motorcycle aerodynamics?

[Relsek]

im sure a big cruiser compared to a busa is a big difference, but i herd the busa is still 'very poor' when it comes to the aerodynamics. but to me the thing looks like it would have very little drag....

I think the busa was designed with low drag as one of it's primary concerns. It does have a lot less drag than a bike without fairings. Once you get up over 100 or so you need to start getting down under the windscreen, over 160 and it feels like the wind will pull your head off.

Even at normal highway speeds, I can tell a great difference from my old gs1100.

Kev

[oldnslo]

That is correct. The original material I read about the Busa indicated that low drag was a prime concern, as Suzuki wanted to create the fastest bike on the road. Much windtunnel testing and fiddling with shapes and airflow. I spent at least an hour trying to find comfort sitting on one at the bike show that year. It just didn't fit, and made my back hurt. I bought a CBR1100XX instead, not as brutally fast but eons more polished, and if you want to go fast on any of that genre', you better stay tucked, or be ready for an unscheduled flight. No bike since has gone faster than the '99 Busa in US stock trim.

[boingk]

So wouldn't it make sense to have like a cone stick out the back to fill the void that the air would leave?

yeah, thats an excellent way to cut down on drag. if you look at something like a Cessna light aircraft, you'll see that the tail gradually tapers downwards, often to a point. This is because its the most aerodynamic shape. To really get the best though, you'd have to have a very streamlined (most likely long and tapered) front, and the same at the back. Picture something like a cylinder with a long pointy cone on each end. To bad that'd look absolutely bloody awful if you ever tried to make a bike like that!

[oldnslo]

They run "bikes" like that all the time at Bonneville on the salt for speed records. Cylindrical shapes with pointy ends.

[boingk]

Oh righty...hmm. Speaking of which, does anyone actually know the current world speed record for a bike? And if so...what classes are there?

[oldnslo]

In the 330's. The late Don Vesco did it, and a couple others in that general speed area.

[Relsek]

It just didn't fit, and made my back hurt. I bought a CBR1100XX instead,

I find that for a tall person, a hayabusa is a perfect fit. the most I've ever ridden in one day is about 400 miles and my back is not sore, nor my arms like some think, just by butt is sore.

Kev

[oldnslo]

Probably so, I'm only about 5'9". I felt it right above the tailbone. OW.

[cameron]

Try a 12r on for size. Rode mine 16 1/2 hours one day. I find that all my grinning has a drag coefficient, cheeks flappin in the wind and all. Actually, my biker friends joke about my backside sticking out enough to make my bike more aerodynamic (swine) I do a lot of weightlifting and the side effects give you a butt. I would rather be able for my pants to stay up due to a small waist and glutes rather than suspenders and no rear. They are only complaining because they never see my front and only see my backside for mere seconds dissappearing into the distance. Sucks to be them.

[Mr D]

See, it does make me go faster!