Bad Bad Buffetting - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

rmitchell · 08-09-2005, 06:35 PM

Bought new C50 in April. Great ride. Bought Memphis Shade (Slim) in May. Not good ride. Caused blurred vision it was so bad. Memphis Shade customer service advised lowers. Bought them. Very little improvement. Moved them up and down and in and out. Still a great ride without the windshield, but can't stand it with. I don't think Memphis Shades did any R&D for the C50, or they wouldn't have sold me those. $260 for the windshield and $75 for lowers. Equals $335 for nothing good.

92Notch · 08-09-2005, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmitchell

Bought new C50 in April. Great ride. Bought Memphis Shade (Slim) in May. Not good ride. Caused blurred vision it was so bad. Memphis Shade customer service advised lowers. Bought them. Very little improvement. Moved them up and down and in and out. Still a great ride without the windshield, but can't stand it with. I don't think Memphis Shades did any R&D for the C50, or they wouldn't have sold me those. $260 for the windshield and $75 for lowers. Equals $335 for nothing good.

maybe you could try to sell the set-up to someone else .... I'll give you $20 bucks for it ... then you'll only be out $315, that's a whole bunch better then being out $335. lol

(sorry, couldn't resist messing aroung a little bit)

Damn ... that sucks. I think I've read some other threads where people complain about the glare off the windshield. I've held off getting one, I kinda like it w/o it. .... and i'd probably hate the looks of it on the bike anyways. ..... i don't know ... maybe some day i'll try one.

BudTheGrey · 08-09-2005, 08:21 PM

I got a mephis Shades windshield on my C50LE and it works great.

Picture Here

myturn · 08-09-2005, 09:11 PM

I get a little buffing action on my C50T, But it sure keeps the bugs off me..

I see you are from OKLA, ME TOO

QuacktheDuck · 08-10-2005, 12:42 AM

Do you wear a full face or open face helmet? I notice alot of buffeting with my 3/4 but with my full face none at all. Usually reserve the open face for under 45 mph cruising and the full face for any ride where I even remotely have the chance of going faster because of the windblast that gets deflected into my face. Plus I have the national cycle street shield which is very small compared to any of those memphis shades windshields.

rmitchell · 08-10-2005, 10:06 AM

I wear a full face helmet and agree the buffetting is more pronounced with the face shield partly open. But even with it completely closed, above 45 mph my vision gets dangerously blurred.

rmitchell · 08-10-2005, 10:09 AM

Did you get the "Fat" or the "Slim" ( I got the slim)? I would buy the "Fat" Memphis Shade if it would fix my problem. I hope the mounting bracket would be the same. Do you know?

mr_resistible · 08-10-2005, 11:44 AM

I got the OEM and I love it. You can pick them up on E-bay for $300 or less. Paid about $379 for mine. When I lowered my bike 2-1/2 inches the windshield was too tall even at its lowest setting so I had to cut 2-1/2 inches off the windshield. Now it fits perfect, I dont feel any buffeting, and it looks great with the new low profile.

St0nkingByte · 08-10-2005, 12:05 PM

Can you tweak the angle of the shield at all? I got the dirt cheap $90 off eBay windshield for my Marauder and its even way too short for me but once I kicked out the bottom a little and pulled the top in a hair I got this aerodynamic thing happening. I don't get into the dangerously blurry head slapping wind until around 80mph+ now.

md2lgyk · 08-10-2005, 12:22 PM

It's been my experience that head buffeting means the shield isn't tall enough. My Marauder came with the OEM shield which is only 15" tall. I'm 6'6" and the buffeting was awful. After two days I took the thing off. I've never had any buffeting with my previous bikes with windshields.

blackie1491 · 08-10-2005, 01:09 PM

I have the OEM windshield and it does a good job. I also use a 3/4 with a face shield, which I have come to enjoy.

mr_resistible · 08-10-2005, 01:36 PM

I used to get buffeting really bad before I cut my windshield. Once and a great while, maybe only one out of every ten times. And I think it depends on what direction the wind is blowing at the time. The angle of the windshield probably makes a difference too. Mine is at a prety steep angle so it makes a good size "hole" in the wind. The wind isn't much of a problem but I don't have as much protection from rocks and bugs with a shorter windshield.

