Breaking wind, in a good way.

You know that feeling you had as a kid at Christmas? You wake up early and head to the living room to start shaking the presents labeled with your name on them. I like to replicate that feeling several times a year by ordering parts for my bikes. I like getting home to see a box on my doorstep or kitchen counter from one of the several go-fast companies that I routinely get my parts from. Earlier this week I had such a day. I had a gift waiting for me when I got home from work. It was even better than expected because the package came in early. Follow along as I sneak out to the garage for a little wrench time with the FZ.

The inspiration for this buy came from the bike swapping Aprilia/Yamaha comparison posts I recently did. The FZ has pretty good wind protection up until about 60-65 mph. After that, the wind stream starts to go from mid-chest and begins hitting me right under the helmet. This causes some lifting on the helmet putting pressure on my neck and shoulders. When I swapped saddles to ride the Aprilia, I noticed that the windscreen my buddy had on the bike was more rounded and provided a better pocket of wind protection at normal SoCal riding speeds (80-85 mph). I jumped online to see what was available for the old Yamaha and found that Zero Gravity had a series of screens available. A couple of clicks and credit card swipe later, this is what awaited me.

The new screen is the Zero Gravity Double Bubble in the Dark Smoke color. I got this from Zero Gravity's eBay clearance store. I saved $20 from the Zero Gravity main site and even $10 from my normal go to site, Revzilla. The screen was very well packaged and was not a factory second or defect piece.

The process of getting the old screen off was just removing the six (well 5 and one broken one) nylon screws from the front of the motorcycle. In the shot above you can see some of the differences between the screen I originally had on the bike and the new one. The original screen is a Zero Gravity SR model in Light Smoke color. The SR in the SR series name Zero stands for 'Stock Replacement'. Here you can see the differences in curvature that gives the Double Bubble screen its name. This should provide for a bigger pocket of still air while I'm in the seat. I'm not looking for completely turbulence free zone just a smoother stream of air around my helmet at freeway speeds.

The Double Bubble is also just a touch taller and and a bit wider than the SR screen. This will broaden the air flow and concentrate less of it at my neck and spread it over a larger area of my body. The screen's extra height, width and curvature still flows with the original body lines of the bike and keeps the sporty look intact. I wasn't looking for a complete touring windscreen though Zero Gravity has a third option for the Yamaha FZ1 that is much taller and wider for those riders that want more wind protection than I am after.

These two shots really give you a sense of the differences between the two screens. The left before pic is the SR screen and the right is the after Double Bubble screen. I really like the Dark Smoke color of the new screen. I can still see through it, but really I don't look through the screen that much. The color matches better with the black part of the cowling. When sitting on the bike in the garage and seeing the new windscreen from the pilot's seat, I imagine the air will flow much more over my head and the helmet lifting should be a thing of the past. I can't wait to get out and test it.

Unfortunately the weather forecast for this weekend has Biblical amounts of rain predicted for the next few days. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be able to get out on Sunday. I will have to be extra careful in the canyons as that much rain will lead to more rocks and debris in the road. My new stainless steel brake lines are on the way so stay tuned for a post on me going through my brake system. Ride safe!

Blue

UPDATE: I managed to get out between rain bands today and get a few miles on the bike with the new windscreen. It does everything I'd hoped. The wind stream coming off the screen from 60 mph and above is much more linear. The turbulence has softened and the lifting of my helmet at speed has disappeared. I can tuck in behind the new screen much easier thanks to the extra height. I'm glad I picked this sucker up. On the way home I stopped by the local Cycle Gear and picked up a wind screen bolt set so I was able to replace the broken screw and have spares. All in all a good day.