmed it down. I have ordered a Givi windscreen for my AK550 to deal with what I feel is excess wind on my torso - especially at speed on the freeway. I’ll make a similar adjustment to the screen if the Givi interferes with my view.

In the end, each of us is free to ride when and how we like. I give you kudos, Stig, for getting out and riding while I am still sleeping. I enjoy seeing your pictures and expect that your rides and coffee time is quite cathartic. In this current tumultuous world, that can help keep you grounded.

Stay safe and enjoy the ride

[Stig / Major Tom]

To my way of thinking, if the weather is too bad to ride behind a windscreen, it is too bad to ride without one. My desire to ride has never influenced my judgement on when the weather was good enough to ride. Then again, maybe I have turned into a wuss in my dotage.
 
I will confess that I have ridden with a windscreen that was too tall. That is until I trimmed it down. I have ordered a Givi windscreen for my AK550 to deal with what I feel is excess wind on my torso - especially at speed on the freeway. I’ll make a similar adjustment to the screen if the Givi interferes with my view.

In the end, each of us is free to ride when and how we like. I give you kudos, Stig, for getting out and riding while I am still sleeping. I enjoy seeing your pictures and expect that your rides and coffee time is quite cathartic. In this current tumultuous world, that can help keep you grounded.

Stay safe and enjoy the ride

Thanks for the kind words!
Yes, if I rode at the big speeds most guys ride at - and on your high speed roadways.... - well, I did for a time, on my new Burgman 400. I rode it at 75/80 on rt 68 - in the dark and in the rain, fog, cold, etc.
 I found myself not enjoying the rides as much. And not enjoying ownership of a big scoot. I quickly ditched the tall stock Suzuki screen for a short sport Ermax screen. That helped bring back some of my riding pleasure.

But not enough - so, I sold it to a guy 2700 miles away - and bought a new Liberty150i! And I'm back to enjoying the Zen of rain, fog and dark riding in the countryside at speeds more 'my speed'!



That stock screeen beat the snot out of my head! My pic of the first ride I took on the Burgman!


Stig

BTW: notice the cool mirror stem extenders I found for the Burg from the UK. Perfect match with the scoot's hardware! Now I could see behind me!

[Neil955i]

Still like those Bergman 400’s.