Aerodynamic motorcycle cloth idea??
 

A while ago I was wondering about taking some heavy duty cloth and sewing it together so that it fit tightly around my bike and me when riding to increase its aerodynamics at higher speeds?? I was thinking if it was strong and somewhat stretchy it would make a really good aerodynamic add on that's easy to remove when driving around town, then stretch back on when driving over 50mph??

The use of fabric has occurred to me for aerodynamic purposes. I'd think you'd want something that doesn't stretch, or it is going to end up distorting and catching wind instead of letting it flow over smoothly. I was thinking tightly stretch nylon or the like. Smooth and non-stretching.

Check into the materials that land-speed bicyclists wear.

Several/many HPVs use stretchy material for bodywork.

Wouldn't really want it to be attached too firmly to the rider... especially if the bike were to go down. Not a happy thing if it then drags you with it down the road or if it begins to flip. Maybe more of a thing where it just presses into the rider along with foam rubber edging to keep the gap closed between the rider and any sort of fairing behind. The rider would/should still be able to push back and sit more upright/lean back on that part of the rider/fairing interface... just an idea.

Stubby79 I was thinking of having channels that you could put some 1/2 inch pvc pipe through for better stability?? I was also thinking that if it was done right you could make it like a roll cage also so that as you slide it transfers most if not all the damage to the pipes rather then the bike or rider???

I've been working on fairings for a pedal bike that has a hoop in the cowl fairing and a bulkhead at the rider's back. The side panels hinge up and out. The sheet magnets and air pressure are used instead of a latch. The cowl is Coroplast and the bulkhead is honeycomb aluminum. The tail box and sides are reinforced skins of 1" hex wire mesh bonded between sheets of 5 mil tarp plastic. For a motorcycle use aluminum ribs and ABS skin. PVC might crack and wood might splinter in a crash. Consider an inertial reel lap belt.

I proposed a similar idea this summer for my CBR125. A couple of days later I commuted into work on a very windy day (crosswinds) and decided that this was an experiment that I didn't really want to follow up on.
I do however have the bike in my laundry room for the winter and I do see lots of potential for cleaning the bike up aerodynamically. I've seen aero mods make significant fe improvements in cars on this site; I think there is good potential for motorcycles in this regard.
I've found it interesting that my bike; a 2008 is slower than the newer bikes with the same engine even though they have bigger tires and are heavier. The newer bikes have a larger rear sprocket and better aerodynamics.
I've attached a picture of the front of my bike. It seems like a huge gap between the front fender and the front fairing. Granted, there is a radiator there that needs some air flow, but my coolant guage always is in the bottom quarter.
I've also noticed newer models have rear view mirrors attached to the front fairing and look like they may present less drag. My handlebar mounted mirrors mostly show me a clear view of my arms, so changing them is not a big risk for me.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2...2tPSEMxdlR5eDA

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2...2tPSEMxdlR5eDA

Definitly been done before for a three-wheeler (1959):
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/images/velorex00.jpg
1959 Velorex Oskar

It does seem like something like this would be easier to rig than fiberglass customs... strategically bolted/bent aluminum strip for the guides, maybe some kind of sailcloth to cover? It would need to have low wind penetration, which might be incompatible with "stretch" (since the weave is loosening as the fabric stretches).

Instead of cloth I'm going to try heat shrink plastic like this:
http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/duck-bra.../6000112370429

I've used some to temporarily fix a headlight lens on my car until the insurance claim gets sorted out.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2...0hzcjNETVFCalU

Your comment about the gap reminded me of this -

Ryno Fender: "One test result is worth 1000 expert opinions" – Wernher von Braun

Directs some air away from the radiator opening and to the side for improved aero.

That's actually pretty brilliant. Thanks for posting it

It is an interesting idea. I'm surprised I haven't seen it on road race or land speed bikes. It looks like it's legal in "... most classes of CCS / WERA / USGPRU / ASRA / AFM / CMRA" according to their site.

Probably because it looks weird

Recumbent bicycles have been using fabric bodywork for decades.
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https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...3d&oe=58B5A30F
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https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...21&oe=58F668FD
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http://www.currentzionsville.com/wp-...od-720x480.jpg

I'd love to build something similar one day.

I sort of stumbled into the thread.

What I have is a wakeboard control arm. It is an aluminum tube shaped into a 5ft teardrop. When the center front is 6" above the forks of my bicycle the tail rests on my hips. I want to someday glue a poncho to a bicycle helmet and attach the hem to the tube.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-fr...0-100-1101.jpg


It's the blue one on the top. I've bought most of those. More for rain than aerodynamics; but I need a front mount that will let it rotate and store on the side so I can take it on the bus.

