16" MRA Vario touring blade position

[mully]

Today fitted a 16" MRA Vario Touring screen, the smoked one, to my DL1000 K7. I am about 5ft 8" tall so bought the smaller version after reading about them on the forum.  Went out for a quick spin to try it out, stopped a few times to adjust the blade and found it a big improvement over the stock screen. It was great riding with my visor up at 60 mph and hearing the engine for the first time at this speed.  I probably did not experiment enough with the blade to find the best  position, so was wondering what anyone else of a similar height would advise. By the way,  am still useing my open face summer helmet.

[Sven]

I'm a totally different height (6') & have the tall screen but this is how I use mine. When on back road & twisties, I have the spoiler completely down. That way I don't look through it at all & I'm not really so bothered about a bit of wind blast (although its still much better than the standard screen!). When on dual carrigeways or motorways I just flip the spoiler fully up - virtually no wind blast or buffeting BTW you can adjust the spoiler whilst riding (so long as you're careful)
Just keep experimenting til you find what's good for you

[mully]

I'm a totally different height (6') & have the tall screen but this is how I use mine. When on back road & twisties, I have the spoiler completely down. That way I don't look through it at all & I'm not really so bothered about a bit of wind blast (although its still much better than the standard screen!). When on dual carrigeways or motorways I just flip the spoiler fully up - virtually no wind blast or buffeting BTW you can adjust the spoiler whilst riding (so long as you're careful)
Just keep experimenting til you find what's good for you

 Cheers Sven, will try as you suggest, but did you have to free your blade up a bit ? mine  seems very stiff to adjust.

[Sven]

Think mine was quite stiff (Ohh Err Missus!!!) to start with. Once its been moved a few times it free's up a bit - from what I remember.

[Juvecu]

I'm 5'11" and I have the tall screen with a Vee seat, have the screen in the middle height position. I set the spoiler all the way up as I do mostly motorway miles, but I can still look over it like that. If I go on slower twisty roads I find that it's a bit in the way so I normally end up setting it all the way down. I know I shouldn't, but I adjust it while I ride, I use my left hand only. It's easier to adjust if you push the spoiler forward/back as well as up/down. I do the one side first, then the other, then make sure it's all the way up/down so that it's even.

[Abercol]

I'm 5'10, 16" Vario, middle setting (moving it to top makes no difference) and the spoiler is up full, anything less just increases buffeting/wind/noise.

I'm long in the body though as I only have 29" legs...

Yes, at 19+ stone I look like a gorilla - silver back, wot with the grey hair and all, that is, if gorillas were also prone to male pattern baldness...  

[Chris_the_Vampire]

Just fitted a small version MRA vario screen to my DL650. Haven't really had a chance to try all the settings yet, but it seems to be a clear improvement over the standard touring screen at ~70MPH. Turbulence is much reduced but there seems to be a lot of wind noise. This may be normal I suppose - I just haven't heard it before!

I'm 5'8" tall using a standard seat. Any recommendations for the best settings?

[Dan J]

I'm probably going to cause a little controversy here but I guess it's a case of each to their own.

I have the 20" MRA screen and Madstad.  Both bought because my bike was near unrideable on the standard X screen (I bought the bike 85 miles from where I live and felt sick by the time I arrived home, having stopped twice to adjust the damn screen - actually on that note Suzuki have really messed up here as anyone test riding one of these great bikes is just going to walk away for the sake of a better designed screen).  Anyway, I digress...

The screen plus Madstad was great for curing the buffeting but I never really got on with the touring blade.  When it's up it's in my field of vision, when it's down it creates almost like a "sun visor" that you can hardly see through (I have the smoke version).  I often commute in to London which means filtering between oblivious drivers and needing to see pot holes you could lose a medium sized dog in.  To that end the last thing I need is anything hampering my visibility.  So... I thought I'd try the bike for a day with the touring blade off.  It only leaves two small holes either side so doesn't look out of place.

I haven't found any real reduction in the screen protection plus I now don't have the restricted visibility.  The Madstad means you can move the screen wherever you want regardless so longer distance I just shove it up a bit.  Maybe I'll put it back on for a long tour but I'm happy with the MRA screen sans touring blade.

Anyone else tried this?

[Chris_the_Vampire]

Just fitted a small version MRA vario screen to my DL650. Haven't really had a chance to try all the settings yet, but it seems to be a clear improvement over the standard touring screen at ~70MPH. Turbulence is much reduced but there seems to be a lot of wind noise. This may be normal I suppose - I just haven't heard it before!

I'm 5'8" tall using a standard seat. Any recommendations for the best settings?

OK - Just completed a 200 mile round trip and have tried out most of the settings (with the screen mounted in the low position).

With the blade at it's lowest setting, buffeting is reduced but I get the full windblast full in the face.
With the blade in its highest setting, the windblast goes, and buffeting is reduced when compared to the standard screen, but I get the feeling that the bike is much less stable at motorway (ish) speeds.

Next time I'll try the screen in its high mount position and repeat the exercise.
In summary, the MRA Vario is better than the standard screen at up to ~90, but I'm not sure it's £116 better.

Watch this space...