Screens - try before you buy

[wessie]

I am in the possibly unique position of owning these 2 alternative screens for the MT09 Tracer. I have a tinted Powerbronze screen which I have reviewed here. I also have the Yamaha Touring Screen after a swap with another rider.
 
Bearing in mind swapping the screens is a 5 minute job, I thought it might help people in range of Cheltenham, UK to offer a try before you buy service. Obviously there is a lot of trust needed to go ahead with this but, so far, I have never been fleeced on an owners forum, and my default position is to trust people. I have had some great deals over the years, even sending people hundreds of pounds by bank transfer and vice versa.
 
Aesthetically, the Powerbronze looks better. A tinted screen suits the red bike and the reflections from the LCD panel are less evident. This screen is also narrower in the midriff so the hand guards do not foul it. See the review above for the rest of my views.
 
The Yamaha Touring screen is a hideous looking thing. I am sure they just took a huge screen from the parts bin, drilled 4 holes in the middle, printed the word Tracer in the corner and said, "that's good enough." I does not work for me in the high position - gets rid of the airflow to some extent but just too noisy. I tried it in the lower position today and it is better. If I didn't have the Powerbronze one, it would be a keeper, despite the hideous looks. Nasty reflections though, and a tinted version would be better. You also have to accept that the screen will get marked by the hand guards and anything else. It seems to be a soft material. 
 
So, if you want to try 2 aftermarket screens you need to come to Cheltenham, UK or arrange to meet me somewhere, e.g. in Wales over the forthcoming bank holiday weekend as it seems @johan may be about to organise something.
 
 
Send me a message if you want to try this.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[korben]

You sir, are a gentleman!!
 
Nice idea. Can I suggest people write up a little report on how they found the different screens including their height, helmet and the positions they tried the screen in (There is a rude joke in there somewhere).
 
For instance, for me, I'm 5'10", Shoei XR-1100, stock screen. In high position, I get a lot of buffeting and noise, in the low position, I get no buffeting and a bit more noise than riding a naked bike.
 
P.S. I think you're right about the large screen coming out of the spare parts bin... Looks like it's off a 125 scooter!!

[glenview09]

What a good idea but if you were to extend it to a registered post system and allow us to rent examples you could cover those of us that live in Scotland as well.

[jimf]

I've been able to spend some quality time with three different screens now, the stock Yamaha screen and both the Touring and Sport Ermax screens.
 
I'm 5'4" (short legs, L to XL torso).  I wear a Schuberth C3, which is very quiet in clean air.
 
The stock screen is horribly loud in all positions.  Loud enough to be a problem even with earplugs IMO.
 
The Ermax screens have interference with the handguards if used in the highest position, so I have only used the two lower positions.
 
The Touring screen works best in the middle position for me.  At backroads speeds (up to 65mph or so) it's reasonably quiet, although still a lot more rumbly than the helmet in clean air.  It's still pretty loud at highway speeds and up, although never anywhere near as bad as stock.
 
The Sport screen works best in low position, and in good weather and general riding it's the quietest, although not a lot quieter than the Touring screen.  Despite the fact that the airstream is hitting midway down my shoulders it's still pretty noisy, especially at highway speeds, where there is little difference between the Sport and Touring screens.  Standing up a little I'd be in clear air if it were perhaps 1" lower than it is.  A taller rider would be fine, I think.  I was surprised by this as I thought such a small screen would easily put me in clear air.  I'm going to look into something like a laminar lip, or fabricate something myself if I can't find one.  I think that is likely to significantly reduce the buffeting.
 
The big surprise to me was with crosswinds.  With the Sport screen, even at backroads speeds, a strong crosswind causes very loud buffeting noises, which does not happen with the Touring screen.  At first I thought that I must have forgotten what the Sport screen was like in earlier rides, where I had been fairly pleased with the improvement over the Touring screen, but as the winds died down again it became clear what the difference really was.
 
In colder temperatures the Touring screen is a huge win, despite being a little noisier.  At 50F and below I really, really noticed the difference.
 
In summary, for backroads riding I find both screens to work well and be much (much!) better than stock in terms of noise.  At highway speeds both are still a bit noisy for a rider of my stature, enough that I'm now paying a lot more attention to earplug seal than I used to.  In the presence of strong crosswinds the Sport screen is extremely noisy, similar to the stock screen.  As an all-around screen I think I prefer the Touring, although in many conditions the Sport is the quietest, and for sure I'll want the Sport in hot weather.
 