JLM3rd · 08-10-2005, 02:20 PM

I have a C50 with a Memphis Fats shield. I could hardly go above 55 mph because it was rattling me around so much. I had to clench my jaw because my teeth were clicking together as if I was shivering. I read some good reviews for chrome lowers from Value Accessories. Found a guy on the web who was getting rid of his, and got a good deal. They work great. Buffeting is gone now. Can wear either my 3/4 or 1/2 helmet without problems. You might look into these. They go behind the turn signals though, and some people have had conflicts with these and a lightbar, so be forewarned. Good Luck.

rmitchell · 08-10-2005, 02:48 PM

Thanks JLM3rd! I needed to hear that. My dealer almost talked me into buying the bigger windshield today--another $160. I'm curious about the chrome lowers and how they compare to the lexan lowers that I bought from Memphis Shades. These also fit behind the turn signals (just barely) and they are small, slightly curved, and are shaped like a trapazoid(?) They are about 5 inches wide and about 9 inches high.

Is Value Accessories a web based outfit? I paid $79.99 at my Suzuki dealer for the Memphis Shades lowers. $55 of that for the hardware kit and the rest for the two small lexan pieces. I'm now thinking they need to be bigger to deflect more air away from the sides of the gas tank, but I guess I need to do my own R&D. I'm going to cut out from thin wood or plastic pieces and see what happens.

If you can, please let me know about the size and shape of those chrome lowers that work for you.

Danr · 08-10-2005, 07:49 PM

I picked up my C50 with the OEM windshield and was not too happy with it at first blush, a lot of buffeting. I am 6'3" and was wearing a full face with the shield up. I finnaly realized that the windshield was at it lowest setting

. I raised it to it's highest setting and along with a 3/4 helmet solved the problem for me. I will wear the full face in the winter with the sheild down.

QuacktheDuck · 08-10-2005, 08:37 PM

Ah yes, angle is very important (doh I forgot). I noticed that if I duck my head down too much I in fact do get some turbulence from the air. However, sitting in my normal position the angle I setup my sheild at directs the air right above without going back and bouncing off. Keeping the line straight was key...had to play with the adjustments a bit over a couple days of riding to figure out the closest to ideal setting.

JLM_C50 · 08-10-2005, 10:29 PM

For some reason, I couldn't get logged back in to respond. Anyway, here is a link to the chrome lowers.
John

Value Accessories Lowers

mato · 08-11-2005, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmitchell

Bought new C50 in April. Great ride. Bought Memphis Shade (Slim) in May. Not good ride. Caused blurred vision it was so bad. Memphis Shade customer service advised lowers. Bought them. Very little improvement. Moved them up and down and in and out. Still a great ride without the windshield, but can't stand it with. I don't think Memphis Shades did any R&D for the C50, or they wouldn't have sold me those. $260 for the windshield and $75 for lowers. Equals $335 for nothing good.

Hi, I am amazed you got the hardware to fit. I bought from Memphis Shades a 17" windshield (Memphis Fat) with the mounting hardware Mem9929 for a 2005 C50. Had to send the hardware back (and the windshield too), because my dealer and 4 mechanics couldn't get the hardware to fit. I liked the look of the 17" windshield, because I am 5' 9" and when I have sat on C50 touring editions with the OEM 19" windshield the OEM one rises to exactly my line of sight, instead of 2 - 3 inches below my line of sight. I opted for the Memphis Fat, because A) you can take it off B) they had cool colors C)their cheap - i got mine for $130 plus $80 for the hardware from Cruiser Customizing.com - who was great in taking my return.
I posted in June about my problem and several people replied and told me that were able to mount the Memphis Fat with no problems (although the directions are terrible). My partner has the 17" Memphis Fat on a Yamaha V-star 1100 (she's 5' 5") and she gets a little head buffeting but not too bad.

My suggestion is to try the 17" Memphis fat and buy the lowers. Or like an earlier post try the chrome lowers. I still haven't solved my windshield dilemma. I keep waiting for Memphis Shades to figure out that the C50 IS NOT THE SAME AS THE 2004 VOLUSIA. I am sure everyone else who owns a C50 has run into this. Good luck.

Mato

**Uncle Bob** · 08-11-2005, 07:55 AM

It's a hit or miss proposition, so many variables involved.

Taller riders seem to have more problems becasue the windshield isn't tall enough and if you raise it then then wind comes in under the windshield and up over the tank.

Lowers sometimes help or a laminar flow wind deflector if you can live with the look.

rmitchell · 08-11-2005, 10:15 AM

Mato,
It was a terrible struggle to get the hardware to fit my C50! The instructions are confusing and poorly written. Memphis Shades advertises a one minute change for its windshield, but that hasn't been my experience. I can get it off in a few seconds, but getting it back on is much more difficult.

