Top aftermarket motorcycle screens

Part of the attraction of motorcycling is the freedom, the exposure to the environment, the wind-in-the-hair (helmet notwithstanding, of course) riding experience. However, sometimes, that can get a bit tedious.

Naked motorcycles, for example, can be great fun with little or nothing to get between you and the outside world. And while that can be exceptionally liberating and exhilarating, it can also become a bit noisy and tiresome if you have a long journey to do. Similarly, a small screen that’s designed to work with a 5’10” rider may not work for one who is 6’2” and could cause more problems than it solves.

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Luckily, there are plenty of solutions available, from a small fly screen on a naked bike or roadster to take a little of the windblast off the chest, to full-on screens and spoilers to tailor the airflow for silence and comfort for long distances.

One of the things to realise when looking to change the aerodynamics of the bike is how it will affect noise at the helmet. For example, many naked bikes will allow relatively smooth flow over the rider’s helmet, as there is little to disrupt the glow. This might generate some noise but it is generally lower than some smaller screens which can cause turbulence or buffeting around the helmet, which can make things a lot worse.

It’s also worth considering what it might do to the airflow to your helmet. Some people find they need more airflow to vents than others, either for cooling on warm rides or for demisting in damp or cold conditions and a screen that insulates you from the oncoming air may also cut off any airflow.

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A change of screen may also change how the wind affects the body. For example, a slightly weight-forward riding position, such as on a sports-tourer or a naked, might benefit from some wind-blast to the chest at high speed, to take some weight off the wrists. However, fit a screen to remove that windblast and you may not benefit from that ‘lift’ and more weight ends up going through your wrists.

So it’s worth having a good think about what you want to achieve before rushing out and bolting huge slabs of plastic to the front of your bike. The examples shown here, when not universal fit or stated otherwise, are for a 2019 Kawasaki Z1000SX sports tourer, for comparison.

The best aftermarket motorcycle replacement screens

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