Aprilia SR 50 R

[Frank]

For sure a Kamm tail would help, covering 50% of the front wheel with a bigger fender is good. I'd also consider trying to cover the rear wheel (think hubcaps). Bringing the front fairing back is also probably a good thing but make sure you can get your feet out quickly!

[JacobLeSann]

Going good at this stage! You can look at the rest of the uploaded photos on this status and see the different methods I tried. First plan was to allow full wheel clearance and use the same heat-molding process I did to make the seat. That was way too bulky. I ended up trying out a cardboard mock-up with two wheel-bumps design to look like vents. That is still rather ugly but certainly looks better and almost matches the scoot’s curves. I’ve read that a stepped-design like mine can help break up crosswinds better, so I hope that’s true.

The flat section makes it look like a formula 1 wing. I will of course cut that down, but I’m leaving it intact right now as I stitch up the floor pan for the fairing.

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The kamm-tail. That’s a bugger. I need space for my backpack so I plan to take the old storage pod the bike came with (can be seen in the very first post in this thread), and turn it into a kamm-profile. I want to leave the rear swingarm open, despite the large effect on drag it creates. There’s alot of moving stuff back there as well as turn signals and a brake light. It would be a real challenge to get that working with given suspension clearances, exhaust clearances, proper air intake flow, etc. The whole drivetrain of the bike is on that rear arm, and it deflects by a surprisingly large amount, so having it open is far less of a design headache.

[JacobLeSann]

https://youtu.be/F3hM3CjVABI

I finished up the rough fairing! My phone is having issues with uploading so here’s a sneak peak from my YouTube channel. After around 50km of burnouts, highway pulls, and top speed runs, the scoot still gets an estimated 100 MPG or 2.35 litres per 100km. I was not able to break 83 km/h so I looked into it and believe the bike has a restricted ECU. With the aero streamlining it smoothly purrs up to top speed, but then it just cuts power on me. Even on downhills or drafting trucks. It holds top speed easily with what seems like just a little load on the engine, so I’m sure it can go higher.

The fairing is actually practical so far. I would freeze a lot previously and come home shivering. Now the only things to get cold are my hands. I rode a good 40km of highway at 80 km/h in -3 degrees Celsius; not bad at all. It does seem stable as well: I was passed by several semi trucks and noticed no impact from the turbulent wake behind them.


I am wanting to design better streamlining at the rear. The front is well done and splits air around me without increasing wake too much. I don’t think there’s much for air to reattach to down low in the rear. A tail is smart but like I said lots of parts on a moving swing-arm with good travel to it; complex.