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[Blotman]

How much does it increase your range ?

I have very limited sample with it on since I just got the screen last week. Worst case I've seen is that the range was almost the same compared the average I've seen without the screen. Best case was a 25% increase in range, when compared to that same average.

This is based on reading the "% State of Charge" on the Zero app for my phone after I pull into work. My commute is about 17 miles (13 highway). Without the screen, I would come into work with the charge at about 77% or 78%. Today with the screen, I came in at 82%, but I've seen it get down below 80% on days where traffic is light and I maintain speed.

[protomech]

I have the summer screen for the 2012 Zero. It seems to help around 5% at highway speeds.

[ZeroSinMA]

I am convinced that the Zero (Slipstreamer Spit-Fire) windshield on my 2012 Zero S contributes to the bike's range, compared with riding "naked".  I have ridden both with and without the windshield over the same route and the windshield really seems to help with both comfort and range.  Now I never take if off.   

I have the Dual Sport Screen (10-05723) on my Zero DS.  It definitely reduces the wind on my chest especially when I am in a tuck.  I believe it does help a little with range, but I have no hard data to prove it.  I like the look of it on the Zero DS the most.

It's my understanding that the Commuter Screen (p/n 10-05722), which extends higher, will do more to improve range.  Again, no hard data to prove it, but that was the general feedback from our test riders.

Please post your feedback on your findings.

Regards,
aaronzeromoto

Great, thanks! Sounds like a worthy accessory.

EastSider

Got the summer screen for my 2012 S as for my 2011 S. Didn't measure the improvement on the S as it came with, but did measure an approx. 10% range improvement for the 2011 S with vs w/o the screen when riding ave. 40MPH speeds.

[EastSider]

I have the 2012 "Summer Screen" on my 12 DS and it improves range on the highway.   I have ridden the same route with and without it and get a little more range with the shield on.

I finally attached my windscreen and it definitely increases the highway speed comfort, and seems to help with range too. I'm loving it! Thanks all.

EastSider

[Manzanita]

Any more estimates as to how much a windscreen helps with bike range?

I just installed my old beat-up slipstreamer spit-fire shield, it looks great, and after about 20 miles on the freeway at about 65 mph, had only sucked 20% of the battery... this is a major increase is range, like 20%... but it was just one trial. And of course, it was great at improving the comfort level on the freeway, like night-and-day (which is what I was expecting...)

Unfortunately, the freeway trip I was taking was to drop it off at the service dept at SJ BMW--a few weeks ago the bike had stopped working for a full 30 minutes, wouldn't start, and then like magic, no problems since. But it will come out of warranty in a few months so I figure I'd bring it in. It had done this a handful of other times, but usually all it took was moving the ignition switch back and forth to 'fix' it... 

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Any more estimates as to how much a windscreen helps with bike range?

I just installed my old beat-up slipstreamer spit-fire shield, it looks great, and after about 20 miles on the freeway at about 65 mph, had only sucked 20% of the battery... this is a major increase is range, like 20%... but it was just one trial. And of course, it was great at improving the comfort level on the freeway, like night-and-day (which is what I was expecting...)

Wow, the slipstreamer spitfire doesn't even seem very aerodynamic: http://slipstreamer.com/motorcycle/spitfire/

Maybe today's warmth in the Bay Area (75F?) contributed some efficiency gains for you; I'd expect more like a 10% improvement otherwise.

I'm about to adapt a Parabellum windshield I found used. I'm hoping to get a 20% range improvement from that once positioned at a good angle.

[Manzanita]

Wow, those Parabellum shields look awesome.

The other factor that may have improved my mileage was the fact I was maybe 70 feet back from a car most the time, I wonder if that could have been part of the improvement. But I was sitting upright and having to speed up and slow down in traffic a little.

[Richard230]

Wow, those Parabellum shields look awesome.

The other factor that may have improved my mileage was the fact I was maybe 70 feet back from a car most the time, I wonder if that could have been part of the improvement. But I was sitting upright and having to speed up and slow down in traffic a little.

When I first started riding it was still legal in California to ride any motor vehicle on the freeway (which soon ended with the huge increase in the sale of 50cc motorcycles), so I would ride my 4.9 hp Vespa 125 on the freeway.  Since its top speed was only 50 mph, which was kind of slow for the freeway traffic speeds even in those days, I soon discovered that I could pull up close behind a semi-tractor trailer (I loved the smell of burned diesel fuel in the morning) and get sucked along in its wake at 55 mph, while using only about half throttle.  It took me about a year to finally realize that this was not the safest thing to do. And it still isn't....