My wife likes to ride with me but she says there is too much wind behind me. She says it almost tears her helmet off. Anyone else experience this or have a solution. We ride 2014 rtl.
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My wife likes to ride with me but she says there is too much wind behind me. She says it almost tears her helmet off. Anyone else experience this or have a solution. We ride 2014 rtl.
If her helmet is too large, the negative pressure going over the top of it will pull it up on her head and move it around. Making it feel like it's being 'Ripped Off'. A properly fit helmet (which is actually quite rare) should not give the wearer this feeling even under windy conditions. It is very easy to check for a too large, loose fitting helmet.
This may not be your issue. But I thought I'd throw it into the mix.
My wife can fall asleep behind me on my '13 RTL. Is your windshield adjusted all the way up when this is happening?
Yes windshield is all the way up. Just thought of it I took my cousin for a ride and he complained of the same thing.
I always s found that riding my RT with the windshield in the highest position created a lot of back pressure. Try riding with it in a lower position and see if that helps her.
My sweetheart had the same complaints. I resolved by installing a F4 - 28 inch Plus 3 wide - windshield, problem solved. (Nothing too good to keep my sweetheart happy). I was lucky to purchase when F4 (a site sponsor) had a good sale going.
Add the extra 3" to windshield from F4 makes a world of difference.
We have a standard size BRT shield ----- WITH A VENT!!!!! My passinger is quite happy with NO buffetting.
Yep me too i fitted a f3 exra wide and tall,made it heaps better.lost some fuel economy though as its a big sail in the air.
This is a picture of Kim with their spider RT. She rides with the +3 I really likes it. There has been times when we ride to up and I ride on the back or she does and the difference between a stock windshield and having a blast really is just amazing. We always recommend that if you ride to up to go to the +3 it’s so much better for the co-rider great in the rain. If you’re interested give us a call at 330-968-4644 and we can discuss your options.
Based on about 50 years of trying to find "good" windshields on various bikes............
First, be sure you know where the offending air is coming FROM.
Often it is NOT over the top.
That is true of 2-wheelers; don't know about an RT......'cause I am just fine up front !! :thumbup:
With the F4-3+ wind shield and wider my passenger has been real happy and me too :thumbup:
Mine has a vent too
My wife complained of the same thing until she traded her 3/4 helmet for a full face modular. Stock RT windshield, no vent.
Now that’s a beer!
FWIW I ride single on my 15 RTL and with the windshield full up (minus an inch) I notice how much the back of my helmet gets buffeted at hiway speeds vs when I leave it down. Surprising actually.
was going to say full face modular helmets since day one on our 2015 rt-s never any complaints
Maybe she's hinting for her own bike??:thumbup::dontknow::clap::2thumbs:
I'm going to buy one of these next month. Look on Amazon or Revzilla.
This item MRA 4025066125036 X-Creen Clear Bolt-On/Add-On Variable Windscreen Spoiler Blade
Thanks for all the thoughts. My wife was telling me now because she feels the wind is coming from underneath. does anyone have experience with baker wind wings or something similiar and if this stops that kind of wind?
I have an RT with the tall and wide F4 windshield. I don't know how much it contributes to the issue but the RT has a lot of air whirling around it at highway speed. The flags on my trunk fly backwards and my backside get dirty if the road is wet. Also on wet roads the windshield actually gets dirtier on the backside than on the front side from all the back wind blowing around. This may be part of your wife's problem with the helmet seeming to want to come off. I can't offer any passenger experience since I ride one up only. My wife can't ride.
OK---- When a windshield like our :spyder2:'s is pushed through the air at speed a low pressure area is created and the turbelence we feel is the high pressure air being pushed aside and over the screeen rushing into the area behind the screen. A VENT will fill the low pressure and then---- no turbelence.
Lew L
Now admittedly, my RT is a 2013 Ltd with the 998cc motor, but I think this issue is related to the RT Shape rather than anything motor size related! ;)
Anyhow, We used to have the same problem when my Missus rode pillion on my RT, especially that 'wet back from wet roads' thing!! She'd get soaked from water hitting the back of her helmet/jacket & running down her back, plus she'd often complain of the strong fuel/exhaust smell too! Since my RT Ltd came with the 2 largeish vents in the lower section of the screen, I didn't go down the path of adding further vents in that. Instead, I played with a few ideas aimed at cleaning up the airflow behind the panniers & trunk thru adding fairings or 'wings' on the tupperware instead, but, none worked well until I hit upon fitting an extendable trunk lid rack. Fitted that & problem solved! It works very well with the 1/2 cover on the rack, & I added a flat filler of 1/8th inch ply when the rack isn't in use; result is that all the problems associated with that 'air turbulence' thing, the helmet lifting off, the buffeting, the exhaust smell, and the wet back issues et al are all gone!! :2thumbs:
So I reckon the issues many experience are mainly due to the std RT &/or larger screens creating a fairly big low pressure area behind them & where the rider/passenger sit, so that the low pressure area behind the panniers & trunk merges with the screen low pressure area & together the problems are worse, basically sucking all the turbulence & road spray, exhaust smell etc into what's meant to be the rider/passenger 'still air' zone!! Adding vents to the screen (if you don't have one already) might help, or as we've found, by simply by fitting a 'whale-tail' type trunk lid carrier or airfoil on the top of the trunk, you can iron out the air flow over & around the bike, moving the lowest air pressure into the area behind the trunk & so helping to keep the pillion in the largely 'still air' bubble formed by the screen that the rider usually enjoys! I'll try to put up a pic....
Has anyone tried this?
https://calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/SpyderRTprod.html
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Fairing.html
The science behind proper windshield design