Electric Windows - on a bike ?

There a a few features of the GP800 that I thought were a bit "gimmicky" when I bought the bike. The obvious one is the handbrake - completely pointless as far as I'm concerned as I always use the centre-stand (in fact, I consider the lack of a centre-stand on many modern bikes an absolute dealbreaker for me but that's another story). To be fair, owners who don't habitually use the centre-stand may find it useful when parking the bike on a hill. Without the ability to leave it in gear, 262kg of expensive Italian metal and plastic could very easily take a tumble.

The other apparently unnecessary feature is the electric screen - but in the last few weeks I've had cause to be very glad it's there. The benefit is certainly marginal with the completely useless standard screen but with the Givi it's an absolute boon.

I generally ride with the Givi screen in it's highest position for maximum protection from the wind- that's why I fitted it after all. It works well and has the added benefit of improving the looks of the already beautiful GP800. In the last few weeks, it's been pretty hot and muggy in London and even wearing an "air" suit, progress in the London rush hour has been stifling. A quick flick on the switch and the difference is immediately noticeable - in fact with the Givi the difference between "up" and "down" is far more marked than with the standard screen.

It even works at higher speeds - drop the screen while filtering up to the toll booths on the M25 at the Dartford Crossing and even if you forget to raise it immediately, the mechanism copes with raising the screen at 70 (ish) mph.

A genuinely useful feature after all :-)

GP800 - Givi Screen

A little while ago I removed the "Heath Robinson" double screen from the GP - aesthetcially I had started to hate it. I was planning to live with the shortcomings of the standard screen during the "Credit Crunch" - but a blustery trip on the M4 combined with driving past a Givi dealer led me to an impulse buy.

The Givi D352ST is a very nice pice of kit. Fitting was a breeze all the holes lined up correctly and it sits perfectly on the bike.

A quick trip up the M1 proved that it is as effective as it is good looking. In the fully upright position it's a little noisy but the buffeting that comes with the standard screen is replaced by a little ripple on the sleeves of the upper arms. On the way back I lowered it and it was much better quieter - but without the windblast that the low position gives you with the standard screen.

£77.74 "all in" from HGB in Ruislip (not a stock item but delivered from Givi in one day) http://www.hgbmotorcycles.co.uk/

GP800 - Alternative Screen Options

The aftermarket is now starting to wake up to the GP800 and there are a number of screen options appearing. Information is still scarce and some of the manufacturers are all as bad as each other when it comes to responding to customer enquiries. There's an honourable exception for Ermax who responded very quickly.

In summary, options seem to be as follows.

1. The official Gilera "Touring" screen -no news there yet (unless anyone knows differently and would like to let me know about price and availability)


2. The Ermax "Aeromax" screen http://www.ermax.fr/nouveaute-GP_800_2008-153.html This is quite a nice looking bit of kit and the UK price is £73.36. This one is available in a variety of tints and is 60cm tall.


3. The Givi "D352ST" http://www.givi.co.uk/caschi_borse_bauli_accessori.asp?CO_ID=28234 Clear only and I can't find a price anywhere. 12cm higher than the standard screen (60cm the same as the Ermax) but no wider.


4. The Secdem - this one's a bit of a mystery. I found a reference to a GP800 screen on a Japanese site and heard that it was made by Sedcem. I've e-mailed Baglux (UK importers) but heard absolutely nothing. As their screens for BMWs are fairly well rated as an economy option, I'm expecting this one to be cheaper than the others - but again no news yet. I can't even find Secdem's website so I think they've "gone to ground" somewhere.


5. Make your own. This came from a suggestion by JT at Thompsons and the next post will detail exactly how I did it. In essence, it's the standard screen for an MP3 fitted over the GP800's screen on rubber spacers. There was an awful lot of cutting, shaping and trial and error involved but it does work. And it will suffice until I've been able to make a proper comparison with the 4 "proper" screens listed above.

GP800 - Leo Vince Exhaust

It looks like the Givi Screen for the GP800 is imminent and I suspect this will also herald the OE Touring screen as I guess it will be made by Givi like the topbox (it may even arrive before I get any reply from Sedcem who seem unwilling to actually sell their GP800 screen). However, while looking for pictures of the Givi screen on the 'net, I found this, the Leo Vince exhaust. It looks very nice - far better than the twin silencers of the OE pipe.

There is one small problem with it. It's £550 (€687). Now as I don't ride R1/Gixer/Blades, I don't know if that's normal but it seems like an awful lot of money to me.

I presume that it saves weight and every little will help the GP800 and I bet it sounds gorgeous but I don't reckon that it'll be going on my shopping list any time soon. At £550 it costs more than my whole K75 is worth.