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Old 06-23-2013, 08:36 PM   #154 (permalink)
sendler
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Syracuse, NY USA
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Honda CBR250R FI Single - '11 Honda CBR250R
90 day: 105.14 mpg (US)

2001 Honda Insight stick - '01 Honda Insight manual
90 day: 60.68 mpg (US)

2009 Honda Fit auto - '09 Honda Fit Auto
90 day: 38.51 mpg (US)

PCX153 - '13 Honda PCX150
90 day: 104.48 mpg (US)

2015 Yamaha R3 - '15 Yamaha R3
90 day: 80.94 mpg (US)

Ninja650 - '19 Kawasaki Ninja 650
90 day: 72.57 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant-53 View Post
Craig's aero Helix
One thing for sure is that the cg of the Helix is much lower than the NInja. Scooters have the cylinders more horizontal and the other transmission pulleys and housings are at the same height as the axle. The fuel tank is also much lower. Which makes a scooter feel much lighter to hold up at a stop. But it will require a slightly greater lean angle to negotiate a corner than a bike with a higher cg. And it would also tend to dampen and reduce the lateral movement of the wheels as they try to translate out with a side wind through trail to self correct the bike to lean into the wind.
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But these are all nitpicks on the road. Going back to the original question of wanting to add side bag type storage to the trunk. It is a fine idea. It certainly won't be worse to carry weight there. I just wanted to point out my own findings that carrying additional mass in a line along the passenger seat is nearly right on the cg of the roll axis and is nothing to worry about. If the side bag area could move the mass forward it would be a good thing. But you have to keep in mind one of my favorite Vetter edicts. "Make sure any complexity you add to a design is worth the trouble". The trunk as it is now is huge. Any space that could be added down into the sides would be fairly slim.
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