2012 Vetter Challenger Build ( 1981 Yamaha SR185 streamliner)

[bschloop]

new cost update, small purchases like the electronic flasher relay, a new brake light switch, Windshield plastic, a roll of aluminum for the belly pan, 2 cpu cooling fans, a temperature sensor, primer, and leds for the taillight make the total now $984. I'm currently working on the windshield, and will post pics when it's finished

[Ptero]

2012 Vetter Challenge results
2012 Vetter Streamliner-Chap 60

[bschloop]

Thanks Ptero, I've been keeping tabs on this years challenges too, and it's interesting to see how the field seems to have narrowed a bit this year with the more strict carry requirement. the shape of your cargo compartment makes quite a difference after all.

[offalot]

hey. Ive been following this for a little bit. Looking good. I am also building a SR185. Right now I am focusing on making it as lightweight as possible. Once it is running I may play with aerodynamics a bit. Maybe even join you in the challenge next year. I will however, more then likely, make it down to mid Ohio this year and cheer you on. Any updates as of late?

[bschloop]

offalot, it's nice to know at least someone else has one of these sweet little rides, I don't see it getting much lighter though, I can almost dead lift mine when the fairings are off it's so light. I look forward to meeting you in Ohio, are you bringing a bike?

As to whether there are any updates, the answer is a big YES!
I got the windshield mounted, and a coat of red paint over the whole fairing, I found a paint that matches the tank fairly well. I also found a cooling setup that works very well, I put a scoop on either side of the fairing that is ducted to the front of the cylinder, I left the cylinder open to the air instead of trying to force the air past it. this seems to do the job well, as my cylinder head temp gauge stays below 350F at cruising speed, and drops back to 300F when I drop the engine speed to idle. I tested the bike with no fairing, and this seems to be normal operating temp, so I should be safe for cooling. I may still install the fans for summer riding, but I don't think I'll need them much.

Here are some pics of the almost finished bike.

[offalot]

Originally Posted by bschloop

, I don't see it getting much lighter though, I can almost dead lift mine when the fairings are off it's so light. I look forward to meeting you in Ohio, are you bringing a bike?

You would be surprised. I will try and get pictures of the bike, but it is unrecognizable from the original bike. I weighed the bike crudely before I started in on it and it seemed to weight a little over 200 lbs which I was pretty impressed with. I'm sure I took a large percentage of it off.
You're bike is looking good, can't wait to see how she does. I only figured out yesterday that the whole competition is on Friday, not sure if I can take off of work, I was definitely going to come down Saturday, we'll see. If the SR is done by then I may ride it or I might just ride my KLR cuz its reliable.

[bschloop]

a good way to get a reliable weight for any vehicle is to bring it down to a local scrap yard, and ask to put it on their scale. they are very accurate. I would love to see some pics of your bike. The plan for mine is to ride it the way it is this summer, and then over the winter, I want to build A more refined version of my fairing. That one will be all fiberglass made using wet lay up in female molds so that I can keep the tooling, and reproduce it at will.I might want to do some weight reduction at that point, but right now it's pretty heavy with all the body work.

if you can come on saturday, that's when they go over the results, and most of the bikes are still there. It would be worthwhile, I think.

[DIMS]

Diesel is the way for ultimate milage i guess
Thanks for sharing results! I have not seen much of it lately but the claimed 150mpg Thunderstar was a lupo diesel motorcycle without all the aero dynamics. The pic shows ~94 mpg ?

[bschloop]

actually, if you look at craig's website, so far the ultimate machine for mileage has been a gas bike built by Charlie Perethian with 150mpg, and he has decided to go with an even smaller engine this year. he has downsized to 200cc. I expect his bike to be around 200 mpg and to blow everyone away in the competition. he has more experience with high mileage modding than pretty much anyone we know.
By the way, this makes him the second smallest engine in the field. only my 185 is smaller.

[Cd]

How hard would it be to create a sliding door that could be pulled back once you are on the bike ? Imagine some thin sheet plastic that you can push forward to exit the bike.
This sheet of plastic could be hinged, which would allow your push it out when you need to put your feet down.
( something like what Basjoos did for his front wheel pants/skirts/kilt )
A half section of the the plastic sheet would be able to be pushed out with your foot.

This would get rid of that last bit of drag that you have from the body gap.