Racing Fairings Anyone?

[Virtually Yours]

Am I the only one wishing that there is a fairing option?

[EmpulseRider]

I would love to see fairings available for the Empulse! Something like the Empulse RR fairings would be really slick. They could even help with efficiency at high speeds.

[FreepZ]

I would also be very interested in fairings. Without them, getting a good range with a good speed is going to be pretty much impossible.

I'd like to do a 77 mile non-stop trip with the Empulse, and without fairings, I'm going to be limited to about 50 mph. With fairings, I expect to be able to go a bit faster and still make it without stopping for a recharge. Ideally, I would like to be able to do the whole trip at 70 mph, but I don't see that happening with the current battery technology.

I hope that I'll a least be able to buy a windshield, like on the Enertia Plus. It isn't much, but every little bit helps.

[protomech]

A fairing is going to be a requirement for my next electric motorcycle.

The Lightning motorcycle claims 100+ highway miles from a 12 kWh pack. I don't know how accurate that claim is, but 250% of the distance from 150% of the pack on the Zero bike is about what I would expect from a fairing.

Electric motorcycles obviously kick ass in city riding, where aero drag is limited. The Zero ZF9's city range test takes *over 5 hours* to complete. I would happily trade a small amount of city range (extra weight of the fairing) for a substantial increase in highway range.

http://www.craigvetter.com/pages/470MPG/high%20mileage%20fairing.html

Do want.

[FreepZ]

As much as I really want some good fairings, I don't think that I'm quite ready to ride inside an egg.


Just something to get the wind flowing smoothly over the bike and a reasonable windshield is all that I'm asking for.

I wonder how much trouble it would be to add after market fairings. Is that possible, or does the bike need some special anchor points, without which fairings are not a viable option?

[protomech]

You end up cutting out some portion of the "egg" to step into the bike. Just some thoughts.

Here's another "egg" fairing, he says the bike performs well in sidewinds up to 40 mph.
http://www.velomobiel.nl/allert/Recumbent%20motorbike.htm

This company sells brackets which will get you part of the way to a fairing.. some fabrication is doubtless involved.
http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/miscpages/brackets.html

They also sell various LSR fairings, which may or may not be suitable for ebikes. Most of the LSR bikes require a full tuck, which is less than optimal for highway touring of course.
http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/landspeed/landspeed.htm

[Brammofan]

If you're just looking for a basic windshield/windscreen, I wonder if something like this would work:

Four-point handlebar mount.
Great protection in a sleek, stylish package.
Measures 27" W x approximately 18" H above headlight.
Fits most round headlights.
Available in clear, gradient translucent black and solar tint.
Solid, easy-to-adjust four-point mounting hardware included.
Billet aluminum handlebar clamps fit 1" and 7/8" bars (with sizing band).
Billet aluminum adjustable fork clamps fit 35mm to 41mm forks

Retail is $189.

[Shinysideup]

I'd encourage Brammo to team up with these guys:

http://www.parabellum.com/

They could offer several styles as accessories. I'd think putting a serious dent in highway range limitation would be a big selling point.

I've used one of their Scout fairings on a BMW R1200R and loved its performance. Its mounting, while made specific for BMW bikes, would be easy enough for Parabellum to adapt for Empulse, mainly accommodating the headlight assembly.

Motorcycles are extremely messy in their aerodynamics and any help would pay off well. It doesn't have to be an entire bubble for the land speed record. We need something to commute by highway and then be OK to ride around a city too. Eggshells probably wouldn't work for the latter.

[Richard230]

I also installed a Parabellum windshield on my R1200R. It is just the standard windshield, pretty much just a big flat piece of plastic.  I was hoping for some improvement in fuel mileage, but instead my gas mileage seems to have dropped about 5%. It does provide good coverage, though and I can easily see over the top of the windshield sitting upright, but I prefer the design and size of the National Cycle Deflector Screen DX.

My feeling is that most handlebar-mounted windshields don't really help much to cut aerodynamic drag. For that you need a more scientifically-designed fairing, preferably one that has seen some wind tunnel time.

