Laminar Flow lip for comfort

[Shepherd]

Check this out guys.  It aint the prettiest thing out there but, for those of us commuting or otherwise putting serious miles on our 250 this might just do the trick.  I know if you haunt the adventure rider and touring rider forums they all really believe in these things.  It's cool to see they recognize our bike as worth developing for.

Here's what they have to say

Why do I need a Laminar LIP (Patent Pending) on my motorcycle?
We used to say if you ride a Goldwing or some other motorcycle that requires you to look through the windshield then you don't need a LIP. If you ride a fairing-equipped bike and you look over the top of the windshield, then perhaps a LIP would make your riding more pleasant. We have found that even riders that look through the windshields and their passengers can have a more pleasant ride with a LIP.

The design of some fairings allows the wind to flow around one side then the other creating buffeting at the rider's helmet. LIPs are designed to trap the air from flowing around the sides of the windshield and redirect it to flow over the top, lessening or eliminating this buffeting.

The LIP is an inverted airfoil located above the rear edge of the windshield. As air flows between the windshield and the LIP, it follows the underside airfoil of the LIP and is redirected more vertically. This air eddy then diffuses the oncoming air, in effect, to raise the blast of this oncoming airflow. The end result is that there seem to be three different air speed zones as you ride along at a set speed:
1. Behind the windshield - very little wind speed
2. Above the windshield for 6 to 8 inches or more - a wind pressure well reduced from actual speed
3. Above this height the blast that was at windshield height before the LIP was installed

Because all fairings and windshields are different, the effectiveness of the LIP may vary model to model.

Another feature of the inverted airfoil is that it increases down pressure on the front wheel. As a motorcycle proceeds down the road, air pressure (effectively from the front-- although the air really is not moving, the bike is) tends to rotate the motorcycle around its roll center lifting the front wheel and loading the rear. The LIP opposes this action to some degree.

The LIP does all this without your having to add a larger windshield. In many cases it works better than the taller replacement accessory windshields, because although they may be taller, they do nothing to control airflow. Sport bike riders also can benefit from the LIP. When cruising along normally the wind pressure will be raised, and when flat on the tank behind the LIP turbulence will be much less.

Here's the link  http://laminarlip.com/ex250.php

[dad24hungrykids]

I'd like to try that out and see how well it works.

[Marvin Martian]

considering you can get the "Double-Bubble" & touring winshields for about the same price. (not an add-on).

[Shepherd]

I think the zero gravity sport touring is the way i'd go.  But, this looks like a good idea for anyone who may want to keep their original windshield for some riding and then have this lip to put on and take off as they need it.

[Arcos]

Hi,

I ordered one of these recently (the smaller one shown in the second picture of the original post) as I find the wind hitting chest/shoulders riding at highway speeds quite annoying to the point I tend to avoid it. These Laminar add-on screens seem to be preferred by some over bigger screens (like double bubbles and touring screens) as they also tend to reduce turbulence and wind noise.

Anyway, I should get it next week and will try and post here with my thoughts on its performance.

Regards

[Shepherd]

awesome Arcos.

Myself and a few others on this forum are very interested in knowing about this product.  Thanks for being a test subject.  Please let us know all about it whenever you can.

thanks

[Arcos]

Hi,

I ordered one of these recently (the smaller one shown in the second picture of the original post) as I find the wind hitting chest/shoulders riding at highway speeds quite annoying to the point I tend to avoid it. These Laminar add-on screens seem to be preferred by some over bigger screens (like double bubbles and touring screens) as they also tend to reduce turbulence and wind noise.

Anyway, I should get it next week and will try and post here with my thoughts on its performance.

Regards

I installed the Laminar Lip today and took the bike for a ride on the highway/freeway. I'm unsure just how much of a difference it's made as I still get the wind hitting the shoulders/chest but probably not as much as before. However, if I hunker down into a crouch I certainly don't need to almost lie on the tank as with the standard screen to avoid the bulk of the wind so it's definitely raised the wind flow but maybe not enough for me. I should note that I'm 6'2" and long in the torso (rather than the legs) so sit relatively high on the bike. I suspect the larger touring lip may have more of the effect I was hoping for, I'll have to try some back to back testing with the lip on and off to be more conclusive. Perhaps the standard lip would be much more noticeable for someone under 6'...

I'll post some photos when I get the chance.

[Shepherd]

thanks arcos,  keep us posted.  i'm still considering the lip myself.  i'm only 5-9 so maybe it'll work out for me, i dont know.

[Arcos]

Some pictures attached.

[Arcos]

Well, I thought I might try some clip-ons and lower the handle bars in order to to get my head lower but it appears there currently aren't any for the 250R'08 

[JJT41473]

DID YOU HAVE TO DRILL TO ATTATCH THAT?

[Arcos]

DID YOU HAVE TO DRILL TO ATTATCH THAT?

No, it uses some velcro like material which you stick to the fairing, it's much stronger than the normal stuff (you have to use a knife or similar to get the velcro apart). However, if you are going to be doing very high speeds it's recommended that you do use another method like screwing it down which on the 250 might require drilling. I was considering putting a hole through the lip where the screw is for the original screen and just re-using that hole with a spacer to provide a hard attachment in addition to the velcro but will see how it goes, no obvious problems so far...

I did a short sprint down the highway today just getting from A to B without thinking about the Lip until I realised it seemed much easier than normal and found myself speeding a bit because the wind resistance on my upper body was not so great...