Attach a boom to the head tube using a U-bolt. Pivot the frame about a rod at the end of the boom. Put the hood of the poncho under your helmet to secure it.

I'm going to be very limited on what I can modify for the Vetter FE event this summer if I make it due to financial constraints and my lack of mechanical abilities, however, I'd previously had an idea for some kind of cloth or stretchy material to use between my lower torso half and a box that is behind me on the seat. The material would be semi-permanently attached to the front end of what ever box I use and then would attach to the sides of my suit or wrap around my waist after mounting the motorcycle. When I ride upright, the material would be loose but when I lean in and tuck, the material would take up the space between my lower torso and the box. I plan on a taller box (maybe a true, rectangular milk crate or something similar but not big enough to meet the 4-bag rule). What do you aero smart guys and gals think? Would it make it dangerous in a layover? It would pretty easily break away. I don't know...It was just a thought, as I'm not going to be able to do any real body work.

I'm also looking to maximize the windshield and mount for the event or maybe just take it off, but I don't have a clue other than to look at what some of you guys have and hope it helps for my style of bike that is an upright seater and puts my body far from the windshield even when I'm tucking, but that probably better for a separate post.

I rode at the 2014 event and somehow achieved 96.9 by my own records and 101.82 for the official records; this beat my own best record for a tank by 12 mpg and I still am not sure if that can be replicated or if it was some kind of anomaly, as I don't usually have mpg anomalies. Back then I had a large Dewalt tool box on there and my windshield mount fell down sort of at the last minute as there were some conical washers that broke. This caused the windshield to sit at a more obtuse angle and it put the air coming right at my face, but I wonder if this helped create some kind of streamline effect when I tucked in.

Any thoughts regarding some kind of material between my torso and the box and/or how to configure it would be welcomed

Wear a long coat with weights in the hem and throw it over the box?

Try some open cell foam like they ust in race fuel cells to reduce fuel sloshing. Shap it for the tucked position. It would compress easy enough win you sit up.

Dreem big chisel down to reality

The fabric parts sound like a kayak spray skirt. That will pop off with out user input in an incident .

I'm wanting to do something like that. I have coroplast and access to a lasercutter. I'm thinking lasercut ply with that heatshrink insulation material might make for some smooth curves. But look what Vic Valdez did with corrugated plastic.

Thanks! Might just work; or something similar. I need to keep it as simple as possible. This helps me think about covering the gap between me and the box in a whole new way.

If I had good construction skills, it would not be very expensive or complicated to design and build a tail body with storage myself. I could end up with a tail system much like Sendler's only even more simply removed for service or for going back to stock for 2up riding. It would be very easy to attach a tail system on the CTX700 with its removable, latching/locking-style seat; it's just the actual construction where I struggle. I've got to at least have some collaborators in person to help with details and probably someone to help with the actual construction to ever be successful.

The way in which the CTX700 seat is constructed one could build a custom seat wherein the seat included the tail/box in its construction and then easily locked on and supported with loops that would hook onto the pillion grab bars or luggage hooks or both. It could even be a one piece design with a push button unlock to remove and a snap-on self lock when mounting the tail and custom seat together on the bike, because that's how the stock seat mounts only it's a key-required unlock. But that seat lock is very strong. One could easily and quickly switch back and forth from a stock seat with a pillion half to a rider-only seat with a built in tail/box.

I'd have to do some aero math to determine at what point along the taper it'd need to be cut it off based on the total bike length, but I believe I've previously found that info on the www. My problem though is the same thing I face at work all the time. I'm good at coming up with ideas for making tasks better and/or easier and/or faster, but I'm not that guy that can easily or quickly or cheaply execute those ideas to try them out and then make adjustments. Below is an image of one of my few successes at implementing an idea at work. It did solve lots of issues for our team, but it cost me months of time and lots of brain cramps to get it done.

I'd suggest Googling Skin On Frame SOF Kayak websites. There are a lot out there and they offer excellent info on fabrics and construction. Certainly a cheap and fast fairing construction material.

Or magnets

my friend Robert D and I are converting this prius into what He calls the Streamliner
here is the link to photos
it now has airplane fabric around the steel tubing,
stained beet red, with hidden LED lighting
http://autobeyours.com/streamliner.htm

What is the windshield from?

Are you going to use Dacron with dope or are you going to use Oratex 600 / 6000? They are about the same price. Dacron is cheep for supplies and expensive on labor, repairs require full panel replacement. Oratex is expensive on supplies and cheap on labor(no dope or paint), repairable.

Looks kool..