National Cycle VStream, a 2 windscreen review

[djdiaz]

I recently purchased The National Cycle VStream wind screens in the Sport and Touring versions. Both fit the on same mount so you can switch between the two screens without removing the mounting bracket. To change out, you do have to switch the mounting hardware (nuts, bolts, grommets, and spacers) which only it takes 3-5 minutes. National Cycle does offer a replacement hardware kit but it runs about $30.00 + freight, which seemed a little spendy for 4 nuts and bolts grommets and spacers…maybe it’s me just being cheap.
 
 
First the specs and general quality:
 
 
The mounting bracket is one piece, bent from a heavy piece of stamped sheet steel. The finish is a good quality powder coat. One thing to note is that the one-piece construction is very stiff and should resist and twisting or torsional pressure from the windscreen.
 
 
Both wind screens are 3/16” thick and are really stiff and the edges have a nice finish.
 
 
The Sport Screen measures 14-1/2” W by 14” tall and comes in dark smoke.
 
 

 
The Touring Screen measures 14-1/2” W by 18” tall and is available in light smoke.
 

 
You might notice I added new grips and bar end mirrors since first receiving the touring windscreen.
 
I took both screens out on the same ride with similar wind conditions and similar speeds ranging from 30 MPH to 80 MPH (when passing cagers) with cruising speeds at 70 MPH. Both rides had crosswinds gusting 10-30 MPH. I rode over 90 miles on each windscreen.
 
 
As a physical point of reference I’m 5’9” tall with a 32” inseam.
 
 
At 70 MPH the airflow over the sport screen hits me in an arc with the high point at my collar bone area and curving downward below my shoulders in my armpit area. The flow is very smooth with no buffeting even with a strong crosswind.
 
 
The touring screen at the same speeds had the airflow hitting me at the bottom of my face shield above the chin vent of my helmet curving downward to the top of my shoulder. It also had very smooth flow with no detectable buffeting. The 4” difference on the screen height is consistent with the perceived airflow.
 
 
I do have to add that I really prefer the look of the sport screen over the barn door look of the touring screen. I’m likely going to run the smaller screen for short rides of around 100 miles or so, maybe going longer if I can take breaks for coffee, lunch, etc. The touring screen will come in handy for longer non-stop rides where the extra wind protection and less rider fatigue will supersede the looks.
 
 
To sum up, National Cycle has produced a great product for our bikes and I would recommend either screen (or both) to anyone with an FZ. These really help give a bike like this longer legs and can make this a respectable light weight touring bike. In the end it makes me love my bike even more and is having me contemplating some longer 500+ mile rides.
 
 
 

[rmdet]

Great review! Thanks for sharing - I have the Puig Touring but was considering the National Cycle

[djdiaz]

Thanks! I wanted to add more pics but we had some bad weather today. I'll add some more as soon as I can...[span]    [/span]

[faffi]

I found this review over at Revzilla, suggesting that what environment the screen is used in and rider size can matter quite a bit when it comes to function:
 
Not recomended
This is an attempt at a comprehensive review of the National Cycle VStream “Tall” windscreen for a 2015 FZ-07.
 
My vitals: Age: 36, height 6’ 3” barefoot 185lbs (tall and skinny), or about 6’ 5” with my boots on. Experienced rider.
 
Location/driving conditions: 80% driving on Las Vegas highways and interstates; speeds around 65-75mph. The bike is used primarily for commuting to work, 32 miles round trip five days a week. I have driven with the screen on for over 1500 miles.
 
Motorcycle: 2015 FZ-07 purchased brand new, broken in properly, professionally maintained by myself; I am a mechanic.
 
Other mods: Yoshimura exhaust, power commander, Yoshimura fender kit, LED turn signals front and rear. All other mods performed before the installation of this windscreen.
 
Now with all that info out of the way let’s get into the review. Las Vegas has some amazing year round riding conditions; the only real draw back to this area is the wind. It gets extremely gusty in the valley and the FZ-07 has nothing to “tuck” behind to get out of the wind. I knew that a naked bike would have issues in the wind at higher speed compared to a fully faired sport bike, but you can’t beat the FZ-07’s MPG and how fun it is to drive. I was hoping that this windscreen would be a good addition to the bike; but really it is not.
 
