View Single Post
Old 12-02-2012, 10:48 AM   #35 (permalink)
cvetter
EcoModding Apprentice
 
cvetter's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Carmel, CA, USA
Posts: 110
Thanks: 0
Thanked 75 Times in 53 Posts
Vetter answers questions about streamlining

It is horsepower that consumes your fuel.
A vehicle with more horsepower consumes more fuel.
A vehicle with less horsepower consumes less fuel.
Streamlining allows less horsepower to do the job
Therefore, streamlining and horsepower go together.
In American road conditions, 70 mph, into headwinds, etc. we are learning that somewhere around 18 HP* will do the job.

Most 18 HP bikes will not go 70 mph, into a 30 mph headwind, over mountain passes...etc etc. Streamlined, they will. You can see from 5 years of experimenting on my web page that 100mpg can be achieved in normal driving with no change in driving habits. 100 mpg driving the way we really drive is pretty good.
With less than 18 hp and you cannot go typical American speeds.

More than 18 hp would allow you to be able to go faster. You would not notice much in the way of reduced fuel consumption since you have too much horsepower.

Strong demand for streamlined kits? It appears that there is no demand at all. Even among Ecomodders, only one thinks he might buy a nose kit. Read this thread.

If I finish the tooling, I will be happy to sell him or you a nose kit.

By the way... for pricing, I simply double the cost from my fiberglass supplier.

*18 hp is approximate. We are still homing in on the right number
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to cvetter For This Useful Post:
aerohead (08-30-2013)