I just bought 2020 FJR this week, rode it from the dealership for the first time - what a great bike!! I was bit nervous switching from a small cruising Triumph America but the Yamaha was so easy to handle that it was a pleasure to ride. I played with it till it got too cold ( November in Boston). I loved everything about the FJR but the wind noise. I am 6.2 , put the windshield to the highest possible setting , I did not feel too much wind on the head or the chest ( comparing to my Triumph ) but the wind noise was brutal. If I dipped my head just 3-4 inches lower the noise went down 50%., but the riding position was too comfortable. Lowering the shield did not help. Does anyone experienced this before? I thought about lowering the seat but it is set into the lever position already, I can't lift the windshield any higher ( I think this would help) , I have a good helmet Shark Evo 2 , so I don't see any solutions. Maybe I just have unreasonable expectations after riding the Triumph with its huge "window" at front ( it was quiet but I hated looking thru it !!).
Thank you
Andy
I just bought 2020 FJR this week, rode it from the dealership for the first time - what a great bike!! I was bit nervous switching from a small cruising Triumph America but the Yamaha was so easy to handle that it was a pleasure to ride. I played with it till it got too cold ( November in Boston). I loved everything about the FJR but the wind noise. I am 6.2 , put the windshield to the highest possible setting , I did not feel too much wind on the head or the chest ( comparing to my Triumph ) but the wind noise was brutal. If I dipped my head just 3-4 inches lower the noise went down 50%., but the riding position was too comfortable. Lowering the shield did not help. Does anyone experienced this before? I thought about lowering the seat but it is set into the lever position already, I can't lift the windshield any higher ( I think this would help) , I have a good helmet Shark Evo 2 , so I don't see any solutions. Maybe I just have unreasonable expectations after riding the Triumph with its huge "window" at front ( it was quiet but I hated looking thru it !!). Thank you
Andy
Usually, the biggest source of wind noise is the helmet, particularly the vents/seams. Borrow or change to something closer to a Bell Star Classic or similar, and see how that goes. Otherwise, just tape up the vents and seams in your helmet, to find the offending part. You can fill in any noisy seams with sealants, such as RTV, if you wish.
Alternately, there are a variety of aftermarket FJR windshields, and some bolt-on clear top deflector panels, which can change the airflow you have in many ways. You can get taller, wider, or top-warped FJR windshields that may do the job for you. You can also get angled mounting blocks that will lay the windshield back more, or stand it up straighter, so feel free to experiment. You can use washers in increasing or decreasing stacks for each mounting bolt, to make minor tilt adjustments. The Yamaha windshield mounting bolts are a safety item, designed to fail in a crash, rather than breaking your windshield into deadly shards the way steel mounting screws would. Accept no substitutes, there. You can sell any excess parts that do not work for you in the Classified ads here, and on other FJR forums, to defray the costs of your experiments. Few FJR riders still have stock OEM windshields, because there are better options out there.
Of course, you might want to use ear plugs for the time being, while you are getting the noise problem sorted out. HTH.
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I long ago put a taller wind shield on for the same reason. See if you can still find one about 3" taller with a little backflip at the top. I can look over the top of it and I get a complete cone of silence.
Definitely need an upgraded windshield first, helmet help later. You do wear earplugs for hearing protection, yes?
Yamaha improved the airflow UNDER the windshield with 2013, but as Red says, get a larger one and shim it up to get more airflow under it.
There's a thread on windshields around here somewhere, discussed at length.
Hmmmm. hafta see about that neck roll, how to mount with comm system attached.....
Andy, couple of things. I use the Yamaha “touring” windshield and it works pretty good for me with several quiet adjustment spots. But I am only 5’10” which makes a big difference so I’m not sure it will help you.
You might try one of the add-on piece’s that go on the top edge to extend the height a bit to see if that helps before spending the money on a new shield. Also try adjusting the windshield up & down a bit to find a quiet zone as for me all the way down is pretty quiet even though there’s a lot of wind on me and also nearly all the way up where I’m just looking over the top edge is quiet as well but very noisey in other positions.
