time to fully enclose my bike

[bschloop]

Originally Posted by godscountry

very nice,i suggest if you haven't seen it,is the Honda 125,built with a streamlined body, despite weighing a extra 88 lbs,it doubled his mileage to over 200 mpg.He has some nice photos on how he did the body,might be worth,spending some time checking it out.Also you might try to find some information about the BMW Simple concept vehicle,because the body has a drag coefficient 0.18,but the best part,it is all flat panels,you could do some measurements from the photos and using a large paper cutter ,cut sheets of Aluminum,Their are some nice panels available,I will give you the link,take care.214 MPG DIY Super-Aerodynamic Modified Honda 125cc Motorbike : TreeHugger

I have seen the honda streamliner, and the simple. they are both great vehicles, and there are many other excellent examples of well built streamlining, but I can't find one that is available to the general public at a reasonable price. so, I will make my own.

all flat panels is not a good design for a bike due to side wind stability issues.

[bschloop]

Does anyone know what the cam timing is supposed to be on my bike? I was going over it in preparation for attempting to tune up the engine, and I checked the cam sprocket vs the mark on the rotor, and they don't line up perfectly. the mark on the rotor is just past center when the mark on the cam lines up. would this be considered advanced, or retarded? and what effect will it have?

[user removed]

Depends of the direction of rotation of the engine. If the cam mark is after the mark in the direction of rotation it is advanced. It would reach the mark before the crank had reached its proper mark which means the cam is advanced in realtion to the crank.

regards
Mech

[bschloop]

the cam mark is after the rotor mark in the direction of rotation.

[bschloop]

OK so this means that my cam timing is retarded, what will that mean for my FE. I am running the engine at lower than normal rpms for any given speed, and it runs slightly hotter than normal. it also has a hard time starting in cold temperatures. will bringing the cam timing back to stock timing help with any of these issues? will it be likely to increase power or FE? either would probably be a good thing.

[PeterS]

Originally Posted by bschloop

I have seen the honda streamliner, and the simple. they are both great vehicles, and there are many other excellent examples of well built streamlining, but I can't find one that is available to the general public at a reasonable price. so, I will make my own.

all flat panels is not a good design for a bike due to side wind stability issues.

Maybe flat panels are better in side winds that nicely curved ones, those smooth curves we love are perfect for generating side lift.

[bschloop]

my last fairing was mostly flat panels, and did not do as well in side winds as Craig's.

[redyaris]

Has any one seen any research papers on the subject of; cross wind affects on motorcycles?

[bschloop]

I have not read any papers on crosswind effects on motorcycles, but I have experienced them on a partially streamlined very light bike. the streamlining I had last year was ok in crosswinds, but worse than the stock bike (not by much). it was more stable at speed though. this year I hope to improve crosswind stability while making the bike lighter. so far, all evidence leads me to believe that a more rounded profile will increase side wind stability.

[sendler]

Originally Posted by bschloop

improve crosswind stability

You will want to consider the option to leave a big vent from one side of the bike to the other, located 25% of the length from the nose to vent the pressure differential that the sideways airfoil shape is trying to generate when a cross wind combines with the forward motion wind to create an angle of attack.
.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/289130-post162.html
.
I also believe that keeping the center of pressure when viewed from the side as low as possible will help, in addition to the bike's trail, to self correct by automatically leaning into the crosswinds. I've noticed most faired super sport bikes and race bikes have body work along the bottom that starts just behind the front tire and almost drags the ground under full compression. So in other words, as much side area as low to the ground as they can get.