| Author | Message | ||
     Orangeulius |
Well it was bound to happen. I needed a bigger windshield for my bike and Etennuly offered to build me one. The BAW (Big A** Windshield) 2.0 is now a reality and I have been riding with it since last Saturday.  The original BAW 1.0 is on the left. My goal was to slim the original design down a bit. Vern did that and a lot of things he wanted to do on his original design. When I left for work this morning it was 33 degrees. I wore long johns under my adventure pants, my FXRG jacket with liner and my new FirstGear winter gloves. Other than the tips of my fingers being a bit cold, the BAW kept me nice and comfy. We added a couple of wings to deflect the airflow that was coming up under the screen. For all the pictures of the construction process go to http://gallery.me.com/markrlarsen#gallery My thanks to Vern for his offer to do this. We had a lot of fun over the two days we worked on it. We also went over the bike with a fine tooth comb , tuned everything up to spec and eliminated any problems like the open vacuum port we found. Hope you enjoy the gallery! Orange (Message edited by orangeulius on October 30, 2008) (Message edited by orangeulius on October 30, 2008) | ||
| Thrux181 |
Vern,you were not kidding when you told me you had a BAW. Bill | ||
| Ejc |
Holy riot gear Batman!  | ||
| Andrejs2112 |
 | ||
| Muppet |
Well, I'm sorry guys but I just don't get it. If you need that much protection, why not just buy a car? | ||
| Dustmann |
I'll be impressed when you get speakers and a stereo mounted  | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Hey OG, Which version has the better aerodynamics - do your spoilers work well? Can you adjust the spoilers? Thanks John | ||
| Etennuly |
I ride all year. In Tennessee that often means thirty degrees in the morning when leaving out, seventy in the afternoon, and thirty again coming home in the evening. Twenty percent of the time it will rain at some point on a winter ride. Also, I use my bike(all year)for my business. I ride the bike to a location, load it in a truck that I am going to work on, and drive the truck back. These locations are fifteen to ninety miles from my shop. The customers involved have tightened things up to the point that it is not economically viable to take an employee and another vehicle to pick them up. For me this is about profit/loss. I can keep that employee working while I run for the vehicles. I may make as many as five trips in a day. There is nothing bad that I can think of about staying warmer and dryer in the winter months. Although, as soon as the weather warms up, I cannot wait to get back to my nekked sport bike Uly! Mark will be riding all winter as well this year, for his first time. So far I think he has welcomed the difference between BAW 2 and no BAW 2. When I first installed mine I had been riding all winter before MBIV. I met up with Ft_bstrd and Squids86129(sp) for the trip to Suches. As darkness set in and the temperatures dropped to the mid forties, I was comfy and when ever we stopped I had to wait for them to stop shivering to communicate with them.  I also have Polly Heaters and a HD heated jacket liner. Life in winter is still good. You all can park your bikes in the cold, damp, nasty weather.  I have work to do! | ||
| Us_uly |
My Black Uly is warmer! Rode in at 38 today. | ||
| Etennuly |
John7... Aerodynamically I feel they are pretty even vs. each other and not having them on. The width was determined by having the riders hands on the bars and following the arms up to the shoulders, then up to the bottom of the face shield on a full face helmet. They are also smooth and curved rather than the air hitting all of the contours and roughness of the rider. Mark's was trimmed up more for a cleaner look. We decided to do his without the hand guards to that end. Trimming off the bottom around the signals allowed the air to hit the up slope of the front of the fuel tank along with the negative pressure behind the windshield, this created an up draft that hit right into the arm pits. We put the 'spoilers' on and they corrected that problem on the first try. They could be swung up to a 'closer' position, but I see no benefit to that as they are a true 'spoiler' not just an added lip on the bottom. (Message edited by etennuly on October 30, 2008) | ||
| Orangeulius |
Johnboy, I'm not sure which has the better aero. More time in the seat will be needed between bikes. Vern and I will ride this weekend and probably switch out some. The spoilers aren't really adjustable. It would require bending the brackets. We added then after we realized I had a significant updraft due to my choice of trimming the bottom of the screen. Muppet, I'd love to have my car back. I had to let it go when the economy tanked. This is all I have and is a matter of practicality for me at this point. I also lacked the funds to buy a MadStad and Vern was kind enough to take my HB side bags in trade for this. He also did a bunch of maintenance that HD would have charged my big bucks for. On the lighter side it makes my Uly truly "one of a kind".  | ||
| Nevrenuf |
 baadaa daadaa,daadaa daadaa, batman,!!!!!!batman. sorry vern, i had to do that. unfortunately, i'm back in tampa having to ride in the heat. although the last couple days have been cold by florida standards. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The BAW does block the wind. It blocks it to the extent that you feel more like an observer of riding rather than a participant. That and when you sling a panic stop, you smack you face into it. It's a lot more convenient than strapping on 57 layers. It ain't much for looks, but it works good. | ||