Also as others have said helmets have a big effect on noise, my Scorpion 3000gt’s lower chin ent really ramps up the noise when open on my fjr, not so much on other bikes. Different air flows, and finally I always wear ear plugs, always ! Even a mild air roar is really bad for your hearing.
Finally, Boston imho is one of the best places in our country, our son lives in n-hampshire & we try to visit Boston whenever we go there, I’m a history junkie. Welcome to the sandbox.
I tried 3 different windshields and this was the answer for me, on the stock shield.
Shimming made It better in full down position with a touring screen, but so bad in raised position it was unridable.
Stock screen with this attachment works for me "finally"
I tried 3 different windshields and this was the answer for me, on the stock shield.
Shimming made It better in full down position with a touring screen, but so bad in raised position it was unridable.
Stock screen with this attachment works for me "finally"
We are the same height. I bought the yammy touring windshield and find that it's a lot quieter than the stock windshield because it pushes the air flow to the top of the helmet instead of at my shoulders. I can raise it up and it drops the helmet noise significantly.
I also find that some helmets are worse than others for wind noise. I bought a neotec II and really like it but it's noisier than my old helmet, whistles sometimes depending on how the air flow hits it.
I highly recommend the yammy touring windshield as it's well made, looks better than the OEM IMHO, and has good protection from the wind. I put the OEM windshield back on when temps are over 25oC to give my body better air flow. Gets too warm otherwise.
Well, first, the FJR just doesn't have the wind protection other sport tourers do. But take heart- the stock screen is a joke. A Yamaha touring screen or vstream will serve you much better.
That said, no bike or helmet is quiet enough at highway speed to negate the need for earplugs.
I too am 6'-2" with a 2020 FJR and I too find it noisy, wind-wise. A few comments:
A motorcycle windshield should never be so high that you have to look through it.
Always wear earplugs, even where wearing them is illegal or semi-illegal like in Minnesota where apparently it is illegal to wear 2 earplugs. That is unless you don't mind tinnitus or you hope to go deaf some day. I doubt there's a windshield/helmet combination good enough to protect your hearing.
Helmet design is a huge factor in wind noise. The Shoei Neotec II is said to be the quietest modular helmet, even better than the Schuberth. I have both a Neotec II and an AGV Sport Modular Carbon and the Neotec II is much quieter than the AGV. Better yet, give up the convenience of a modular and wear a conventional full face helmet.
I bought the Yamaha touring windshield and it helps but it is not perfect. I believe it is 4" taller and 1/2" wider than stock. It does block a lot of air, in fact it blocks too much air in the hot weather so I switched back to the stock screen and put up with a little more noise. I now use the touring windshield for cold weather, like below 5C.
Good luck in your quest to find quiet. It can be like searching for unicorns.
Helmet design is a huge factor in wind noise. The Shoei Neotec II is said to be the quietest modular helmet, even better than the Schuberth. I have both a Neotec II and an AGV Sport Modular Carbon and the Neotec II is much quieter than the AGV. Better yet, give up the convenience of a modular and wear a conventional full face helmet.
I wear a flip-up because I have to show my face to the guards when riding onto work property. With my Nolan N104 Evo, my Sena 20S is unusable above 60mph - won't pick up my voice at all. When I rode with a Shoei RF-1200, I could talk on the Sena and people didn't know I was on a motorcycle at least through 90mph. Untested above that. I expect that a flip-up will never be as quiet as a quality full-face.
Andy, the Yamaha touring shield is a night and day improvement over the stock shield and it’s reasonably priced. The Shark Evo helmet is one of the loudest helmets there is for wind noise. Owned on some years ago. Generally speaking modular helmets are louder than a full face but if you like modular that’s fine. Helmets rate right up there with tires and oil so I’m not going there.
It's the ONLY way to protect your hearing. No windshield or helmet will prevent hearing loss from over-pressures of air past your ears. Protect your hearing. Trust me.
+1 for ear plugs and +1 for the touring windshield.
I'm just about 6'. I ride with foam ear plugs, wear the Shoei RF1200, and added the Yamaha Touring Windshield. When I put the screen all the way up, I'm in a nice bubble. It's like the cone of silence. All I hear is the engine purring. If I get a call on the Cardo, no one believes I'm doing 80 down the highway.
