Author |
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Okc99
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 01:29 am: |
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Everytime I ride, I try shrugging my shoulders up as high as I can. This does 2 things. First, it closes all space below my helmet, thereby preventing all air flow around my neck. Second, it gets REALLY QUIET! Someone else please try this. Once you try this and quantify for yourself how much noise is elminated, it will prove once and for all how much noise you hear that is not due to the shape, visor gap, etc of the helmet. The next point is this. What type of device could you wear to mimic this effect? I'm thinking a velcro neck brace with some mods. |
Froggy
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 01:49 am: |
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Did you try readjusting the windshield? |
Keith_mahoney
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 04:18 am: |
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Maybe you could try a windjammer http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/windjammer/helmet-w ind-blocker.htm or a different helmet. I have 2 helmets I use all the time. One for riding solo with the windshield adjusted all the way down and one for riding 2-up with the windshield all the way up for the wife. I can not use helmet 1 with the windshield all the way up due to massive amounts of buffeting yet helmet 2 suffers no buffeting in the same position. |
Ratbuell
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 08:02 am: |
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Neck brace is too stiff. You'd need something soft. I have winter gear that would work - a balaclava with a fleece collar, and just a fleece collar/turtleneck ring. They work great, but it can warm you up quite a bit. |
Ourdee
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 09:01 am: |
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earplugs? |
Adamd
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 09:25 am: |
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Get strada's windscreen brackets. There's 9 diff positions. works good for me @ 70mph, before I had them it was unbearable. |
Ejc
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 12:20 pm: |
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I've made the same observation regardless of windshield height. I'm a long necked goose. Perhaps you are of the same construct. A neck gaiter helps. By the way, I shaved about 2" off the Buell tall windshield and it's about perfect for my height 6'1". Earplugs always. |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 12:47 pm: |
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+1 on the noise reduction with the shoulder shrug. I always wear earplugs but this still makes a huge difference. I also tried a Windjammer and thought it helped somewhat, but not nearly as much as the shoulder shrug. Webbikeworld also has a review of a newer, similar device which seemed to give mixed results: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/noj-quiet-rider/ind ex.htm (Message edited by hughlysses on April 06, 2009) |
Okc99
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 07:58 pm: |
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I think you guys missed the point of my post. I just wanted a few guys to try the shoulder shrug and confirm the HUGE difference. For those of you who do try it, I'm curious what % decrease in noise you found? Lastly, for those who found a HUGE difference, I'm curious what types of homemade rigs can we come up with to mimic the effect without having to shrug for hours on end! I didn't want to talk about other remedies involving accessories, etc. This was specifically a request to try something new. |
Froggy
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 08:07 pm: |
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I understood your post, shrugging shouldn't make a difference. I have tried different things including leaning back and such, and if you got an adjustable shield and its at the right setting, there should be little or no change unless you moved significantly. |
Okc99
| Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009 - 09:10 pm: |
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Froggy, Try it. The point of my post was to get people to actually try it. It's not something you can simulation in your head |
Bculy
| Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 02:04 am: |
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I tried it today. It really works AND makes a huge difference. On the other hand, I would not be willing to do it for more than a few seconds. That's where the accessories (or homemade rigs) come in. I'd like to try that windjammer. I even stopped by an MC shop today to look, but they were already closed. I was already wearing earplugs too. |
Hangetsu
| Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 02:35 am: |
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I'll almost bet that if you use that Wind Jammer on a fairly cold day, your visor will fog miserably. Mine fogs gist as a result of that little chin net that comes on the Shoei helmets; and I even have the neoprene "Foggy" in place. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you will find yourself a miserable soul with all that hot air trapped inside your helmet. |
Davegess
| Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 10:27 am: |
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I know what you mean about the noise, I don't get buffeting but if I shrug the wind noise goes away. I have to get one of the jammers. I can make the noise go away using my hand also, it must be turbulance at the bottom edge of the helmet. I don't think I will get a fogged up shield except in cold weather, the Shoei flow the air across the sheild pretty well. |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 01:02 pm: |
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I expect the Windjammer will be a much bigger improvement on some helmets than on others. I was using it on an HJC and it helped somewhat, but not nearly as well as the shoulder shrug. Fogging wasn't particularly bad as long as the chin vent was open. Maybe it's a matter of turbulence occurring around your neck, between the bottom of the helmet and your shoulders. It'd look goofy, but you could just get a big piece of foam rubber and wrap it around your neck. Trim so it fits the gap between the bottom of your helmet and your shoulders. For trial purposes, secure with duct tape. If it works, you could cover it with black cloth and use velcro to secure. |
Jphish
| Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 01:39 pm: |
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Anyone tried a diving helmet and suit ? The helmet is a bit large & ungainly...but ya'd sure get lots of odd looks. I tried the 'shrug' & it works but...found it tiring and upper traps were barking by the end of the day. |
Sparky
| Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 02:47 pm: |
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I know exactly what Okc99 is striving for, and that is reducing the noise caused by wind turbulence around the bottom of the helmet. My old Arai helmet had a pronounced roar at speed but mostly from the right side whereas the left side seemed much quieter. My new Arai however is fairly quiet on both sides. I don't know why the old one was that way, but it was probably due to the inner liner not fitting quite right. So I tried a Noj Quiet Rider and that seemed to help somewhat but wasn't a 100% fix and made it a hassle to don and doff the helmet especially while wearing glasses. Years ago there was a thing called the Apple Warmer which was a neck wrapper type insulated thing that velcroed to the bottom part of the helmet. Now that thing worked great for reducing the wind roar because it did not allow wind to get to the bottom of the helmet which, I'm sure, causes the roaring noise. So, what to do. How about wrapping your neck with a stylish woolly scarf? No? Well then, Aerostich sells a neck wrapper called the Evap-O-Danna in a standard and competition weight that comes with velcro but that's for wrapping around the neck. So, one could add stick-on velcro patches to the bottom of the helmet and sew on mating velcro patches to the Evap-O-Danna thus making your own pseudo-Apple Warmer. A big plus is that on hot days, you can soak the Evap-O-Danna in water and ride in air-conditioned comfort. |
Edgydrifter
| Posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 03:51 pm: |
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For cool weather riding, I have been wearing a wooly scarf. In fact, I've been wearing the the same one for almost twenty years now. Keeps my neck warm and cuts wind noise around the bottom of my helmet. For summer riding, I've found that the style of the collar on my jacket makes a big difference. The short "mandarin" collar on my mesh jacket makes the least noise while the taller collar on my denim jacket is a little loud. As always, earplugs are a must in all cases. FWIW, the neck-gasket on my old Schuberth almost totally eliminated wind noise from beneath the helmet, so it might be worth a few bucks to try one of the aftermarket mods that replicate this on other helmets. |
Travisd
| Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2009 - 12:33 pm: |
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I just got the palmer brackets. I get crazy pains between my shoulder blades after riding more than 2 hours. I think its from 70+ mph winds on my head and chest. I dont seem to get the pain if Iam riding at slower speeds. I hope the brackets helps my backache. |
Jphish
| Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2009 - 01:58 pm: |
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Travisd - The brackets are great, but ya might need a taller screen too. I've got the ZG+4 and a 16" Parabellum. The Para is wider and taller but still not too obtrusive. I'm only 5'8" - taller folks may want a 18-20" - any bigger and they add a lot of 'sail' area. j |
Travisd
| Posted on Wednesday, April 08, 2009 - 03:37 pm: |
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I have the tall windshield thats on the xt. Iam 6' you think I may need a taller shield? The brackets really moved the shield up were it should be. Iam going for a ride right now so I will see how it feels. I will look into the para when I get back. I hope I didnt hijack this thread. |
Pmpski_1
| Posted on Thursday, April 09, 2009 - 12:47 am: |
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I was doing this tonight and noticed the huge difference it makes in noise. This was before I saw this thread. I wear earplugs and it was still 100% better. I was thinking the same thing - neck brace? |
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