As anticipated in this thread (http://in%20this%20thread), here's my Givi A660's pics, installed a few weeks ago.
I decided to go for it after a rather unimpressive experience with a smaller windscreen, which didn't give any significant benefits - wind turbulences actually seemed to get worse with it on, so I ended up selling it - and after getting some positive overall reviews about the A660.
It's supposed to be a good compromise between size, effectiveness and price - as said earlier, I haven't had the chance to test ride it yet, cause the GS is still enjoying its winter break.
Front three-quarter view:
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb174/rizz9000/IMG-0090.jpg)
Side view:
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb174/rizz9000/IMG-0091.jpg)
Rider POV:
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb174/rizz9000/IMG-0092.jpg)
For those interested, price was EUR 64,00 (about USD 87,60) shipped (eBay).
I think the 660 looks good on the naked GS. You might want to set it back a bit after you try it out at night, I found the headlight would reflect thru the plastic giving a nasty glare for night time riding when I got a Plexi 2 set with the bottom edge out in front of the light like that. Or a plastic strip added to the bottom edge will eliminate the glare.
That size should give very good wind protection for high speed highway travel although further adjustment might be necessary depending on your height. I found the smaller Spitfire was quite adequate for all day high speed Interstate travel but still put my bigger Plexi 2 on for the winter season. Finally got out the last 2 days after an unusually long for me month and a half winter layup and it was very windy yesterday with gusts over 40 mph and was blowing me all over with the big screen on the little GS. Will wait for warmer weather to get the little Spitfire back on, much better at speed in the wind. One size just isn't best for all conditions. :icon_lol:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/summer-winterGS.jpg)
Looks pretty good on your bike! I'm gonna be looking for something just about that size before we get too far into spring. I told my sister I'd ride down to visit her in DC, about 5 hours away and wouldn't mind something like that to keep the wind noise to a minimum. Let us know how it works!
Hello everybody,
As promised here are my impressions about my Givi windscreen, finally had the chance to take a quick spin this morning (first ride of the season W00T!)
-The Good:
Wind protection is very effective, I didn't expect to get all the air taken off my body (the screen isn't huge, I'm quite tall and my riding position is as upright as it can be) but anyway the chest is now wind-free - 1 point for comfort. Sure that's one of the things which often used to keep me from going WOT too much - this time before I knew I was doing 140 km/h (87 mph) on a B-road. :icon_eek: :nono: :nono: Naughty boy.
-The Not-So-Good:
All the wind that used to blast my chest now goes straight to my head/helmet - result: noticeable increase in wind noise. My Nolan N102 helmet isn't a leader in this field either, so... I'll just have to put up with a bit more noise in my head, or wear ear plugs during long trips. Time will tell.
After the first kms I also tried to rise the screen height, also having to increase rake though. It did no good - actually got it all worse, noise and wind buffeting - so I went one step back.
Edit:
Another thing I noticed - and which isn't bothering me much at the moment - are vibrations induced on the bars by the windscreen, due to the air hitting it.
The not so good part should not need to be tolerated. I initially got the same results when I first put the smaller Spitfire on my GS for summer use. The big Plexi 2 shield put the line of turbulance from the top edge of the shield over my head but the Spitfire put it right in my face. You need to adjust your shield until it puts the most turbulant air either over your shield or puts it down to neck level which is what I did as a tall person.Changing the angle of the shield or raising it up or down a bit usaually fixes this problem.
With my bigger Plexi 2 the turbulent noisy air goes over my head for best cold and/or rainy weather protection. I got the turbulent air from the Spitfire to pass at neck height and it's been comfortably quiet for high speed freeway travel that way with a full face helmet.
After a bit of road-side tweaking (5mm Allen key under my seat on purpose ;) ) I seem to have reached a fair compromise.
I finally increased the rake some more - as per gsJack's wise words - and now the noise seems to have gone. I can feel the wind on my shoulders but none on my chest - overall I'm satisfied.
And that's good cause I'm fed up loosening and tightening those damn bolts :laugh:
What I Learned: setting the screen up as straight as possible may NOT solve your problems - it might actually get them worse. Try again and again :thumb:
That's the same thing I've been worried about. I'm looking for a smallish screen to use just for a highway trip down to DC, and on random occasions that I might need to take the highway, but I'm not at all worried about wind hitting my chest, I just want the noise level to go down. If it's just going to push the air up from my check to my helmet it'll be the complete opposite of what I needed. I already wear ear plugs, but it's still loud.
Hi Simon79,
I have a question about your bars. Are they stock bars?
I bought a '94 GS500E just before xmas. From looking at your pictures, it looks like your bars are wider at the clamps and have more rise than the ones on the one I just bought. Also, the ones on mine are black paint, not chrome like yours.
I'm looking for something more like yours so if you know what they are I would appreciate the info. Thanks.
...ken...
Hi Ken - I suppose they're stock bars (2001), anyway I'm not 100% sure cause I bought the bike used in '07 and it came along with these. ;)
Thanks. I'll check with the dealer when it goes in for some work on Thursday.
...ken...