First highway ride - some questions

[Voltzz]

Hi guys,

I'm a new rider on an N400 and just went out for my first highway ride today. Two things bothered me when going ~80mph on 880 and I'm not sure if they're normal:

1. I wear EarPeace plugs, but despite that, all I could hear was the wind (no car sounds, barely any engine rev). It wasn't at all painful, but is this how it's supposed to be? Am I damaging my hearing by not putting the EarPeace on correctly? Any tips to fix this?

2. Above 70 mph, there was a lot of wind pushing my bike around and also bouncing my head up/down and side to side, especially when checking my blind spots. I have a good helmet (RF-1200 with vents open) and tried to lean my body toward the front of the bike and loosen my grip, but it didn't really help. I didn't veer off my lane, but I felt like I was constantly fighting the wind and can't imagine riding 1+ hours like that. What am I doing wrong?

 

[ejv]

Likely helmet fit around the base. Most noise comes up from the base around the neck and to the ears rather than through the helmet. When I wear a balaclava, I can ride without ear plugs. The wind noise goes down drastically.
Otherwise I wear custom Westones. Either way all the sound goes down, wind included.

As far as getting battered around that could be a pressure differential or bubble where your head is or just not a very good handling helmet. Or again if it's a really poor fit it will move around a bit. I don't have any experience with the Shoei. But each of my helmets have handled differently in high speed air.

You might looking into adjusting the windscreen to something different. That works for a lot of people. I have mostly ridden naked bikes so I don't worry about that. I just worry about the helmet.

 

[ejv]

BTW I borrowed a friend's ninja 400 for a few weeks and did about 100 freeway miles. I don't recall any unusual noise or feel from the wind. I'm about 5'11" if that helps. IIRC I wore both my Corsair V and my RPHA 11 Pro when riding it.

 

[thepretender]

Could be that the windscreen puts the wind where it hits your helmet and causes buffeting.

Slow down until you get a bit more experience this will let you relax more it is likely holding on too tight increased any instability.

 

[Butch]

We are irregular shapes traveling though a dynamic medium. Get used to it. Some equipment can make it less dynamic, but hey, it is dynamic. Enjoy the challenge. Embrace the skilz required.

Be gnarly. Be the best.

 

[Pking]

Agreed to all said. I would just add that wind pushing, and wind noise is going to happen to some degree when riding on the freeway. Those are just the dynamics and nuances of being out there in the elements on the motorcycle vs riding enclosed from the elements in a car. You'll get use to it as you keep putting miles in.

 

[Voltzz]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm not too bothered by it, just wanted to make sure I'm not doing it wrong. Sounds like it's just a matter of getting used to it for the most part!

 

[Gary856]

I don't know how well EarPeace ear plugs work, but with properly worn/working ear plugs the wind noise is greatly muffled, about the same as when you're driving a quiet car with windows closed. You should be able to hear the engine, the exhaust, and other ambient sound. Try to insert the plugs deeper into the ear canals. I test the effectiveness of ear plugs by clapping my hands next to each ear. When the plugs are properly inserted, I could hear the hand claps at a much lower volume, without the sharpness.

It takes a little time for your neck to get stronger to withstand the wind blast. When I was a new rider, my neck used to get sore from the wind pushing against the helmet, especially when I turned my head sideway.

 

[dravnx]

Make sure your Earpeace plugs are correctly sized for your ear and you have the correct attenuators installed.
The best you'll get with them is 26 dB attenuation advertised. Cheap drug store foamies are 32dB. Something odd about Earpeace is they rate their attenuators as SNR, signal to noise, which in my mind is miss-leading so I don't know if their attenuation ratings are even legit. I use Etytomic ear plugs for concerts and they appear to be the same as the Earpeace. The Etytomic do not attenuate all frequencies equally so you can hear music more dynamically. I would not use them for riding.
Watch a vid on correctly inserting ear plugs and try a set of foamies to see if it's any better. I see many riders incorrectly wearing ear plugs.
Hearing loss is cumulative. I have hearing loss and tinnitus and wish I had taken better care of my hearing in the past. Tinnitus sucks. Protect your hearing.

