Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant-53
I would be interested in some pics of your attempted tail piece. I'll try to post mine on photobucket. I suspect something like the Oscar Egg Rocket will work if the fit to the rider is right. My front fairings attach to the frame and go from just below the knee to the shoulder. Don't have a wind tunnel, just a steep hill, speedometer, and a ball of yarn.
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Grant-Our tailpiece didn't get past the wind tunnel stage. We had a GI Joe on a 10-speed model I made from welding rod to scale, and used the fluids lab at Fresno State. The fairings we made were crude, mostly paper, put we got about what we expected out of the front piece. The rear just didn't work. I tried lots of tape and paper combinations to understand it better, but they all just added drag.
You might do just fine with one on a real bike if you get the right fit and separation from the front is minimized.
We just concluded that for a partial fairing, the separation already creates the drag and the tail piece is too far back on the shape to prevent it. Once you get separation, you don't really have a streamliner anymore.
I would still like to see someone make one work! Send pics!
BTW- coast down testing can tell you a lot if you do it right and repeat enough runs.