One piece plastic isn't GS vs GSA, it's more of MY: '17.5 GSs have gotten that one-piece cockpit which then carried over to R1250 for both GS and Adv. 3 piece plastic was carried over on GSAs up to and incl. '18 so what you've got on your '18 won't be transferable although you may be able to make it as such - ymmv...
The windshield is transferable to the GS, the side deflectors are not, but GS and GSA have been different in that regard since the LC came to market. I'll check later how different the three piece (my 2018 GSA) vs. the one piece (wife's 2020 GS) is. I can't transfer the installed hand flare extension I have since it's more or less permanently installed with tape, but I can at least take a close look whether it could be made to fit. Edit: just looked at the two bikes and the one piece has a small "ridge" around the cowl, so the adhesive tape would have to be thicker to clear the ridge. I'll likely give it a try at some point over the next few weeks since I do like them. I bet I can make it work somehow. Especially since the Wunderlich side deflectors are many weeks backordered.
You can just see it in the lower image: the one piece has a thickened rim or ridge and the HFX would have to clear that in order to stick properly. That might or might not work without some adjustment, either thicker tape, or some filing, or ... there are options. I'll give it a try at some point and report back. Might be a few weeks though.
On my '19 GSA, I don't notice any turbulence just going down the highway at 10-over. Get behind a car and there is a little, behind a pick-up some more; and behind a semi pulling a lowboy with a dozer on it, or some other really odd-shaped cargo, and the turbulence makes you want to be somewhere else in a hurry. I'm 6-foot with a long torso and run a Puig Touring screen set where I can just see over it. There's also a rubber ball between the screen and the GPS mount to hold the screen in a more upright position. Everyone's set-up will be different and you won't know until you get it as good as you can.
6'3" 2015 GSA. I'm using stock windshield with MRA X-creen Tour spoiler and Cymarc windshield supports (a must IMO). Works great for me. I do wear a dualsport/adv helmet with a visor (aka "peak") so that might contribute to the buffeting/wind noise I get. I imagine a more streamlined street-only lid would cure some of it but have not tried one myself.
I think we sometimes forget the origins of the GS/GSA. It is not a touring bike, but it will tour. Not a sports tourer, but will hang with them. It is not an off-road bike, but good riders can take it off road. My 2010 seemed better...certainly, the windshield In stock form was sturdier...but much harder to adjust. I used the Puig brace with a V-Stream Touring (the middle sized one). Works OK. Still not perfect, but it still allows me to adjust it on the fly, and I like that.
2018 GS Adventure, I'm 6'2" & 225 lbs. Lots of buffeting and very loud (I don't ride without earplugs now) with my Alaska Sheepskin seat pad, Aria Quantum helmet, thick riding pants, and seat in the High/High position (all add height). I bought a Puig Touring screen and it's much better, but wind still hits my forehead area and I get a little buffeting. I think one of those clip on windshield things might resolve this, but I've realized this bike is not a touring machine and adjusted my riding/towing. It's sooo nice to tow 1,000 miles through Texas, unload the bike and just ride. The Adventure model is a lot better highway machine than the standard GS though. Check out the GLT models if you don't want to ride a $25k, 600lb bike off road.
1. Buy a Vstream windscreen. Touring size for.......touring, sport screen for off-roading. 2. Lose the peaked helmet. 3. problem solved.
Very little buffeting with my Puig touring screen (with a peaked helmet). I've also got screen supports on both sides.
I tried a lot of different windshields on the oil head GS's and GS adventures and have tried a lot of different shields on two different liquid-cooled GS's, one of them being the stock adventure shield. After 130,000 mi on two liquid cool GS's I keep the stock standard GS screen on. Even through the winter in Wisconsin I ride in a lot of cold weather, I still have the GSA shield but didn't even put it on this year. I find the stock windshield has less buffeting than the adventure windshield with a little bit more wind overall. Smoother air, I'm 5'11. Not a huge difference and the adventure shield is still all right, but I prefer the stock shield. I really dislike the enormous aftermarket windshields. On the oilhead GS's the Givi 2 piece laminar lip style shield worked great, if you can stand a look at it.
I have two helmets, XD4 and Neotec 2. Neither have a real affect from the amount of buffering. You need to deal with your windscreen adjustment to suit, whether it be a stock screen or aftermarket. Then add an airfoil like the XCreen. Guaranteed.
If you really want to go all in, the windshield is only part of the problem. I noticed that buffeting also happens from air hitting my arms/shoulders and creating turbulence around the side/bottom of my helmet, a windshield needs to have the back-pressure lowered to work better and with less turbulence, and the top edge needs to smooth out the air flow. To attack each of these here's what I have done: Install larger side deflectors. The ones on the LC GSA are a frigging joke, you can as well leave them off, they don't make a difference other than looks. Aeroflow has a decent solution with their Aeroguards, but I have no idea, whether these still fit the current GSA. I had them on a 2018 R1200GSA and they worked well. The Aeroflow Hand Flare Extensions bring air around and make it flow along the back of the windshield, this reduces back-pressure and therefore turbulence at the top and at the sides. They also push air away from the body just a tad more. I had a spoiler from a MRA Vario windshield in the garage that wasn't used and basically new. Since after measures #1 and #2 there was still some turbulence at the top of the windshield, I taped the spoiler on with Gaffers tape to try it out. It worked well enough that I drilled holes and permanently attached the spoiler to my Wunderlich Marathon II windshield. These modifications made the GSA dead quiet for me. It was a lot quieter than a stock RT which is already pretty good. The only issue was insane side or headwinds like they sometimes happen. But to get rid of that, you'd have to drive a car. And before somebody says "the bikes aren't meant for that, live with the wind", I can only say you have no clue what you're talking about and how it is to live with sensitive hearing/tinnitus or other hearing conditions and still want to do long distance rides. I have always done them, but they are so much more enjoyable now.
My shadow reminded me of another issue, when on a recent ride he remarked, "Dude, your posture sucks. Want that hunch back for life?" Without also seeing how a person's upper body is poised in the saddle, other important factors like stature, windscreen, etc are only giving part of the equation.
Good point. For what it's worth, I sit very straight with good posture about 90% of the time. The rest I'm doing "motorcycle yoga", stretching, moving, and generally just shaking out my body. And some points with regards to my post above: I just moved from the GSA to a GS and mounted the old windshield there. I did not do points 1 and 2 yet and it shows. The noise level with just the tried and proven windshield/spoiler combination is higher than on the GSA and comparable to the GSA without 1 and 2 taken care off. So, if you want a quiet long distance vehicle, thse two are important.
Your last paragraph is kind of arrogant. only you know what you're talking about? Just your opinion dude...... And I have tinnitus as well but where earplugs, I like some wind.
No, it's not arrogant, it's about all these a-holes that want to tell someone how they are supposed to feel. Whether that includes you or not, I have no idea so far. If just earplugs work for you, great – that was the case for me for a while. Nowadays I use earplugs in my frigging car for long distances because I've become too sensitive.
2020 GSA I'm 6,3 32 inch inseam and the buffeting and noise was at an deafening level for me with a Neotec 2 helmet. went to a National Cycle tall and all is quiet now. your YMMV
i didnt read the other replies, so apologies if you got your answer. Im 6’2” as well, and i did not find the stock wind screen adequate. I have the taller puig screen which helped quite a bit. That said, im probably going to swap for a California Scientific, or drilling a window out of my puig. Ive realized that Reducing the pressure differential on the back of the windscreen is as important as the size of the windscreen and the type of helmet. Getting the turbulance and rotor out of the airstream is the goal. Best of luck