Modern Vespa

did about a 120km round trip on the highway today, i have a gts 300 super, with a tall windscreen to block out all that wind. heading north i was averaging around 120kmh sometimes hitting 130kmh easily speed for most of the way without full throttle .. but the way back, after i parked it for 10 mins or so, heading south, i was only able to get up to 110kmh max speed, sometimes only hitting 100kmh max speed, with the throttle all the way. ive never had that happen before, so i was just curious why. would a tall windscreen and wind direction make that noticeable of a difference, or would it be something else? after i got home, let it cool off, checked the oil, it was low'ish but not empty... maybe that did it too? I know you dont buy vespas for highway driving primarily, but this was just something i noticed, and thought i would ask.. thanks guys for any info

The tall windscreen does reduce top speed slightly. Not sure what you mean by wind direction. Obviously a headwind will slow you down.

The tall windscreen will reduce top speed slightly but the benefits of not fighting the wind and riding in a relatively quiet cockpit more than outweighs the top speed reduction. Also many regularly ride freeways at 70+ mph. You might consider cutting down your tall windscreen so its just below your eyes so windscreen fogging and rain don't obstruct the view but you get pretty much full protection.

Miguel

Yes, trying to push that sail into the wind can slow the bike down that much. And if you were low enough on oil that the speed of the bike was affected, you wouldn't make it very far. It's exactly like what would happen in your car if you ran it low enough on oil that it started to slow down. Filling it up won't fix it.

This one's a bit tricky: with a large windscreen, it can behave either like a barrier or a sail: directly against the wind, it'll certainly slow you down, and with the wind at your back, it will give you a push. The bigger problem, IMO, is crosswinds, where I imaging a large windscreen can...cause a few issues. (I put the smallest screen, a Euro-spec Vespa Flyscreen, on Melody, partially to take some wind pressure off my upper body, partially to gain a few miles per hour in top speed, and so far, it's worked pretty well.)

In addition to "barrier" vs "sail," which are kind of edge cases when you're riding directly against or with the wind, there is also the effect of smoothing turbulent flow around the handlebars and unaerodynamic shape of the rider's body. So a windscreen can actually improve speed by a few mph in the absence of external wind by making the scooter more aerodynamic. Even tiny "flyscreen" windscreens can help with this at higher speeds.

Before I purchased the midsized Vespa windscreen, I took an extended three day ride. In order to get home, I had to spend a considerable amount of time on the Freeway at top speed.

My upper body was the sail, causing fatigue in my arms holding on against the wind. I immediately bought the windscreen. It was amazing resulting in
comfort while riding.

If you are dashing about town at lower speeds, perhaps on a smaller scooter,
the wind in the face is great. I prefer at least the midsized wind screenfpr all matter of riding conditions.

Bob Copeland

My mistake. I thought the first photo was without the windscreen. Both show the Vespa Midsized pretty well.

Bob Copeland

True: I forgot to mention that the Flyscreen on my GTS appears to cut down a bit on squirrelly handling in crosswinds, but please take this as a purely anecdotal statement. But it's one of the best upgrades I can think of for the ride.

A headwind will almost always drop top speed, windscreen or not. Most scooters are 'geared' so the engine is hitting max revs at top speed in still air. At that point, aero drag matches power output. Add aero drag with a headwind (essentially increasing the 'airspeed' of the scooter) and the engine can't put out enough power to reach the same 'groundspeed'.

While windshields, in theory, can reduce overall drag, since humans are notoriously un-aerodynamic, the specific windshield needed to accomplish that would vary depending on the size and shape of the rider, and might require a wind tunnel to precisely determine.

