Okay, this is my first ever post on this forum, but I have been a lurker here over the past few years. First time for everything, I guess.
I have recently been making some basic google sketchup models of ideas I have had for aerodynamic fairings for scooters.
The main things to consider in designing something like this are:
- Visibility
- Comfort/No distractions like heat or cold
- No restriction in movement
- Fuel efficiency (of course)
- Road legality (number plates, indicators and parking spots)
- Weight
- Speed (Many scooters are maxed out on level ground at about 80 Km/h, but preferably should be able to keep up with cars going a bit faster.)
- Compactness (storage could become annoying for a larger fairing)
- Looks (because why not?)
- Ease of construction with available materials
- Cost
- Easy to get on and off, for changing oil, etc.
- Stability
- Ability to handle crosswinds. *Important issue
- Safety
With all these things in mind, I have made a lot of different models and mixed and stretched those to find the ideal fairing I'd like to make. My main issues that still need to be solved are the problem of crosswinds, and the road legality of the scooter with the fairing.
I have read up on Craig Vetter and his experiments with this, and they seem promising, aside from his problems with wind.
Any help/ advice anyone here can give me for this project would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
Here are some images of my renders, taken with a camera to make them harder for people to copy and claim as their own:
(I'll post them in the comments since the website won't let me post links because I have no previous posts here, which seems a little odd to me.)
Obviously all of this is just conceptual, nothing is final yet and this is just my brainstorming process. Any feedback would be just as appreciated as advice!