08-09-2005, 06:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
rmitchell Newbie Joined: Aug 2005 Bike: 2005 Suzuki C50 Black Location: Oklahoma Posts: 6	Bad Bad Buffetting Bought new C50 in April. Great ride. Bought Memphis Shade (Slim) in May. Not good ride. Caused blurred vision it was so bad. Memphis Shade customer service advised lowers. Bought them. Very little improvement. Moved them up and down and in and out. Still a great ride without the windshield, but can't stand it with. I don't think Memphis Shades did any R&D for the C50, or they wouldn't have sold me those. $260 for the windshield and $75 for lowers. Equals $335 for nothing good.

08-09-2005, 08:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
BudTheGrey Third gear and cruising Joined: Jul 2005 Bike: 2005 Suzuki C50 LE Location: Keeseville NY Posts: 486	I got a mephis Shades windshield on my C50LE and it works great. Picture Here __________________ If you can't stand behind our folks in the military, feel free to stand in front of them

08-10-2005, 11:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
mr_resistible Wants Better Weather Joined: Dec 2004 Bike: 05' C50 Location: Gering Ne Posts: 665	I got the OEM and I love it. You can pick them up on E-bay for $300 or less. Paid about $379 for mine. When I lowered my bike 2-1/2 inches the windshield was too tall even at its lowest setting so I had to cut 2-1/2 inches off the windshield. Now it fits perfect, I dont feel any buffeting, and it looks great with the new low profile. __________________ ]

08-10-2005, 12:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
St0nkingByte Sprocket Pilot Joined: Nov 2004 Bike: 2005 BMW R1200RT Location: Bellevue, WA Posts: 893	Can you tweak the angle of the shield at all? I got the dirt cheap $90 off eBay windshield for my Marauder and its even way too short for me but once I kicked out the bottom a little and pulled the top in a hair I got this aerodynamic thing happening. I don't get into the dangerously blurry head slapping wind until around 80mph+ now. __________________

08-10-2005, 12:22 PM	#10 (permalink)
md2lgyk Wants Better Weather Joined: May 2004 Bike: '03 Marauder 800 Location: Harpers Ferry, WV Posts: 665	It's been my experience that head buffeting means the shield isn't tall enough. My Marauder came with the OEM shield which is only 15" tall. I'm 6'6" and the buffeting was awful. After two days I took the thing off. I've never had any buffeting with my previous bikes with windshields. __________________ "The great object is, that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun." - Thomas Jefferson

08-09-2005, 09:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
myturn In Training Joined: May 2005 Bike: '05 C50T Location: right dab in the middle of OK Posts: 128	I get a little buffing action on my C50T, But it sure keeps the bugs off me.. I see you are from OKLA, ME TOO

08-10-2005, 12:42 AM	#5 (permalink)
QuacktheDuck Sprocket Pilot Joined: May 2005 Bike: 2004 FZ6 Location: Torrance, CA Posts: 858	Do you wear a full face or open face helmet? I notice alot of buffeting with my 3/4 but with my full face none at all. Usually reserve the open face for under 45 mph cruising and the full face for any ride where I even remotely have the chance of going faster because of the windblast that gets deflected into my face. Plus I have the national cycle street shield which is very small compared to any of those memphis shades windshields.

08-10-2005, 10:06 AM	#6 (permalink)
rmitchell Newbie Joined: Aug 2005 Bike: 2005 Suzuki C50 Black Location: Oklahoma Posts: 6	I wear a full face helmet and agree the buffetting is more pronounced with the face shield partly open. But even with it completely closed, above 45 mph my vision gets dangerously blurred.

08-10-2005, 10:09 AM	#7 (permalink)
rmitchell Newbie Joined: Aug 2005 Bike: 2005 Suzuki C50 Black Location: Oklahoma Posts: 6	Did you get the "Fat" or the "Slim" ( I got the slim)? I would buy the "Fat" Memphis Shade if it would fix my problem. I hope the mounting bracket would be the same. Do you know?

08-10-2005, 01:09 PM	#11 (permalink)
blackie1491 I took the All Bran Challenge Joined: Jun 2005 Bike: C50SE Location: Aldergrove, B.C., Canada Posts: 7,333	I have the OEM windshield and it does a good job. I also use a 3/4 with a face shield, which I have come to enjoy.