 

[DannoXYZ]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm not too bothered by it, just wanted to make sure I'm not doing it wrong. Sounds like it's just a matter of getting used to it for the most part!

Yeah it’s normal. You’ll really notice it when there’s crosswinds or wind coming at you from angle. Try different position of head, up & down. I found double-bubble windshield on my Ninja 250 really helps with noise and gives me 2-3mph higher top-speed.

I’ve also put a 1” dent in top of tank to put my chin into, helps get helmet below top of windshield.

 

[budman]

Right on man...:thumbup

The wind part will become normal too you. At times heavy winds will challenge you but it all comes together after a while.

I have never had custom ear plugs myself. I just use the orange construction grade ones. I still hear a bit of wind.. a bit of my motor. I am sure that will become normal to you as well.

Have fun man... :ride

 

[Maddevill]

There's a chance that your helmet is a size too big. It should be pretty snug on your melon when new. Not to the point of pain but enough to squash your cheeks a bit. If it's at all loose, it will dramatically increase wind noise and the helmet wobbling around.

Mad

 

[fiteg]

Could be that the windscreen puts the wind where it hits your helmet and causes buffeting.

Slow down until you get a bit more experience this will let you relax more it is likely holding on too tight increased any instability.

+1 on grip pressure

get your weight onto your pegs, tuck down a bit, grab the tank with your knees and go jelly from the waist up

 

[FoolishMortal]

There's a chance that your helmet is a size too big. It should be pretty snug on your melon when new. Not to the point of pain but enough to squash your cheeks a bit. If it's at all loose, it will dramatically increase wind noise and the helmet wobbling around.

Mad

My thought exactly. :thumbup

 

[berth]

Slow down until you get a bit more experience this will let you relax more it is likely holding on too tight increased any instability.

Favorite rule of thumb from a traffic school instructor a zillion years ago.

"If you're holding the wheel/handlebars too tight, you're going too fast."

It's a simple metric that reflects your comfort factor with your environment.

 

[CABilly]

A couple things for noise: look into getting custom moulded earplugs. They are a total game changer and don't come loose when you put your helmet on.

I noticed my RF1100 got a LOT quieter and had less buffetting when I tilted it down more. Try pulling the chin piece down farther so you're looking out more from the top of the shield. Also use the inserts on the bottom to block wind from coming in.

 

[Voltzz]

Update: been riding a lot on the highways and definitely have gotten a lot more comfortable. 85 mph does not bother me at all now.

Going to look into custom molded earplugs - thank you for the tips!

I'd love to dip my neck below the windscreen but that feels pretty uncomfortable for me at 6' on a tiny ninja...maybe I need to stretch more

 

[Climbingynonc]

I am impressed. I am a returning rider and have been riding locally and doing parking lot sessions aboutmonce a week. With some trepidation, I hopped on 101 today. It went fine and I enjoyed it but I was not going fast. I checked a few times and it seemed I was naturally going the posted speed limit which was slower than a lot of the cars around me but hopefully not a hazard. I am not interested in being. Speed demon but would like to get more comfortable going faster for the sake of safety and fun. Planning on an intermediate rider course when they start up again.

 

[Beanzy]

Voltzz, think about slowing down. Because CHP will give you a speeding ticket, one expensive speeding ticket. Eighty or less, maybe not.

 

[DannoXYZ]

Well, 85 on Ninja 400 speedo (like most others) is optimistic. It's actually closer to 76mph. Nothing to worry about.

Freeway riding is actually easier, don't let speed be an indicator of anything. Most dangerous places are actually on city streets where you have to deal with much larger variations in speed and cross-traffic. Don't get complacent just because you're not going fast.