Let’s first start out with its construction. The mount bracket for the windscreen is very solid and the windscreen looks like it could take a beating; but what it mounts to is obviously not intended for the added weight of the screen and the air pressures placed on it at high speeds. Just like another review said; this screen flops around at all speeds. Realistically the screen needs two more strut mounts at the top of the screen that come down to the handle bars to carry the load. The screen is not very clear to look through. It has a weird wavy look to everything as I am going down the road. Also, the sunlight reflects off of all the black plastic behind the screen and causes a glare. When I attempt to tuck behind it, I find myself lying with my eyes above the screen so I can still see the road; this kind of defeats the purpose for the screen in my opinion because my entire head is still in the airstream.
 
Now let’s talk about the wind. Honestly it is actually windier with the screen on. Because the ergo’ s of the FZ-07 have me sitting at an upright angle opposed to laying forward, the windscreen is sitting about chest/shoulder level for my taller body type. Because of this position of the screen in relation to my body; all the air is blasting me between my chest, shoulders and neck area. The air pressure is actually very uncomfortable at high speeds. When I do tuck in behind the screen the wind is gone, but because I find it difficult to see through the windscreen, I usually do not stay tucked for long. Las Vegas has some very bad cross winds and this screen seems to make things worse. A few days ago we had 25-30mph gusts from the south west and I was driving west (the wind was hitting me on my left side). I could feel every gust hit the screen and push the handlebars to the right. Honestly it is a little scary. Cross winds are not fun on any motorcycle and this is not helping.
 
One positive thing I notice is when tucked in and all the wind gone and I can tell there is an improvement in aerodynamics for the motorcycle. By tucking in all the way behind the screen, I see an increase in speed by about 2 mph. You may be thinking that I am moving my wrist when I am tucking; but I can assure you that my RPM’s are staying exactly the same. I actually took the time on some empty roads to see if this was just a placebo effect. I very carefully monitored my wrist/RPM’s while riding tucked and each time I went behind the screen my speeds went up in a consistent fashion. So obviously my tall frame is a gigantic speed brake in the wind.
 
This brings me to another positive thing I have noticed with the screen; my MPG has gone up slightly. Before the screen was installed, I was getting 57-59 mpg consistently at each fill up. By tucking in behind the screen on a regular basis, I am getting 60-61 mpg. I am not using the trip computer for theses MPG calculations; instead I am taking the miles traveled at fill up and dividing it by the gallons filled. But! And this is a big “but”, the increase is only when I ride tucked all the time. If I ride in the normal upright position, my MPG is in the 57-59 range.
 
Night driving is also another negative issue. The illumination from the FZ-07’s display reflects off of the screen and makes a very big blind spot in the middle my field of view. Also, the light from the FZ-07’s headlight reflects on the bottom of the screen and makes it even harder to see through. The headlight comes though the edge of the screen and makes this weird halo affect though the screen. It’s hard to describe exactly what this looks like, but it’s annoying to say the least. Also, any other lights from other vehicles or street lamps glare really badly off the screen at night. So there is glare from my own headlight, the display screen, the street lights and other headlights; it is almost impossible to safely see through at night.
When I saw this product I was very excited to add it to my ride, but the more I use it I am disappointed with it more and more and I would not recommend buying it. I am going to take off the screen in the near future and see if the ride is better or worse. More to come.
 
Pros:
Quality of materials used/durability.
Ease of installation.
Slight increase of aerodynamics/MPG.
Can get out of the wind when possible.
 
Cons:
Floppy mounting/lack of mounting points.
Poor visibility.
Uncomfortable wind/wind concentrated at your chest/head when riding upright.
Possible control issues in high crosswinds.
Lots of glare from the sun.
Lots of glare from lights at night.
Blind spot from illuminated display at night.
High cost

[nick13]

I just installed NC V-stream Touring. 15" wide and 18" inch tall. VERY happy! As starter of this thread stated, it produces very smooth, buffeting free stream. I'm 5.8 and it directs stream to lower portion of helmet's visor and curves a bit around shoulders.
BUT, after I installed MRA Touring X-creen Spoiler on top of the shield - everything changes! I didn't elevate the spoiler much above the windshield, maybe 1 inch above, but it seats in more vertical position though, and really throws air upward. At low speed air hits me above visor, at high speed it moves higher, about 5 inches above helmet. VERY happy wit this combo!
Oh... and I also secured the screen with Universal MRA Windshield Mounting Kit. I used only left arm and extended it to center of screen, no need for both arms. It's rock solid now.