2012 Vetter Fuel Economy Challenges

[cvetter]

I am sorry to read this about Diesels. As for me, my job is to figure out the streamlining. I look to others - you perhaps - to discover the best power source.* In the end, the best energy in the best engine/motor will go faster and farther in the best streamlining. I am finishing up the streamlining on my Helix. Take a look at Chapter 59

*Personally, I think we will all be better off harvesting our energy as directly from the sun as possible.

Craig Vetter

[Frank Lee]

The diesel thing is a bummer. If only there were fewer people putting on fewer miles in vehicles with fewer cylinders... perhaps then the lower particulate emissions would be beneath a threshold where they are troublesome.

[redyaris]

My experiance at the 2012 Vetter Challenge
The pace was as advetised "...the way we really drive..." which is 10 or more mph above the posted speed limit. This was the pace set by the California Motorcycle Police, and was consistant with what we all see on a daily bases. The course started out on some twisty wet roads that most of the rideres could not keep up with the pace set by the lead police bike, then the road changed to straighter sections with big wide turns and we averaged close to 80 mph with one stop at a winnery and the next stop was at Laguna Seca race track were we got to do two laps at what ever pace we could manage. I managed to do three laps because I started out at the front of the first group and finished my second lap when the second group was still coming out onto the track. My fuel economy suffered with winding the motor up past 10000 rpm but I was having to much fun
When you look at the mpg numbers posted for the Carmel event keep in mind how fast we were riding which makes the results even more impresive.
I personaly do not drive at this pace on the road I usualy drive the posted speed limit and at my pace I usualy can get better than 80 mpg where as at the Vetter Challenge I got 69.8mpg which I would guess is 20 mpg better than what I would get without partial streamlining of my GS500.
What I have learned is that to find out what I will get at the Vetter Challenge I will have to average 75 mph and see what the results are.

With repect to the best results from the least $$ spent our own Vic Valdes was the winner, with his coroplast covered Ninja 250. The shiniest low cost winner was Craig Vetter himself with his all aluminium covered tail with lights that all worked. Allen Smith gets the prize for the best all round package who always managed to stay with the front group. The diesles although very good on fuel they are not on the market and would be out of the price range for most. My own bike has the potential for an other 20 mpg into the low 90 mpg range, with full streamlining, but may never get to the 100 mpg Vetter Challenge standard.
I am continuing work on the VT 500, and now that I know how to test under Vetter conditions, I hope to get into the 2.5L/100km, 94mpg range.

[Nerys]

huh those sure are not normal speeds for me. I NEVER go faster than 50-55mph (usually 50mph) except if I am semi surfing.

period. I don't care what the road it is. pa turnpike 50mph nj expressway 50mph.

[cvetter]

Vetter here: Redyaris came down a couple of days earlier to help and help he did.

Thank you so much. You are why the lights did work so well.

Regarding the pace of the Quail Challenge. I told you it could be tough. The Challenge in Ohio was very different last year and will probably be the same in 2012. Conditions are just different in the MidWest. Now... Consider the Las Vegas to Barstow Challenge. Last year the speeds were high as was the wind. But that area could be a lot tougher. It could be scary if there was snow. I would cancel in such conditions.
We are only two years into these new Challenges. If you go back and read about the Vetter Contests of 1980-85, you will see that we had pretty much learned everything important in six years. I figure this will happen again. Craig

[redyaris]

Let me explain why "...the way we really drive..." is important as a standard.
On the one side we hear complaints about how the EPA standard is useless, because no one drives like the EPA standard for compairing motor vehicles. On the other side are the hypermiles, like us, who can get 30% to 0ver 100% above EPA Standard for comparing motor vehicles.
In my case the way I really drive my GS500 gets better than 80mpg yet under, the way most people drive, a semi streamlined GS500 they would get 70 mpg.
The overwellming majority of drivers are unlikely to change there behaviour, so what "...the way we really drive..." Standard tells us is what the average driver can get/expect from streamlining vehicles.
Driving the way I really drive my 500cc stream lined motorcycles will get better than 100 mpg, the average driver on the same bike will get 85 mpg...

The beauty of streamlineing a motorcycle from a hypermilers point of view is that as the aero drag drops the range of hypermiling tools that can be used expands as does the amount of time in use, so that by hypermiling a 500cc streamlined motorcycle we could get as much as 150mpg!

[sendler]

Originally Posted by redyaris

...the way we really drive...

Of course Craig's point is that he isn't trying to encourage people to build competition vehicles. They already did that 20 years ago. He wants people to promote real world vehicles that can run fast and stable enough to keep from getting run over by the "normal" people still driving their gas guzzling SUV's way too fast.

[cvetter]

"The way we really drive" is spot on. Back in the 1980s, those wonderful 400 + mpg streamlined motorcycles of the Vetter Fuel Economy Contests ended up in museums, changing nothing.

I am here to encourage you to develop vehicles you will really want to use, not just ride to competitions. It is becoming clear that the driving in various parts of the country can be very different. The Ohio Vetter Challenge of 2011 was relatively slow... 50 mph, on beautiful meandering roads. Less power was needed. Less fuel was consumed. We can look pretty good there. Las Vegas to Barstow can have 30-40 mph head and/or sidewinds with much higher speeds. California has all this plus high mountain passes. It is much harder to consume less fuel the way we really drive in Western conditions.

I live in California. My role as a designer is to develop the streamlining. It follows, then, that the streamlining developed for the American West will address the more extreme problems. Those of you who top out at 55 mph with no headwinds will find that the streamlining I am developing will be very useful. We all need to be able to carry a useful load.
My role is also to also provide a venue - The Vetter Challenges - for all who care about these matters to meet, ride and learn.
Craig Vetter, designer

[sendler]

Excellent write up and photos on page 60 at craigvetter.com. The real bikes were whining that the streamliners were allowed to ride at the front of the group and would slow them down. As it turns out, the steamliners blew them away being nowhere in sight at the first rest stop.
.
2012 Vetter Streamliner-Chap 60

[cvetter]

You got this right. The story got better. This first stage of the Ride was uphill, over a mountain pass. It was all downhill after that. When we got to the bottom, we turned north into the 35-40 mph headwind. That is when I hit 77 mph a couple of times on my streamlined Helix. We still led the pack because some of those bikes could not do that!

Streamlining is really effective. More pics and stories coming.

Craig