Caveat: The screen bolts are made of cheese.  I grant that I used a non-JIS screwdriver and that makes stripping them pretty easy, but I was still surprised to strip one of the bolts so easily after only a couple of screen swaps.  If you plan to swap the screens regularly I'd recommend switching to allen head bolts; I'll be doing that this weekend, and I may add a grommet on the outside of the screen while I'm at it.  I'm not sure why they didn't use allen bolts right from the start.
 
I hope that helps someone out.
 
[Edited for spelling]

[wessie]

What a good idea but if you were to extend it to a registered post system and allow us to rent examples you could cover those of us that live in Scotland as well.

That could mean me being without my preferred screen for several days rather than half a day or so plus a lot of faffing about to keep track. 
The Cotswolds are very nice. Come for a holiday. You can put a tent on my back lawn - I did have a spare bed but my younger brother arrived Easter weekend for one of his, "I can't cope" spells. I think he might be here for a while as he's not at all well, having hit 40 and a huge mid-life crisis. 

[buckybuk]

I'm 5'11", 198 lbs I really love the Tall clear from http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/FJ-09prod.html no buffeting nice and smooth.

[deersSlayer]

Caveat: The screen bolts are made of cheese.  I grant that I used a non-JIS screwdriver and that makes stripping them pretty easy, but I was still surprised to strip one of the bolts so easily after only a couple of screen swaps.  If you plan to swap the screens regularly I'd recommend switching to allen head bolts; I'll be doing that this weekend, and I may add a grommet on the outside of the screen while I'm at it.  I'm not sure why they didn't use allen bolts right from the start.

The CalSci screen comes with its own screws, sleeves, grommets, and screw head caps. They specify 4 ft-lb torque. The stock Yamaha plastic cheese screws should be less than 1 ft-lb of torque (can't remember if it is 1/3 , or 2/3 ft-lb.)
 

[johan]

I find the standard screen to provide good protection and the rise comfortable, if noisy. Not much between it but I think I prefer the high position as it is somewhat less noisy. I am 5'8" and I wear a Shark VisionR helmet. This weekend I am going for a fitting for custom earplugs as well as a set of custom earphones. They are expensive but I hope worthwhile. Wessie, note the trip to Wales will be over the Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May, not the first May Bank Holiday.

[johan]

I am in the possibly unique position of owning these 2 alternative screens for the MT09 Tracer. I have a tinted Powerbronze screen which I have reviewed here. I also have the Yamaha Touring Screen after a swap with another rider. 
Bearing in mind swapping the screens is a 5 minute job, I thought it might help people in range of Cheltenham, UK to offer a try before you buy service. Obviously there is a lot of trust needed to go ahead with this but, so far, I have never been fleeced on an owners forum, and my default position is to trust people. I have had some great deals over the years, even sending people hundreds of pounds by bank transfer and vice versa.
 
Aesthetically, the Powerbronze looks better. A tinted screen suits the red bike and the reflections from the LCD panel are less evident. This screen is also narrower in the midriff so the hand guards do not foul it. See the review above for the rest of my views.
 
The Yamaha Touring screen is a hideous looking thing. I am sure they just took a huge screen from the parts bin, drilled 4 holes in the middle, printed the word Tracer in the corner and said, "that's good enough." I does not work for me in the high position - gets rid of the airflow to some extent but just too noisy. I tried it in the lower position today and it is better. If I didn't have the Powerbronze one, it would be a keeper, despite the hideous looks. Nasty reflections though, and a tinted version would be better. You also have to accept that the screen will get marked by the hand guards and anything else. It seems to be a soft material. 
 
So, if you want to try 2 aftermarket screens you need to come to Cheltenham, UK or arrange to meet me somewhere, e.g. in Wales over the forthcoming bank holiday weekend as it seems @johan may be about to organise something.
 
 
Send me a message if you want to try this.
 
 
 
 
 
 

A very kind offer Wessie. I liked the look of the Powerbronze screen, but you seemed not to think it made a huge difference, and I think there is not much difference in height between us. Of course, you probably ride faster.

[wessie]

The Powerbronze does improve things over stock in terms of wind blast to an extent. What it does do compared to the stock or touring screens from Yamaha is improve the looks of the bike. The stock screen would be better looking if tinted in my view.

