For years this has bothered me and has led to quite a few bikes being sold, especially BMW RTs which always funnel air into my face whatever screen height I've got. I've used all earplugs from yellow foam to custom made to the current Alpine Moto-safe race ones which are the best yet and I have had a vast array of screen types, fittings and experiments over the years. A K1100LT with a tall screen is fantastic, Guzzi Stelvio with the Palmer screen very good, Pan 1300 with screen in the high position was great, a V Strom with a Madstad not bad and with a Givi Airflow pretty good. Most other screens are unbearable despite endless tweaking! Bikes get bought, loved, ridden and then sold on when I run out of ideas to improve the noise situation.

I wear an HJC I90 which has a tested rating of 102dB. I tried out a £450 RPHA 91 HJC helmet with a rating of 95dB. In my practical test this was louder at low speed with whistling over the visor and the same at 50+mph. So much for the extra expense and so much for the 'scientific' testing.

Next, I'll try a £500 Schuberth C5 which I've always understood to be the gold standard. We'll see...

In the meantime, I've filled the speaker and strap cavities in my I90 with foam cut from new dish scourers and I intend to fit a velcroed on foam mat between the chin strap and built in chin skirt - experiments with a gloved hand at speed suggest this area is the key source of noise at 50+ mph so I'm looking forward to testing it. If that makes the significant difference that my gloved fingers did I'll come up with a more elegant version for proper use.

My recently acquired R80, which I'd dearly like to keep, has the S fairing and a flip screen. Despite fitting the lower, standard, screen, the wind noise is bad. Enough, despite earplugs, to give the rock concert effect for a couple of days after a 150 mile ride. I don't think this is the fairing but just being in the wind at speed.

I'm hoping the Heath Robinson measures will make a difference. Tbh I don't hold out much hope for the Schuberth after the RPHA experience but it's great to discover that top of the range helmets might not be all they are cut out to be in the noise area. I can spend the cash on a custom seat for the V Strom instead to eliminate its one area of rubbishness.

On my V Strom with a Givi airflow screen things are quite bearable. On the MZ too because it rarely gets above 50mph for long. I do wonder if my days of riding faster naked bikes are over, perhaps I've become more sensitive to the wind issue. I don't think it's the S fairing screen so much as being in clean air at speed.

I'd be very interested to hear any other solutions. I suspect being 6'4" probably isn't helpful on a bike.