Most of my screens are for rider comfort, not maximum speed or mileage. Although I leave the OEM screen on my BV350, just because I like the way it looks. And I generally only ride it when the weather is nice. If I commuted on it, it would need a bigger screen.

beauty! i have a small and a large oem windscreen.. but after much highway riding at high speeds, i find the small too small and the big too big, haha. i think the midsize would cut out the wind and still allow me to see over it, which u cant do with a tall oem... i just cant spend $350 cad on it right now, they are crazy expensive

No doubt it was the tall windshield. I am happy to give up a little speed for the comfort. You can always cut it down a little and there are instructions to do so.

I prefer a mid-height screen. Positioned correctly, it gets the rider's body out of the wind stream without slowing the scooter down.

Dooglas, I understand that the mid-height takes the wind off of your body, but believe it offers no protection for keeping wind off of head which I consider essential for highway use.

I disagree. A windshield of about the same size as your body actually deflects oncoming wind (induced by forward movement and headwind) versus the same wind hitting your body. Wind in your back will help regardless of the windshield as it pushes your body. I don't believe crosswinds with a windshield is any more problematic than your much larger cross section of your body and the scooter itself.

...if the wind is too strong it is not recommended to go out with a scooter, as for this it can be dangerous even with any vehicle that opposes a large mass.
The windshield of a scooter is an element of additional instability due to the air pockets that are created between it and the driver's body , always.

I rode for 11 years with a tall OEM windscreen cutdown to just below my eyes so I could see over it. But it blew the wind over my helmet so the cockpit was quiet, took all the work out of the ride and it is much warmer. I install a windscreen on every bike I've ever had because it's just too cold along the central coast of California to ride without one IMO. In fact, going a bit further, I'd never have a bike without a windscreen.

I quickly adapted to the large screen and never thought twice about it. I routinely rode at freeway speeds at up to 80 mph and in all sorts of windy environments without a problem. If I got a new Vespa, I'd do exactly the same thing.

Many people talk of the sail effect have probably never ridden with a tall windscreen. The windscreen itself is not that much bigger than you are from the waist up so the sail effect is not so much an issue.

The small and mid screens will help take the work out of the ride but it pushes the wind into your helmet creating a very noisy environment above 30 mph. Sustained noise at high levels can cause permanent hearing damage and tinnitus (ringing in the ears for which there is no cure). Wind noise in motorcycle helmets is a real concern for riders (or should be).

I don't particularly care for the look of the tall windscreen on the bike but protecting my hearing and riding comfort are more important to me. Just sayin' 😎

Best
Miguel

I like to feel the wind on me otherwise I would go out in a car or buy a convertible, the OEM windshield is already too high; on every scooter I've had I then fitted a shorter windshield ...
I'd like to do it on this one too but it's so short that it's basically an aerodynamic appendage.

To quote the late and much-lamented George Harrison: It's What You Value.

- If you want to ride with as little turbulence as possible (particuclarly if you favor open-face helmets), you want a tall screen, period.

- If, however, you don't mind a bit of wind, either an OEM or aftermarket Medium screen can serve you best.

- But, if you're like me, and care for performance specs (as he types this half-asleep), you want to grab something Flyscreen here. Yes things become heard here. (EDIT: I have no idea what I was conveying at the end of that sentence.)

In my case it is not a big problem, I only drive from late spring to late summer, my driving style is calm, I hardly exceed 45 miles per hour, the routes here are short (I attach a road map of my province)



and most common type of road:




and i love make frequent stops along the way; the only real problem is the bites of poisonous insects (bees, wasps, hornets) so I have to have with me a pencil with ammonia and cortisone ointment, to be honest the handguards have limited the thing, so I recommend them to everyone .

That's a topic for a whole new thread there Attila, the Do's and Don'ts of insect bites and how to prevent them. Certainly windscreens and hand guards are good for deflecting the little critters.

This makes me want to add another proviso to my choice in windscreens: I would absolutely not recommend the "Euro-spec" Flyscreen to someone dedicated to riding with an open-face helmet: I recall riding in Brooklyn not too many years ago (via bicycle), and running into a swarm of yellow jackets in the middle of the street. When I first got the Vespa, and it was time to pick out a helmet, the choice was blindingly clear: full-face, baby. Especially at the speeds I often ride at.

