Passes & Canyons Blog

I’m going to state my preference right up front: I wouldn’t have a bike without a windshield or fairing. My Honda CB750 Custom has a windshield and my Kawasaki Concours has a full fairing. I love them.

Most of my friends don’t have either. We’ve swapped bikes at times and they’ll comment how nice it was not to have all that buffeting, but they don’t add windshields to their own bikes. I, on the other hand, am always relieved to get back on my own bike and out of that blast. There have been times, riding without a helmet, when I’ve been nearly blinded by the way the wind made my eyes water. How do you guys do this?

I especially appreciate a fairing when I ride in the winter. Oftentimes I’ll take both my bikes out for a spin back-to-back on a nice winter day, and it’s amazing the difference between that fairing and the windshield. How much colder would it be without either?

Don’t get me wrong, I have winter gear. I have thinsulate-lined gloves and an electric vest, full leathers, and a good helmet. Heavy, knee-high motorcycle boots help, too. It still gets cold. But at least some of the wind is blocked.

Of course in summer the cold is not an issue. But the wind sure is. I spent some time in California awhile back, riding a bike with no windshield and wearing a helmet, as per the law there. After riding all day my neck would be aching from struggling all day as the wind tore at my open-face helmet. I’m sorry, that is not fun.

So OK, I know a lot of you are saying I’m a big wussy. Go ahead and say it. But what I’d really like you to do is tell me why you prefer to ride without. I just don’t get it but I know way too many guys who prefer not to have a windshield or fairing. For some it’s an image thing–they just prefer the look of their bike without. Me, I’m not into image; I’m into comfort.

So what are the other reasons? Help me understand, OK? Because right now I just don’t.

Tags: motorcycle fairing, motorcycle gear

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 10:39 am and is filed under Biker Issues, Motorcycle Gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.