I'm 6'1", 34" inseam, and my '16 FJR had the OEM Touring shield on it, and at its highest level it made things virtually silent, which the smaller stock shield never could (unless I wanted to duck down). You could try an extension for the small stock shield, but I would urge you to consider the Touring shield instead, as it does away with a supplemental clip piece that, to my eyes, doesn't look too sharp, and I suspect wouldn't be as effective as wider, one-piece shield. Heck, the Touring shield even has a cool little FJR stenciled on the side...more winning.
I have the Puig FJR touring screen, it's slightly larger than the Yamaha touring windscreen and even at the highest setting I still get wind noise. Could be my helmet though, I have an AGV flip up. I'm 5'10", so not really towering over the bike or anything.
I have the Puig FJR touring screen, it's slightly larger than the Yamaha touring windscreen and even at the highest setting I still get wind noise. Could be my helmet though, I have an AGV flip up. I'm 5'10", so not really towering over the bike or anything.
Windshield design plays a lot into the airflow around you - bigger doesn't always mean better. I've got a bigger givi windshield on my burgman. Intuitively you would expect more protection on that bike than the FJR with the touring windshield but I find the opposite is true. I'm in a nice smooth airflow bubble on the FJR and barely feel passing trucks. The burgy has a lot of turbulence and buffeting in comparison. I feel every passing truck. The OEM burgy windshield has less buffeting but my hands freeze in cold weather. The givi has nice bumpouts that act like knuckle busters. I prefer the FJR in cold weather.
For those who don't wear ear plugs please reconsider. Wind roar is damaging to the ears, no matter how minimum you may think it is.
In the early 80's I had custom silicon earplugs molded to my ears. Cost over $100 back then. Now you can make your own. I have made a few pairs over the years as your ear shape does change. I've even molded quality ear buds in it for listening to tunes while riding.
I cannot post a link yet so go to earfuze dot com.
I tried those but they didn't work for me. Maybe I'm a klutz, I dunno, but I couldn't get it right. I switched to [ame="https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER38-14F-Replacement-Eartips/dp/B0078JXDRI"]Etymotic ER38-14F earbuds[/ame] on their MK-5 In-Ear Headphones. The buds roll up like foam earplugs and expand. Hearing protection and clear music at lower volume: win-win!
I agree: my custom molded silicone earplugs do not block anywhere near the amount of wind noise as do disposable, foam-type earplugs. Save your money.
Similarly my custom molded in-ear monitors do not block as much wind noise as my off-the-shelf Westone UM1 Pro or Shure E3 in-ear monitors do when using Shure triple flange sleeves (on both sets). My custom molded in-ear monitors do have much better sound quality albeit for 5 times the price of the Westones.
The touring windshield worked great for me 5' 10", raising or lowering it from time to time . Usually extreme wind noise is caused by those who own this rocket.
Try this experiment. I had an 2008 ducati multistrada for the summer and found a lot of wind noise. Then i tried covering under the chin of my helmet with my hand reducing the wind getting under and into the helmet and found that was the area that wind was getting to me. I had that issue with a stock yamaha touring windshield but I don't have that issue with a tall vstream on the FJR.
I own two FJR's, both with LOTs of miles on 'em. I suggest buying the Yamaha touring windscreen which when adjusted up or down on the fly will adequately address any wind noise (in any conditions) you encounter while riding the mighty FJR (IMHO...).
Andy1300, it’s a little late now that you’ve bought your bike (very nice indeed) but if you’d have asked before you bought I would;be recommended a 2014 fastest color red bike ! Simply put, they are soooooo fast that they simply outrun the wind noise ! You’ll have to ride the brakes for it to catch up ! Really ! I wouldn’t lie about this, totally true 😁😁😁😁.
"Ignorance is bliss" as they say. It's really a matter of Yamaha not providing the Root Beer FJR's to the US, while Canada and the EU benefited. Perhaps Yamaha's market research for the year 2014 revealed a flashy red would sell, and that they wanted them to have greater exposure. The only way to ensure that was to slow them down a tad... IF only Steve could ride a Root Beer...... sigh.
I guess I can only give him a pic of mine the day I brought it home.....
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