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Old 03-28-2016, 10:44 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Why don't motorcycles have tire deflectors?

We all know that a properly designed and placed tire deflector(spat) can reduce drag on cars, why don't motorcycles use them too? (on rear wheels) I have been looking at aero focused production motorcycles like the BMW K1000 and the Suzuki Hayabusa and have not noticed any sort of tire deflectors. It seems like an easy drag reduction mod to me, is there something i'm missing?

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Old 03-29-2016, 12:04 AM   #2 (permalink)
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By spats you mean enclosing the rear wheel as on a Vincent Black Prince?

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Old 03-29-2016, 10:06 AM   #3 (permalink)
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It seems like an easy drag reduction mod to me, is there something i'm missing?
You're missing the overall goal, which is styling that makes things look powerful.
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Old 03-29-2016, 10:31 AM   #4 (permalink)
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By spats you mean enclosing the rear wheel as on a Vincent Black Prince?

No, I mean a air deflector to push air down or to the sides like cars have. I drew a picture of one here.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:58 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Do bikes need a spat with their domed tires? Car tires present a flat surface with a lot of tread to the leading air, but bike tires are round with little tread...could the benefit of a spat be so little that it's not worth adding to the vehicle?
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Old 03-29-2016, 10:22 PM   #6 (permalink)
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The ground clearance on a motorcycle is roughly half that of a car. The wheelbase is much shorter also. So the cost effectiveness may not be much. Do the A-B-A test and find out. What gets measured gets improved.
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Old 04-01-2016, 01:59 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
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Do bikes need a spat with their domed tires? Car tires present a flat surface with a lot of tread to the leading air, but bike tires are round with little tread...could the benefit of a spat be so little that it's not worth adding to the vehicle?
I'm thinking this is the reason. Not much need for a spat if the tire is already relatively streamlined. Perhaps enclosing the tire completely at the sides would make more sense, to remove turbulence.
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Old 04-01-2016, 11:24 AM   #8 (permalink)
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From a purely aero perspective, the wheels are probably the least dirty part of a bike.
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Manual 1:1 gear ratio .......98%
CVT belt ............................88%
Automatic .........................86%

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Old 04-03-2016, 01:50 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Have you ever rode a bike with solid wheels? Side winds blow you all over the road. Enclosed tires on a motorcycle is only a good idea if the body is streamlined.
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Old 05-17-2016, 12:08 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Fuel efficiency is far far down the list of importance for the industry.

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