Passes & Canyons Blog

I was pretty ignorant when I bought my first motorcycle but there was one things I was sure of: I didn’t like getting pounded by the wind. So one of the very first things I did was go to a parts shop for wind protection. I asked to see fairings and mentioned that I really wanted a windshield; the sales guy rolled his eyes and asked which it was, did I want a fairing or a windshield?

Truth is, I didn’t know the difference. I thought they were pretty much two words for the same thing. Wrong. A windshield is essentially a curved piece of clear plastic that blocks the wind. A fairing often covers up much of the front end of the bike, has compartments for storage and installation of electronics, and provides much greater protection from both wind, rain, and flying objects.

I bought a windshield that day, for my Honda CB750 Custom. Years later, when I bought my Kawasaki Concours, it came with a full fairing as part of the package. I still don’t like getting pounded by the wind.

A lot of guys think very differently than I do. For many, a windshield or fairing ruins the look of the machine and that’s what they care about, at least more than they care about the buffeting. Others actually seem to like the wind blast, considering it part of what motorcycling is all about. I just don’t get it.

For one thing, it’s work to ride fast when the wind is beating on you trying to throw you back off the bike. Additionally, for example, right after I bought the Kawi I went riding with the guys and of course they wanted to test ride it. So John and I swapped bikes and I rode his naked Honda Shadow. Not only was the wind uncomfortable for me, without a fairing or windshield it also blasted my eyes behind the glasses I wore for eye protection, making them water profusely. By the time we stopped to trade back I could barely see and the sides of my face were streaked with the tears that had left trails back toward my ears. Give me my own bike back!

I do understand that on some bikes with lower seat heights you actually sit down more into the bike than on others, and the front end and aerodynamics reduce the wind blast. I experienced that when I test rode some Triumph motorcycles. Even without wind protection they were comfortable until I got up to 70 mph, and at 70 the blast was not as bad as on other bikes at much lesser speeds. But if I ever buy a Bonneville I’m still going to put a windshield on it.

In recent years, manufacturers have made big strides in making windshields more attractive, as well as easy to install and remove. Harley-Davidson, in particular, offers attractive brackets that allow you to do either in about two seconds. That makes it easy for the guys who want to cruise around town without the windshield, but do want to have one when they travel.

And that would include people like my buddy, Bill. He decided to go with that type of system when he bought one of his Harleys, but after giving it a try he decided he still liked traveling without it. Later, however, with a newer, different Harley, he has finally concluded the fairing really is kind of nice. I still just don’t get it why he preferred no fairing for so many years. I never will.

Biker Quote for Today

Life is not waiting for the storm to pass . . . learn to dance under the rain.

When I set out on the Battle Back to the Bike I made a goal to ride at least 1,000 miles in my first month once I made it back. I met that goal as of Wednesday, July 4. I guess I really am back.

Here’s how it went.

June 7 — My first ride, to Evergreen and down Turkey Creek and then Deer Creek — 71 miles.

June 8 — Up Clear Creek Canyon to the Peak-to-Peak and down Golden Gate Canyon — 97 miles.

June 10 — Up Mount Vernon Canyon, to Idaho Springs, over Squaw Pass, to Evergreen, and home — 126 miles.

June 16 — The RMMRC Pie Ride to Evergreen, Deckers, Woodland Park, Florissant, Jefferson, and back — 267 miles.

June 25 — Up to Eagle — 141 miles.

June 26 — Eagle to Buena Vista to Denver — 218 miles.

July 3 — A run to the wine store and then to CostCo to get gas — 26 miles.

July 4 — Sedalia, Palmer Lake, Castle Rock, Parker, and home –98 miles.

Total: 1,044 miles.

Biker Quote for Today

The lure of the open road never goes out of style.

So this is probably the best helmet I’ve ever had. It’s certainly the most expensive. But hey, you know the saying: If your head is only worth $5 then buy a $5 helmet. Otherwise . . .

The helmet is a Shoei RF-SR. And I’m happy to say I already need to clean the visor.

So how do I like it? Well, it’s kind of mixed. It is certainly the most comfortable helmet I’ve ever had. My first was a Bieffe and it pressed on my forehead and gave me a headache after wearing it awhile. Since then I’ve had several others and while all have been serviceable, the two I’ve been using the last few years are by far the noisiest I’ve ever owned.

This was one of the selling points for the RF-SR. Eddy McCarty at Fay Myers says Shoei makes the quietest helmets on the market.

So maybe I was expecting too much. Yes this new helmet is much quieter than the old ones but it was not as quiet as I hoped. Of course, what I really need to do is go for a ride with one of the old ones on and see if it now seems much noisier than the Shoei.

Eddy also talked about the ventilation and that is another thing I may have had too high expectations. The RF-SR has vents at your forehead and matching vents in the rear. Riding on a hot day I could feel that flow of air across the top of my head and it was welcome. But the rest of my head was very hot. I suspect that is in part a result of having a better helmet than I’ve had before: With better padding and better fit there is simply not as much room for air to move around inside the helmet. When you have padding pressed right up against your cheeks there is not going to be air flow past your cheeks.

The one thing that is terrific about this helmet, however, is the built-in pockets for communicator speakers. In all previous helmets I have had to do my best to locate the speakers in any recession existing, and usually ended up with them rubbing against my ears. I think all new helmets now come with spaces designed to take speakers and keep them away from your ear and therefore comfortable.

Removing and installing the visor is a two-second job with the RF-SR. Several of my old helmets–most notably my Bieffe and HJC–made these operations so difficult as to be almost impossible. I busted the whole mechanism on one of them one time just trying to get the visor attached.

So there are a couple things I’m not as thrilled with as I had hoped but I do like the idea of having an actual high quality helmet finally. If in a few weeks I find I’m not so thrilled–or find myself much more pleased–I’ll make note of that here.

Biker Quote for Today

She’s got a wide seat, a couple of saddlebags, smokes like a fiend, and doesn’t mind being call a hog. What a hottie!