08-10-2005, 01:36 PM	#12 (permalink)
mr_resistible Wants Better Weather Joined: Dec 2004 Bike: 05' C50 Location: Gering Ne Posts: 665	I used to get buffeting really bad before I cut my windshield. Once and a great while, maybe only one out of every ten times. And I think it depends on what direction the wind is blowing at the time. The angle of the windshield probably makes a difference too. Mine is at a prety steep angle so it makes a good size "hole" in the wind. The wind isn't much of a problem but I don't have as much protection from rocks and bugs with a shorter windshield. __________________ ]

08-10-2005, 02:20 PM	#13 (permalink)
JLM3rd Newbie Joined: Feb 2005 Bike: 2005 C50 Location: Indep. MO Posts: 20	I have a C50 with a Memphis Fats shield. I could hardly go above 55 mph because it was rattling me around so much. I had to clench my jaw because my teeth were clicking together as if I was shivering. I read some good reviews for chrome lowers from Value Accessories. Found a guy on the web who was getting rid of his, and got a good deal. They work great. Buffeting is gone now. Can wear either my 3/4 or 1/2 helmet without problems. You might look into these. They go behind the turn signals though, and some people have had conflicts with these and a lightbar, so be forewarned. Good Luck.

08-10-2005, 02:48 PM	#14 (permalink)
rmitchell Newbie Joined: Aug 2005 Bike: 2005 Suzuki C50 Black Location: Oklahoma Posts: 6	Thanks JLM3rd! I needed to hear that. My dealer almost talked me into buying the bigger windshield today--another $160. I'm curious about the chrome lowers and how they compare to the lexan lowers that I bought from Memphis Shades. These also fit behind the turn signals (just barely) and they are small, slightly curved, and are shaped like a trapazoid(?) They are about 5 inches wide and about 9 inches high. Is Value Accessories a web based outfit? I paid $79.99 at my Suzuki dealer for the Memphis Shades lowers. $55 of that for the hardware kit and the rest for the two small lexan pieces. I'm now thinking they need to be bigger to deflect more air away from the sides of the gas tank, but I guess I need to do my own R&D. I'm going to cut out from thin wood or plastic pieces and see what happens. If you can, please let me know about the size and shape of those chrome lowers that work for you.

08-10-2005, 07:49 PM	#15 (permalink)
Danr Sit speling cheker Joined: May 2005 Posts: 1,616	My 2c's I picked up my C50 with the OEM windshield and was not too happy with it at first blush, a lot of buffeting. I am 6'3" and was wearing a full face with the shield up. I finnaly realized that the windshield was at it lowest setting . I raised it to it's highest setting and along with a 3/4 helmet solved the problem for me. I will wear the full face in the winter with the sheild down.

08-10-2005, 08:37 PM	#16 (permalink)
QuacktheDuck Sprocket Pilot Joined: May 2005 Bike: 2004 FZ6 Location: Torrance, CA Posts: 858	Ah yes, angle is very important (doh I forgot). I noticed that if I duck my head down too much I in fact do get some turbulence from the air. However, sitting in my normal position the angle I setup my sheild at directs the air right above without going back and bouncing off. Keeping the line straight was key...had to play with the adjustments a bit over a couple days of riding to figure out the closest to ideal setting.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

08-10-2005, 10:29 PM	#17 (permalink)
JLM_C50 Newbie Joined: Aug 2005 Bike: 2005, C50 Location: Missouri Posts: 5	For some reason, I couldn't get logged back in to respond. Anyway, here is a link to the chrome lowers. John Value Accessories Lowers

08-11-2005, 07:55 AM	#19 (permalink)
Uncle Bob Site Admin & Squeegee Boy Joined: Dec 1969 Bike: 2003 Volusia SE Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada Posts: 107	It's a hit or miss proposition, so many variables involved. Taller riders seem to have more problems becasue the windshield isn't tall enough and if you raise it then then wind comes in under the windshield and up over the tank. Lowers sometimes help or a laminar flow wind deflector if you can live with the look. __________________ Yadda yadda yadda, whatever, they ain't going to listen anyway.

08-11-2005, 10:15 AM	#20 (permalink)
rmitchell Newbie Joined: Aug 2005 Bike: 2005 Suzuki C50 Black Location: Oklahoma Posts: 6	Mato, It was a terrible struggle to get the hardware to fit my C50! The instructions are confusing and poorly written. Memphis Shades advertises a one minute change for its windshield, but that hasn't been my experience. I can get it off in a few seconds, but getting it back on is much more difficult.

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