Full-face makes absolute sense with the Euro-spec Flyscreen: yes, the wind is deflected off your chest and neck, but hit someplace near your eyes (depending on height). With a FF helmet, this is less of an issue, but this depends on (1) your tolerance for a certain amount of wind noise, and (2) your helmet's ability to attenuate (1). My helmet does a decent job at this, which is good, since I rely a good bit on my in-helmet Bluetooth comm for a number of functions, and I'm keen on preserving my not-too-damaged hearing acuity (at age 65) for a while longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7J3pitFCqI

Yeah, don't do that. Please.

A few years ago I did it but with a garbage can, I was on the seafront in the summer and I was looking at two topless girls and I didn't see it; luckily I fell on a sand dune which cushioned the impact ... (... but I hit the balls on the handlebars, ouch!).
I had a Beverly BV 250 at that time (2007).

That has not been my experience, but that is certainly a function of the height of the rider and the specific height of the screen in question. I am 5'9". My Vespa mid-height screen deflects the windstream just over my helmet and allows me to look over the top of the screen (especially when it is wet or dirty). I tried a Faco mid-height which was a little lower and did not meet those goals. In the past, I have cut down two different taller screens until they were right for my height and the geometry of the bike. For some riders, custom dimensions might be the only workable solution.

Another fan of the Vespa mid-sized screen. At 5'8" tall, it deflects wind to the very top of my helmet...definitely above the face. I, too, had a FACO mid-sized and felt it hit me too much in the eyes. I love my windscreen, but countess wasps and large cicadas don't like it as much. If you've never hit a 2" cicada at 70 mph...you haven't truly lived. It's just something you don't forgot. LOL.

Eric

I'm visualizing this as a movie scene, say, a la Jacques Tati.... You know, Attila, you're really defying the Italian stereotypes

As for wasps, this thread brings me back to last year when I found myself WOT on the highway with a yellow jacket walking around the inside edge of my visor. Kind of makes you focus....

I was stung inside my nose when a wasp hit the bottom half of my half helmet's visor...over and over...during rush hour on a major 4 lane road. I was about 10 minutes from home. Last time I ever rode without a windscreen!

Eric

Inside? You mean inside the helmet visor on your nose or did the little bastard sting you up the nostril?

You see it? If he had a modular helmet he could open it immediately, it is known that the wasp (unlike a bee) can sting many times and quickly.

Little OT ... I know I'm not typical Italian ...
I am too honest and sincere and I like more the beautiful mechanics instead of sex which for me is not at the center of life and in this I already differ from stereotypes, perhaps for this reason I have a different view that affects my general behavior.
And here I go to the subject, in forty-five years of my motorcycle and scooter career I have done hundreds of rallies and I also participated in the re-enactment (in 1986) of a Mille Miglia using a Fiat (obviously); Well, on those occasions, while discussing engines and bodywork, I met many people who were passionate about this sector. I have been in contact with many of them for many years, remember that Italy is a very small place.
Stories about events that occurred following the use of various accessories, including the windshield, are recurring and the topic has no end ...

My 3/4th helmet had a visor that when closed was right over my nose. The upper body was basically smashed on the visor but the lower body curled inside my nose and stang, stang, stang...like some wasp zombie. By the time I got home my nose was swollen, running non-stop and my eye on that side was swollen so much it looked like I had been punched (I am mildly allergic to wasps and bees...I was once stung on the bottom of a foot and my whole leg swole up).

Considering this was rush hour traffic, it was a miracle I got home.

Carrying a pen stick to treat bee and wasp stings is always helpful.

Man, bad luck. Like everything aligned against you.

I don't recall how I got rid of my visitor (or how it got there in the first place), but the whole thing was a rather peaceful, if nerve-wracking, encounter.