Wind Noise

Ok, so I've been doing lots more riding recently, and as a result I've had to start wearing earplugs due to wind noise. Bought a new helmet today to try and counter that a bit, and it seems to have worked, but far less than I thought it would. I want to listen to music that isn't at full volume. I care lots about my hearing, and tinnitus is very annoying/permanent, loss is even worse.

My 'cat is very bad for wind noise, surely you guys must have the same problem? I've not got a double bubble screen, mine is just the stock one. I kept blaming my helmet until today, when with a new one, I decided to stand up on my foot pegs at 80. Oh man. It's actually far quieter standing well above the bike, in the clear airflow, rather than in the dirty air from the screen and fairing. I find it annoying that my fairing makes it noisier.

So what do I do?

I can continue using earplug and be totally ok, but this means no music or satnav - This is annoying but better than damaging my hearing.

I can invest in some Bose noise-cancelling earbuds that supposedly knock 45db off background noise - These are £250. I've just chucked £450 on a sweet new Schuberth C3 Pro, so it's not the best option financially, perhaps.

I can investigate different screens, maybe higher or differently profiled - preferred option, hence why I'm asking you guys.

I can sell the 'Cat in a month or so and buy something a bit quieter - This defeats the amount of work I've put into my cat, and I've gotten pretty attached already. Bad option.

Just in case someone tells me off for having a straight-through exhaust then complaining about noise - I can't hear my engine after about 40-50mph. This is how much wind noise I've got going on.


Thanks

DBD (dirt bike Dave) made some homemade earplugs complete with built in earphones.

There should be a thread in 'hear' (see what I did there) somewhere.

I'd search but I'm on my phone and on the move.

My system (intaride) uses small thin speakers that Velcro into your helmet and line up with your ears and you wear normal earplugs.  Maybe you could try something along those lines too.

Cheers
Rosco

Oh ok, thanks for that. I'll look into some custom earplug/earphones then. Although, maybe using earplugs and just winding up the speakers fairly loud might work pretty well.

Cheers R!

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He's still using them and swearing by them (not at them) I think.

I've done a fair ammount of experimenting with screens on various bikes, and tbh, the best screens for being quiet have always been lower ones creating 'clean air'. Big screens normally make a lot of turbulence, and hence noise.
My cat is pretty quiet in comparison to other bikes, but I am a bit of an odd shape (short back).
Rather than spending a fortune on posh plugs, try a bubble screen first, it might make a difference. If not, posh plugs it is!

I played around with listening to music as well, but the sound quality was terrible over 70mph and became more of an annoyance than a pleasure.
I did make a pair of DBD's phones, which were good, but then I realised that I preferred to hear what was going on around me.

Horses for courses I suppose, but DBD's solution is definitely worth a go.   

ok i fitted a double bubble did the same a dirt bike dave home made plugs followed dave instructions works wonders cost of home made plugs £25 use my iphone for music which plug in as well
dave,s idea you buy self moulding plastic a set of small ear plugs strip down to the basic ear piece insert into plastic bung it into your ear let it set & bingo a personal fitting ear piece at a fraction of the cost god i like a scotsman lol

We ride naked bikes and know all about wind!

Nick (robertcains) has a Arai rebel and it has a spoiler on which deflects the wind, he has a far more comfortable time at speed than I do so it must be effective.

Not rain on DBD's parade but I used to use earplug/earphone things called plugfones. About £15 off Amazon. They worked quite well

From the sounds of it though I'd look at a different screen, either shorter to divert the worst of it at your chest or taller so it's all over your head.

You can get things called... whisper collars (?) that go round the bottom of your lid and stop the worst of the noise round your chin as well.

Whisper Collar Link

I have a double bubble screen and a pair of in ear headphones that came with my phone. They work a treat

On ear phones I have used many pairs of headphones on the bike over the last few years and my current ones are by far the best. They are shure se215's and are essentially in ear monitors like a musician on stage would use. All day comfortable and easy to keep in place with the flexible arm on them.

They can be a bit pricey (I am a bit of an ear phone snob) but totally worth it in my view.

With regards to screens look at the varo or vario ( I think it's something like that) screens or more kind of screen add ins to help with extra wind deflection.

With regards to not hearing the engine above 50mph I wear ear plugs most of the time ory earphones and can still hear the engine even cruising along the motorway at 80. Though I do have a double bubble screen, trawl eBay for one , I got mine for a steal on there

Dave

I hear the engine and running gear through my bones (arms, shoulders, head) as well, which is impossible to drown out. :/

In saying that, the bike has done 48K without any major servicing, so it might be a bit on the Fred Flintstone side.   
(Maybe I should buy one of those old BMW's with the rubber mounted handlebars.  )

Wooster wrote:

In saying that, the bike has done 48K without any major servicing, so it might be a bit on the Fred Flintstone side.  

Mines on 68k ish and running smooth with no major servicing

That's good news, I was starting to get a wee bit paranoid about it suddenly falling to bits like the police car in The Blues Brothers.

Excuse me if iam abit rusty putting images on here but I may have the answer for you here.
Cheers mark
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I have a pair of these   . . . .
The sound isolation and audio quality is excellent, especially considering the the low price (I spent a long time looking for some decent earphones that weren't overly priced)

Link is dead, but I see from the URL it's a screen for a step-through.