| Etennuly |
Ft_b, It has been modified quite a bit since you were behind it. You rode the unmodified version 1 during early testing. It is now over 4" lower, 6" narrower, and 3" further forward. Not so much the "barn door" of its earlier days. Oh, and I wanted to mention, none of what is seen or read here is an advertisement in any way. If someone wants to build something like it or copy what we have done, have at it. I am not in the business of building windshields nor do I intend to be. For anyone who might, I will try to answer questions and help however I can. To the sponsors who do build windshield stuff, my hat is off to you and what you do. It is truly difficult to make a product that will fit more than one person and their requirements.  | ||
| Superfleemonkey |
I am just wondering on the highways; how many bugs do you catch? | ||
| Etennuly |
Bugs! Well, that too was a big part of my initial idea of BIG. Just before building the prototype I had ridden to Florida during love bug season. After having to stop at a carwash to pressure wash my riding gear I became determined to not return until I had a windshield capable of keeping the yecch off of me. I'm ready to go back.  And a cold weather season hello to Gene and Neil. | ||
| Rubberdown |
Phunny, just plain phunny! | ||
| Sekalilgai |
nice! | ||
| Nevrenuf |
and i do know the difference of having no screen on the xt right now because of the noise that i get and having the batwing fairing on the ultraclassic, which i rode in to work this morning. and it does make a difference. btw, hello vern. when do you expect to get back down here. | ||
| Bosh |
I love California!!  | ||
| Curly |
those bikes should be renamed the Ulywing  | ||
| Sprintex |
Wow, could have used that this morning at 28 degrees and the wire came out of my connector plug for my Widder gloves and vest on my way to work (ordered the new style harness this afternoon). The polly heaters were cranking though, palms where warm! | ||
| Jammin_joules |
Looking at that BAW, I miss summer already when you can really let your top down and have the wind through your hair.  | ||
| Etennuly |
I just got back from a sixty mile rip down the Interstate. 58 degrees, eighty + mph, passing eighteen wheelers, drafting with cars, running in the open, basically fast traffic. It was truly a sweet ride. I had my heated jacket liner under my Buell adventure jacket and toggled the heat on a few times. Wore my light leather HD gloves, didn't need the bar heaters. I have trimmed my BAW to what you see in the pictures in the beginning of this thread, and it seems to be about right. It is very smooth, it doesn't shake or buffet at any speed. I can't really feel any difference between forty and eighty mph. I was playing in traffic to see how it would respond. Even where there are three lanes, big trucks side by side I could ride right up behind them and the around to pass with no trouble from the dirty air they create. It is very stable. I am able to relax my hands, wrists, and arms much more than normal. Less fatigue is a good thing for old nearly expired body parts. Did I mention it was a SWEET ride? I was kinda bummed that I had to drive a truck back with the Uly on a trailer. Oh well. | ||
| Acav80 |
etennuly- No doubt in my mind now that yours is the Uly I have seen on Killboy. You've inspired a new idea I'm going to work up...a full containment plexiglass windbubble to surround both rider and passenger, with little hinged doors for entry/exit. Seriously though, can't think of a better example of the "F what anybody else thinks" attitude I enjoy in so many Buell riders I've met. Just don't park in direct sunlight, that thing could focus the rays and start a fire! | ||
| Wbrisett |
I saw BAW 1.0 at March Badness and It was impressive. I do like the slimmed down version a bit more, but the Medium CalSci is about as big as I want to go on my Uly. It has to pull you a bit when you have a strong tailwind.  wayne | ||
| Acav80 |
...Goes for you too, Ulius. Shady spots only. And for both, I think the real icing on the cake would be a laminar lip on the top just for style.  | ||
| Orangeulius |
Acav80........What? This thing is perfect for impromptu weenie roasts! Just add sunlight........mmmmmm | ||
| Etennuly |
Acav Oddly enough it has been on the cover page of Killboy a couple of times. It is a visual obstacle on the Dragon however. When I ride fast the windshield flashing in front of my eyes is distracting when transitioning from side to side. | ||
| Gschuette |
Most cars come stock with a BAW. Not sure I get it. | ||
| Etennuly |
Well, if you have read the above posts explaining it and still don't get it, you may need to go back to school to finish your GED.   | ||
| Barker |
nice rig. I just installed a B.A.W. micro on my scooter.  | ||
| Gschuette |
No amount of schooling will ever help me understand fugly. No amount of function can overcome that. | ||
| Etennuly |
I did a fifty mile trip Tuesday at 40F. I had the jacket liner on nearly the whole way, running speeds of 40 to 65 mph. I still didn't need to turn on the heated grips. I did the same fifty mile route Wednesday at 35F, same speeds, and with the jacket liner on I toggled the grip heaters on twice for short periods. The BAW is working as planned. I was the only customer at Smoky Mtn HD not in a cage that day! I have been wearing my HD rain over-boots to keep my feet from the cold and they are working well. Someone has mentioned lower fairings to block the wind at the leg region......hmmmmm! Wonder how that would look in clear panels?!  |
