Aaaaagh, Wind noise

[piguglyshandydrinker]

The one & only thing I loathe about my bike & riding in general is the fatigue created by wind noise.

Currently, I'm only using the bike for long or fairly long motorway trips & the wind noise is becoming a real PITA - & ruining my riding enjoyment.

I have tried riding with different helmets, screens, earplugs, riding positions & different speeds & various contraptions to attach to the helmet to cut wind noise - even home made ones - made in desperation (which partially worked).

The only thing that works is shrugging my shoulders to close the gap between jacket & helmet but its not that practical/comfortable but reduces wind noise to the point where I can hear the bike 'humming' away or to place a hand under the helmet - below the ear but that way I can only do one side at a time & it really isn't that practical!!!

Please help this is driving me mad, giving me Tinnitus & no doubt permanently damaging my hearing.....

Phil.

[Lutin]

Hi Phil,

What helmet do you have? I find the wind noise a bit of a pain too, even with ear plugs. Have been thinking of getting a "Whisper Kit" for my Shoei - about £20 or so.

But it'll have to wait until August at the earliest, as we're off to France at the weekend.

[Paul-S]

Most of the time I use the Ultimate Ear plugs / monitors and don't have any wind noise - when I have music on sometimes it feels like you're on an XBox / PS game they're that good. Downside is they are expensive but I feel are well worth it

Lately a friend pointed me in the direction of BioEars from Boots for times when I do not need / want the music / unltimate ears. They are reusable made from silicone and mould to the shape of your ear and block out most of the wind noise - they claim to reduce noise by up to 33db. I'm really pleased with these as they are the closest I've tried to get to the Ultimate Ear plugs - pack of 6 in their own small carry case no bigger than a small mobile phone cost £4.49. They are also used by swimmers to keep the water out and if they can do that I'm sure they'll keep most of the wind noise out.

Worth a try

Hope this helps Phil

See you next time

Paul

[StumpyFingers]

My mate at work uses a skirt or curtain around the bottom of the helmet.
It is long enough to drop to the shoulders and he swears it reduces the noise by quite a lot.

[edteamslr]

Same problem here too mate. I have to use Max-1, the orange plug, inserted all the way. Any slight misalignment is completely no-go.

I also have Ultimate ear hardplugs (custom fit) and my ears ring badly after using them. So I don't on use them on the motorway at all. The real saviour for me is a decent screen - which I had on my AT but haven't found again since. My XT660R tallscreen just made things unbearable.

[StumpyFingers]

I do have a set of the Alpine earplugs for those journeys I do not want / need the music.
Look HERE

[Snaphappy]

I had the same

but can totally ignore it with music, I did upgrade to Shoei Multitec with whisper kit and I have my screen on the lowest setting (Dero) so the wind actually hits the lid and goes round with minimal turbulence

what lid are you using and do you have Autocom / Starcom1

[pete h]

Over the years I've found that the best solution to wind noise is a combination of kit - a quiet lid, I'm currently alternating between an Arai RX7 and a Schubert S1 - the difference in noise levels between the two is quite startling - the arai is so loud in comparison, but i like the look of it better so i put up with it.

Earplugs - always get the best you can afford - i use ACS biopacts, custom moulded ones cost about 80 - 90 quid but last for years.

If I don't need to use the radio or comms, i always have a neck warmer on, pulled over the ears, for an extra layer of sound blockage.

Finally, one thing i did use on an old shoei lid, was 5mm draught excluder foam around the side pods and inside the top of the visor - stopped the wind getting into the spaces and driving me mad - come to think of it I may try that on the arai next. it lasts for a couple of months before the stickiness wears off, but you can pick up a 5 metre roll of the stuff for next to nothing and replace it easily.


** Forgot to mention - I put some extra foam padding into the shoei as well and infilled the ear spaces a bit - got it from an old mattress and velcroed it in place - it seemed to help as well but could get a bit irritating after a few hours - easy to remove when needed though.

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Thanks for the replies all.
I have tried various earplugs including the silicone remouldable type & generally use those for longer trips, foam ones are easier/quicker for shorter, stop/start rides. I have never yet splashed out on custom made plugs.

The helmet is an Arai (Chaser) purchased recently to replace my previous 10yr old Arai. I really fancied a quiet lid like a Schuberth, but sadly nothing on the market is as comfy as an Arai.

I reckon the main issue is to deal with reducing the noisy/turbulent air passing between the shoulders & helmet.
As I can almost silence this by shrugging my shoulders to touch the helmet rim (ooer....)

My mate at work uses a skirt or curtain around the bottom of the helmet.
It is long enough to drop to the shoulders and he swears it reduces the noise by quite a lot.

Ironically, I did try this a few years ago when travelling down the A1 heading on a European jaunt but whincing at the fact I'd have to put up with the noise for the next couple of weeks, so pulled over & cut up a nylon stuff sack & gaffa taped it around the base of the helmet & tucked it into my jacket!
A result for reducing wind noise, not overly comfortable, tended to pull out & start flapping after a while & directed rain straight into my T shirt!!!
Think I'll give it another go though.

With quite a few longish motorway miles covered this last few years, maybe I have just become hypersensitive to it.

Phil

[Mabels Old Man]

How about trying a screen extender to lift the buffetting away from your head.