Friday, May 22, 2015

Naked Screen

Log Item: There are two sorts of street bikes - naked and dressed.

The Diavel is a 'naked bike' because it's not equipped with luggage bags, a faring and so forth. One thing that you immediately notice when riding a naked bike is the pressure of the wind, particularly at freeway speeds (70-75). One option is to install a windscreen - and I'm not talking a windshield. A windscreen is much smaller and serves to divert wind rather than block it. A windscreen usually results in less helmet buffeting than many windshields cause.

Ducati makes them -- allegedly, but the parts department at the dealership was unable to find a part number for them. So maybe Ducati stopped making them?

Let's face it, Ducati parts cost roughly double what they should. So my search widened to Puig (pronounced "pooge" with a soft g), a Spanish company that makes after market stuff for motorcycles. Here are the installation instructions (Link). That sounds easy enough, right?

Rant: Not so fast. There are four distributors of Puig products in the USA: in Florida, Texas, Idaho and Arizona. So far, I've contacted the distributors in Idaho and Arizona to acquire this windscreen. (the cost is about $100) Neither of them have responded to e-mail. The Texans only sell to other dealers and blew me off. The people in Florida don't answer their phone.

I'm not locked into a Puig windscreen, but I'm running out of places to look. I do know a guy that deals in windscreens for motorcycles, but he doesn't make them for Ducati. I may end up getting him to make one for me, custom. If I talk nice, maybe he'll use my bike for a prototype and advertisement and I can scam one for free? The only problem with that is I have issues with waiting. (patience is a virtue, catch it if you can, you'll find it in a woman, but never in a man)

Update: I bought the windscreen that I want from "Motivation Accessories", Austin, TX.  I had to pay about double wholesale, but that's life.

12 comments:

  1. Austin's only preposterously expensive now because of all the Californians that have moved here... :) Next time, put me up to the task and I'll show up in person and try to get a better deal for you.

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    1. Austin has been californicated and that's no joke. Next time I'll put the pit bull with lipstick on the job.

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    2. Well, now that you've categorized me as a dog, I'm skimming 80% of the savings off the top. :)

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    3. Tiger with lipstick on, then....

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    4. Much better. I'll only skim 50%. ;)

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    5. A much easier tariff to endure.

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  2. Very good patience point, LL. Women are always patient, of course, except when they aren't, which is never.

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    1. I've learned that women are not patient with ME. I thought that they were patient with everyone else.

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    2. What's that you say, LL, about the reality around you responding to your own perception of it? hmmmm... :)
      (And if I botched that, forgive me. I was too impatient to go hunt down your exact verbiage.)

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    3. (actually, to be fair, I think I've learned the most about patience from men.)

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    4. "The world around you is a reflection of your reaction to the world around you."

      And my problem is mostly with myself in that I am not patient with me.

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    5. There, see? I've just learned a little bit more.

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