Rake Angle

So, yesterday I picked up a windscreen for my bike on CraigsList. I got a National Cycle Deflector windscreen in great shape for a mere $20. When I got it home I realized that the u-clamps on it were for 1" handlebars and mine are 7/8". So off to the hardware store I went. I swear 80% of the time that I go to the hardware store I am looking for something that will not be used for it's original purpose. Employees ask me if I need help and invariably they end up with a dumb look on there face saying, yeah, I don't think we have anything like that (or worse yet, pointing me to some other department to find some phantom employee who knows it all "yeah, you know what, just head over to plumbing and look for Art, he'll get you squared away"). Anyhoo, I was basically looking for some kind of 1/16" rubber stock that I could wrap around my bars to make up for the gap. In the long run, some large neoprene washers did the trick. I did find a gasket kit that probably would have worked as well, but it cost a bit more. So back to the house and after dinner, I got the windscreen all mounted up. If I hadn't had a couple beers with dinner, I would have run it out for a test ride.

So, this morning I head out, eager to test out my new windscreen. Not even 1/8 mile into my ride I can tell that something is out of whack as the wind buffeting around my head is pretty bad. I decide to deal with it for now and adjust the position when I get a chance. I do notice that the wind hitting my chest is significantly reduced, nice! About 1/2 way to work, the urge to pee hits me so I stop at a grocery store to hit the head. Before leaving again, I try adjusting the windshield. I pulled it back just a bit giving it a bit steeper rake angle and allowing just a bit of air to come through between the headlight and the windscreen. Amazingly, this tiny adjustment made a lot of difference. I only felt a couple little bits of buffeting the rest of the way to work. I think some more tweaking may by in order, but all in all, I am happy with my $20 purchase.

Start

I have been commuting on 2 wheels for the better part of 5 months now. I started out on my 1986 Honda Elite 150 but once I took my MSF class and got a taste of a real motorcycle (albeit a little 250), I had to get one. Now I have the Elite and a 1987 Suzuki GS450L. The Suzuki is a little metric cruiser that is working well so far to teach me the basics of riding. I am hoping to upgrade sometime in the next year.

I'll try to post a bit each day that I commute on 2 wheels. We'll see if this ends up being interesting;)