those packaged with the screen) require said bits. A few clumsy drops of hardware and 15
minutes after beginning, the install was complete. Two of the windscreen’s attri- butes struck me immediately: its overall height compared to the OEM unit and its vertical orientation. Although these obser- vations seem fairly unexceptional for a windscreen upgrade, they nevertheless had a larger-than-expected impact on the qual- ity of my riding experience post-install. The additional height of
the ZTechnik VStream windscreen provides far more protection than the OEM unit. As painful an understatement as this is, I believe it’s worth stating because the windscreen comes in three different height options. At 5’11’’, the 19-inch (48.2-centimeter) tall, 18.5-inch (47-centi- meter) wide screen is the perfect size for me. While riding my local
highways at 80 mph, all but the vents atop my hel- met are positioned inside the air bubble with the windscreen in the lowered position, leaving my head comfortably ventilated in the Texas sun. In the upper position, I find the wind deflec- tion is a little too good for hot days. It’s worth noting that I chose to mount the ZTechnik VStream windscreen to the upper mounting points on the R 1200 RS. Were I an inch or two shorter I would have mounted the screen to the bike’s lower mounting points, doubtless producing sim- ilar, if not identical, results. For those of you who take pride in riding
no matter the weather conditions, I discov- ered a special bonus feature that comes with this windscreen: an “automatic face shield wiper.” While riding in a Texas thunder- storm, I discovered that when the ZTechnik VStream windscreen is in the upper posi- tion (manipulated by hand), a vortex forms at highway speed which continually clears
my face shield of water droplets. Perhaps this is an unexpected byproduct of my height and the way I chose to mount the screen. If, by chance, this was a design fea- ture, it missed the official press release. Complementing the windscreen’s addi-
tional wind protection is its mounting ori- entation. Admittedly, when Paul Gomez mentioned this design feature and described how it improves the rider’s expe- rience, I was skeptical. Although it runs counter to the original phrase, you might
might note this windscreen doesn’t model the hard lines of the OEM unit or, for that matter, the R 1200 RS as a whole. There is an aftermarket touring windscreen that is an aesthetic match to the R 1200 RS, but again, that’s a personal call. Second, ZTechnik might consider
including a plastic, hand-driven T15 bit for performing the necessary bolting and unbolting of hardware during the install process. I only mention this because I may have stripped a Torx bolt by using a cross- head screwdriver a while back. Okay, it happened last week, but I digress. Since the installation instructions don’t stipulate torque specifications, it stands to reason that hand- torqueing the included hardware with a manufac- turer-provided tool wouldn’t be out of the question. Help us out, ZTechnik! The ZTechnik VStream
Sport/Tour windscreen for the BMW R 1200 RS is a peach of an upgrade. After riding 300 miles (back roads, interstate highways, and Texas thunderstorms), I was challenged to find
say my sight has become faith
— hallelujah! The upper mounting points for the
ZTechnik VStream windscreen are spaced out thanks to a pair of boots that push the screen up and out into the wind. This makes the windscreen far more capable of…breaking the wind. Additionally, I have no doubt this is why my riding experience has become much quieter. Before I let you get back to your day, the
football game, or that person at the coffee shop who insists on interrupting your espresso to ask how fast your bike goes, here are a couple of minor, subjective call- outs where ZTechnik could have over- delivered. First, if you love German engineering but still fancy yourself some- thing of a form-over-function person, you
anything wrong with it. The only thing left to test is the three-year warranty against breakage. As a parting note, if you knock your bike over while chasing your dog through the garage and happen to break your screen, call Paul Gomez at 708-343- 0400. I’m told the warranty will still apply.
ZTechnik VStream Sport/Tour Wind-
screen for BMW R 1200 RS: $214.95 Contact:
nationalcycle.com
PROS: Quick install via supplied hardware | Excellent wind deflection | Height options for various sizes of rider | 3-year warranty against breakage | Wind noise reduction.
CONS: Torx bit not included for install | Looks could be more spot-on.
December 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS 25
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