[Car Loss]

I also installed a Parabellum windshield on my R1200R. It is just the standard windshield, pretty much just a big flat piece of plastic.  I was hoping for some improvement in fuel mileage, but instead my gas mileage seems to have dropped about 5%. It does provide good coverage, though and I can easily see over the top of the windshield sitting upright, but I prefer the design and size of the National Cycle Deflector Screen DX.

My feeling is that most handlebar-mounted windshields don't really help much to cut aerodynamic drag. For that you need a more scientifically-designed fairing, preferably one that has seen some wind tunnel time.

It's also possible your windshield is too big, especially if it's trying to cover your hands like in Brammofan's pic.

If you're not going for a full egg, then the simplest strategy is to just tuck well, and reduce your frontal area.  Then, a windshield that extends past your head and shoulders will likely start hurting instead of helping.  This is basically what the racing teams have settled on, and most of them see at least a little wind-tunnel time.

Carlos

[FreepZ]

Those ultra streamlined fairings look like they would work very well, but they are also very bulky. I would think that there should be some kind of solution that is better than a naked bike, but not as bulky as those ultra solutions. After all, I want to be able to use the bike as a regular bike, and having that huge shell on there doesn't look all that practical, or attractive (to me).

I figure that racing fairings would probably fit that bill.
Like Carlos said "This is basically what the racing teams have settled on, and most of them see at least a little wind-tunnel time."

As for windshields; I've only ever ridden a bike with a windshield once. It was some kind of Harley, and the windshield was rather tall. I didn't like it at all. For some reason, the shield was creating a lot of turbulence around my helmet at highway speeds. It felt like somebody had grabbed by helmet and was jerking it around constantly. It was very uncomfortable.

Could anybody tell me about their experience with windshields?

Edit:
Hmm... After reading about other people's experiences with windshields on the motorcycle forum, full windshields are looking less and less attractive.

[Richard230]

I like a small windshield that protects my chest while leaving my helmet in the breeze. That seems to give the best aerodynamics for sitting upright. the least helmet buffeting and the best view of what is going on around you - all at the cheapest price.

[protomech]

That's basically what my GS500 windshield is. Directs airflow such that it is directed over my shoulders, head still is in the airflow. Most full helmets are pretty aerodynamic, you can really feel that when you turn your helmet to look over your shoulder at 80 mph..

[ElectRick]

I like the low to mid fairing myself. On my ST1100 the wind hit the helmet in the middle making it a very noisy ride. A taller windscreen did not help at all. Of course your experience may be different depending on how tall you are. As for aerodynamics Motorcycles have never been easy. The back end is just as important as the front and there's just no way to do that well without going to the full shell. The ST is pretty good though at 700 lbs I still get 42/57 mpg.

[Shinysideup]

Richard, I found the screen on the Scout to have much more rake and curve (like the old Rifle screen I had on my ST1100) than the snow shovel flat screens. Much less turbulence. Not much difference in mileage, however.

I've ex$perimented lot$ with $creens, both on the R12R and my current TMax. I've finally arrived at a solution I really love (except for the looks!):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10852133@N02/6195919504/#in/set-72157626023146685

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10852133@N02/6195405497/#in/set-72157626023146685/

This a a Givi Airflow manually-adjusted screen, which is easy to adjust even on the freeway. In weather over 90 degrees F, I can simply take off the whole adjustable portion and enjoy plenty of air on my body. In cold rainy weather, the all-the-way-up position puts the top just below my eyes when I sit up straight. I push it down for around the city. I love the adjustability.

This screen has a nice gap between the two pieces which allows air to flow up the inside of the top portion and helps kill turbulence.

The icing on the cake is the Vario Spoiler bolted to the top. This makes the whole set up really quiet, killing all vestiges of turbulence. I usually leave it in the fully deployed position.

I like this set up so much that I'm even having thoughts about the feasibility of using portions to cook something up for the Empulse.