[jimf]

Caveat: The screen bolts are made of cheese.  I grant that I used a non-JIS screwdriver and that makes stripping them pretty easy, but I was still surprised to strip one of the bolts so easily after only a couple of screen swaps.  If you plan to swap the screens regularly I'd recommend switching to allen head bolts; I'll be doing that this weekend, and I may add a grommet on the outside of the screen while I'm at it.  I'm not sure why they didn't use allen bolts right from the start.

The CalSci screen comes with its own screws, sleeves, grommets, and screw head caps. The specify 4 ft-lb torque. The stock Yamaha plastic cheese screws should be less than 1 ft-lb of torque (can't remember if it is 1/3 , or 2/3 ft-lb.)

Are the original bolts really plastic?  I had assumed aluminum, since they're not magnetic (they didn't stick to my magnetic bowl).  If they're plastic then I guess that's how I managed to destroy one so easily. 
I hit the hardware store yesterday and bought a handful of stainless steel allen bolts and rubber grommets for like $3, keeping the rubber expansion nuts that came stock in place.  It should be next to impossible for me to wreck the bolts now :-).
 
 

[wessie]

The CalSci screen comes with its own screws, sleeves, grommets, and screw head caps. The specify 4 ft-lb torque. The stock Yamaha plastic cheese screws should be less than 1 ft-lb of torque (can't remember if it is 1/3 , or 2/3 ft-lb.)

Are the original bolts really plastic?  I had assumed aluminum, since they're not magnetic (they didn't stick to my magnetic bowl).  If they're plastic then I guess that's how I managed to destroy one so easily. 
I hit the hardware store yesterday and bought a handful of stainless steel allen bolts and rubber grommets for like $3, keeping the rubber expansion nuts that came stock in place.  It should be next to impossible for me to wreck the bolts now :-).
 

Yes, plastic bolts & threads, so take care you do not strip the plastic threads with your metal bolts. 
When fitting the OE screws, I don't set them to a torque, I place my finger on the rear of the mounting hole and do the bolt up until I can feel a thread or two of the bolt has protruded the other side. 
 
If anyone does strip a thread then I would suggest using a longer bolt with a nyloc nut on the back.

[wessie]

As stated in other threads, the Powerbronze screen is the best of the 3 I have tried (stock, & Yamaha touring being the other two)

[jimf]

Are the original bolts really plastic?

Yes, plastic bolts & threads, so take care you do not strip the plastic threads with your metal bolts.

Thanks for the tip.  Given the rubber grommets I put on between the bolt head and windscreen I don't want to pinch them too hard anyway, it squishes the grommets out :-).  So I think I'm safe, but I'll consider replacing the nuts too next time I'm at the hardware store. 
Honestly, plastic screws.  What the hell are they thinking?
 
I've taken most of the plastics off the bike at this point and mostly the hardware is very good quality and obviously designed to be easy to service.  I removed the entire left front plastics and tank cowling, ran new wiring for the Heat-Troller, bundled it all up, and even picked up the ten thousand little electrical connectors that flew all over the place when I tripped over their box while I was working ... all in under an hour.  I've never had a bike whose plastics were so easy.
 
With allen bolts on the windscreen, that's stupid-easy too.

[ULEWZ]

Yes, plastic bolts & threads, so take care you do not strip the plastic threads with your metal bolts.

Thanks for the tip.  Given the rubber grommets I put on between the bolt head and windscreen I don't want to pinch them too hard anyway, it squishes the grommets out :-).  So I think I'm safe, but I'll consider replacing the nuts too next time I'm at the hardware store. 
Honestly, plastic screws.  What the hell are they thinking?
 
I've taken most of the plastics off the bike at this point and mostly the hardware is very good quality and obviously designed to be easy to service.  I removed the entire left front plastics and tank cowling, ran new wiring for the Heat-Troller, bundled it all up, and even picked up the ten thousand little electrical connectors that flew all over the place when I tripped over their box while I was working ... all in under an hour.  I've never had a bike whose plastics were so easy.
 
With allen bolts on the windscreen, that's stupid-easy too.

The idea of the plastic screws is to have them break off in a crash and not shatter the windscreen where it could cut you. That is the lawyer answer. I say they are saving money.