Can 1983 Honda VT-500 Meet the Vetter Challenge?

[beatr911]

Good project RedYaris. I'd say this is an excellent result of your efforts. A great touring bike with plenty of power, storage, weather protection and a 50% increase in fuel mileage. Sounds like a success to me!

[low&slow]

Originally Posted by redyaris

The VT500 did 86.4 mpg on the 2013 Carmel Vetter Challenge. This is due mostly to the lack of wind on the day of the event. On the day before the event Allan and I did a 98 mile ride along some of the same roads and I got 74 mpg with head winds. I suspect I am in the last 10% of development on ths bike, due mostly to the cost of changing gear ratios to lower engine RPM. It is Still a great bike to ride on long freeway trips. So I will be adapting a larger fuel tank with 50% more copacity...

Ron, Great job!
Sorry I missed you guys at Carmel. Will you be going to the Mid-Ohio Challenge?

[redyaris]

I dought I will make it to mid-ohio, but I do plan to be at the Vages - Barstow Vetter challenge.

[redyaris]

I am finaly able to get back to working on the bike after dealing with flooding in southern Alberta. My house only got minor amounts of water in part of the basement.

I have a 17.5 Litre tank from a Honda GS500 that needs a pet cock.
I have started to make a remote filter/cooler adaptor that will fit in place of the Oil filter and direct the engine oil to a engine oil cooler and a remote filter.

[renault_megane_dci]

Originally Posted by redyaris

I have started to make a remote filter/cooler adaptor that will fit in place of the Oil filter and direct the engine oil to a engine oil cooler and a remote filter.

Looking forward to some pictures !

[rat_rod_rui]

well looks like this post went dead 5 years ago but im hoping to get a response, i know this is an eco forum but its the only place that seems to have exactly what im looking for. my little vt500c ratbike needs a lot more top speed, its been heavily modified for more power but that just gets me to the factory top speed quicker. what would you say was your final result of top speed if you wind it out all the way to redline in 6th gear?

[Grant-53]

We're still at it. Low&Slow just posted the latest results for the 2018 California event. The issue of top speed is as much a function of the product of frontal area times the drag coefficient as is fuel economy. The other modification is to change the gearing to a lower numerical ratio which would also increase top speed at redline but less torque at the wheel. Basics. There are few places where one can run at SUSS (slightly under the speed of sound) other than a closed circuit event. I do fairings for pedal bikes but the physics are the same. Check the profile page for redyaris.

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by rat_rod_rui

well looks like this post went dead 5 years ago but im hoping to get a response, i know this is an eco forum but its the only place that seems to have exactly what im looking for. my little vt500c ratbike needs a lot more top speed, its been heavily modified for more power but that just gets me to the factory top speed quicker. what would you say was your final result of top speed if you wind it out all the way to redline in 6th gear?

Sounds like you need taller gearing, and max speed will be reached at max power, not highest RPMs unless max power coincides with max RPMs. Specification sites seem to indicate max power happens at 9000 RPM. Since your bike is heavily modified, it may shift the max power higher in the RPMs. You could get a dyno run done to figure out where your bike now makes max power and make sure your tachometer agrees with the actual RPM, as they are often inaccurate on motorcycles. After that, figure out what RPM your bike is at during top speed, if it is higher or lower than max power, you are giving away speed. Adjust your gearing accordingly.

If you didn't know about it yet, gearingcommander.com is an awesome site for this purpose.

EDIT: Looks like the VT500 is shaft driven, not much you can do about that, other than put a different sized tire on the rear.

[jkv357]

^That gearingcommander.com site is amazing - thanks!

[HHOTDI]

PM sent to Red... I am excited with the results Red has attained with his homemade body work. The man is an artist with sheet aluminum! Gives me even greater hope for streamlining my NC700x! :{)