Windsheild affecting way it rides

[Guest]

Alright, so I got a spitfire windshield (one of the little cheap sport ones off of bikebandit.com) while I ordered the parts to attach my new side plastic piece. I got the windshield on, and it the line angle of it is around close to the angle of the forks. I took it for a test ride, and it feels as if the rear is either pulling a bit, or wobbling. It did not do this before the windshield was on, and we have not done any work to the rear of the bike since I placed it on. The only things that occurred directly before it was a carb clean, oil change duer to gas in the oil, and the oil leaking out before it was changed and causing it to not want to shift correctly. I test rode it once those were fixed, and did not notice any of the "wobble" or pulling.

It is a 450L, the chain has the proper amount of play in it.

When I have time i will probably play around with the angle of the windshield to put it where i would like it and to see if that affects the "wobbling" any.

Pictures of it with the windshield will be up as soon as I get home.

[spyug]

It could well be the windshield , but I wouldn't have thought it would be noticeable unless you are riding in windy conditions. The handlebar mounted shields can exert a pull on the bars if the wind gets to one side of it and what you might be experiencing is an unconcious response on your part to keep the bike tracking straight.

I had one on my 400 Yammie and one day it damn near killed me as a cross wind caught the shield and pushed me in to the oncoming lane. Luckily no one was in it at the time because I was in it before I could even react. They are dangerous IMHO, so be careful.

A quick check would be to remove the shield and see if the symptoms remain. If they do then something else is happening, obviously.

Having said that however, I think your description points more to a rear end issue and I'd be thinking swing arm bearings. I don't know about that bike but some of the Yammies of that vintage had plastic or nylon bushes that wore out and would cause similar symptoms.

You should jack the back end up. Remove the wheel and check for any play in the swing arm , side to side and up and down ( at the pivot point, of course).

Good luck and let us know what it turns out to be.

Cheers,
Spyug

[bbjumper]

I have the same Spit Fire windshield on my GS and have had no problems at all. I agree with Spyug, they are easy to pull off and check out if there is a difference. I really enjoy mine, it gets the pressure off of my chest at highway speeds and makes all day rides a no brainier.

Cheers

[Steve]

..., and it the line angle of it is around close to the angle of the forks. I took it for a test ride, and it feels as if the rear is either pulling a bit, or wobbling.

Mounting angle can really affect the way the air spills off the back side of the windshield.
If it is too vertical, it will wave back and forth, like a kite.
Try leaning it back a bit so there is a smoother angle into the wind.

It is a 450L chain drive, so there isn't any of the "shafty pulling" and the chain has the proper amount of play in it.

Just exactly what is "shafty pulling"?

I have ridden pretty much nothing but shaft-driven bikes for the last 33 years and have never noticed any "pulling" due to the shaft.

.

[pete]

I wouldn't be surprised if it's the shield doing it.

When I had the bikini fairing on mine I noticed things like that when I didn't have it lined up quite right.

These 450's are definitely light enough to be affected by wind, so and shield has the potential to do that.

The previous tips to play with the angle are definitely the way to go to see what difference it will make.

I even notice a difference with the tiny fly screen I made for mine, and I need to try some different angles to see what works best.

[Chrkut]

Rode around with it some more yesterday, Either it wasnt as bad, or I got used to it. Changed the angle a little bit, more due to massive buffeting to my helmet than due to the pulling off to the side.

Picture

[pete]

Wow that's a big screen for a little 450! Should keep lots of wind off you

By the way, you have a spider on your seat

[Chrkut]

Last time I rode to college, someone stole my extra quart of oil that i keep under that there cargo net >. The spider is a theft deterrent and or it keep sit from sliding out. Plus the kids who already love my bright pink helmet always love when i have something odd on the back. I got some weird looks with a stuffed cow...

[pete]

Last time I rode to college, someone stole my extra quart of oil that i keep under that there cargo net >. The spider is a theft deterrent and or it keep sit from sliding out. Plus the kids who already love my bright pink helmet always love when i have something odd on the back. I got some weird looks with a stuffed cow...

Aaah I see! People suck sometimes... If like the stuffed cow idea

[Spyder]

By the way, you have a spider on your seat

It's a bad Photo Shop job. I've never been anywhere near that bike, I swear...

[tkent02]

Aerodynamics is weird science. A lot is still not fully understood. I have a BMW R1100RT, a large bike, fully faired, very stable at any speed it will go. A few years ago, we put a medium sized tank bag on it, and now it buffets, both my wife's and my ears are getting pressure waves like when someone opens the rear window in a car at high speed. It was not as strong but strong enough to be annoying. How can a tank bag sitting behind a full fairing have any aerodynamic effect at all? Took the tank bag off and all is well. Weird science.

Try different windscreen angles, or mount it lower if possible, it will probably help.

[OldVet66]

Having ridden with a large Plexifairing with no problems even in windy conditions, I would assume your windshield is showing up a few maintenance issues that need correcting. I would look into the triple tree and swing arm first. Adjusted properly, even a light bike shouldn't do that.

[OldVet66]

I had a Yamaha XJ700X with a Plexifairing back in the day. I switched helmets to a bell full face, and behind the windshield, it wanted to pull it off of my head. Didn't do that with other helmets.

[pete]

I tilted my little fly screen forward a bit before my big ride yesterday, probably only about 5 or 10 degrees, and it made a huge difference. Almost no buffeting on my chest at all compared to before, and I didn't get any inkling of a sore neck like I have been previously.

I think I had it back far enough that it was actually directing the air to my upper chest/neck which was making it worse than having no fly screen at all...

[1_v8_merc]

The Shield could be amplifying an existing front-end alignment problem, or something else?
Make sure everything is perfectly straight and centered.

If something is slightly off-set, I could see this causing a "swing".