Today, a couple of my friends went to our local MSF training course grounds to do some practicing. I have been giving my friends leasons on how to ride motorcycles correctly. I know I'm not a seasoned rider but I took the Beginner course in May and feel that I can regurgitate the information previously presented to me well.
Anyways, we trained for most of the day. One of my students (well he is ;) ) wasn't terribly comfortable riding on the highway alone so I rode with him both to his house and back again. He took me out to dinner when we got back. After all that was done it was time for me to leave. I live about 15-20 miles from his place and it looked like a storm was brewing.
Not wanting to get caught in the rain, I drove a bit faster then I usually do (about 75 - 80 mph ). Note the speed limit was 65mph. I initially started out only doing 5 over but about 3 cars passed me so I decieded to keep up with them. It was pretty windy so I decieded to lean forward to see how much a differnce the fairing made in terms of wind resistance.
Well, I played around with my riding position for a few minutes and found the right spot where I wasn't completly leaning full on the tank. You don't have to get your face totally underneath the wind screen to escape the blasting winds at such a speed. For all of you that have a 2004 or earlier model with a fairing, its interesting to get at high speeds and feel how differntly the bike handles while utilizing the fairing.
I see 2 potential hazards when leaning forward like that. The first is your mirror's alignment. Most of us set the mirros for when you are siting upright. So you will want to adjust your mirros before doing that (unlike me where I just sat up every so often to look behind me). Next, your arms are kinda in an awkward position.
What do you guys think about leaning forward to utilize the fairing?
I found on my 6R that if i line the air flow off the top of the widnshield to the top of my helmet i can get out of most of the wind, I usually only do that when im passing semis or going 100+
the gs i rode up to 90 without any fairing and it was brutal
after 100 miles at highway speeds of 70-80 my neck back and shoulders were sore
on the 6r i can make the trip like its nothing even without tucking the fairing provides plenty of wind protection compared to the gs naked
I utilize the fairings on mine all the time. Cuts down on wind drag & noise. Until you ride with fairing, you will never realize the full benefits. Also, the mirrors on my TLR are not set the same. The left is for riding upright and right for tucked.
QuoteThe left is for riding upright and right for tucked
Good suggestion!