TESTING

Phase Eight: One Step Up and Two Steps Back

Its riding time at last! I tie my gps on the bolts that tie the racks holding the plexiglass and off I go. Oups! There is a construction crew in the neighborhood digging the streets, that turned the place to an enduro trail, and my fairing starts swinging back and forth like a hoola hoop champion. So its back in the shed, as I obviously need some kind of support, cause if It dances like this now, up in the mountain it will fly away.

I pick up my son's tablet computer and I start searching what the major companies have done to support their screens. I get some 10mm aluminum tubes from hardware supplies and start bending them. After a bunch of broken ones on the floor, and a couple -ok, a lot- of hours of try it on and face palm splashing and I get one to fit -in a dakar instrument tower like angle- just where the plastic instrument bridge bolts on the bike's frame. GPS mount on, gps "ON" and "Houston we are ready for lift off".

After a short ride around the hood the hole think seems steady enough for the open road. The only problem seems to be that it is too steady bolted on the bike and the vibrations pass from the motor  straight to the screen complex, as my gps screen showed me, blurring on idle. I use some rubber coated washers to isolate it but with little affect. Anyway I will have to relocate my support bar anyway cause it would make taking off the screen system complicated.

Phase Nine: If only we had an wind-tunnel...

Take One:
Rider's height: 172cm
Helmet Type: HJC FG-15 (street/simple/ no beak) 
Wind: 4-5 on the Beaufort scale
Screen Position: Top Up
Test field: "Katehaki" highway

Results: I can go up to 120 klm/h with the helmet fully open, althought the wind is pretty strong. The main flow of the air is on the top of my helmet and there is a very small draft of air just on top of the instrument panel. Ypu can only tell if you move your hand there going 120 klm/h or more.  Its the air that passes between the bottom black base of the screen and the plexiglass part, and it does perform the miracle of "no buffeting" praise the lord of all aerodynamics!

My shoulders seem well protected from the airstream, and I don't even hear the "boom- boom" sound that the air makes closing behind big "barndoor" type screens.

What is really impressive is the sound of the bike speeding up.  Its so quiet I can hear clearly the engine! Furthermore is that the front end of the bike seems more stable that before. Its probably the supporting bars job, because the bikes instrument bridge was always vibrating a lot, causing eve the beak to move at high speeds.  On my way back there is a big Ford Transit with elevated roof in frond of me, the kind of brick like van that cause turbulent airstreams. I move on purpose into its streams behind it. Wow, this think really works! Its steady, smooth and quiet!

Next day I change the lower aluminum sliding racks, only for aesthetic reasons, as I want to make them less protruding and bulk and to make them follow the lines of the base fairing.


Take Two
Rider's height: 172cm
Helmet: HJC FG-15 (street/simple/ no beak) 
Wind :4-5 on the Beaufort scale
Screen Position: Top Up
Test field: Athens to Lamia National Road





Results: I can ride with the helmet open up to 130 klm/h! Air coverage remains the same. Road is empty so I decide it is time to push it a little bit more. I close the helmet and I speed up. The bike is completely stable and I am covered up to 170 klm/h. Up to 160 klm/h the only thing that reminded me of previous -no fairing- rides is the lower end of my blue jeans that slap around like crazy. I slow down and then speed up rapidly to see if  the bigger frontal surface gave me more wind resistance. Nop. Bike accelerates as before, just more smoothly! Of course only gas consumption will tell me for sure.

I reach a big 18wheels truck, sailing with its nylon cover flapping around in the wind and I put the bike in its air stream, behind it. Wow indeed!

It seems that this bike IS stable. It just had poor aerodynamics from the start. Its the first time I can ride over 140 without even thinking about it, or struggling with buffeting or wobbles.

Only thing is that the gps -for the first time in a place where I can look at it without taking my eyes from the road- reflects the sun in my face. Got to built it some shade flap.  

Back home, checking everything again. No bolts loosen, nothing cracked, nothing bent. Nothing deformed. Now I have to run more miles on it to stress test it. Every bit of spec they gave me about epoxy was confirmed so far. It can really stand its ground and it is worthy of its extra euros, compared to polyester. You can see it even when you try to cu and drill it. Now I got to get some nicer nuts and bolt and to decide on the color. Red like the rest of the bike or black like the plastic fender extender the bike carries on the beak? Will see...


"Testing -Testing": HOW DARE YOU!

Its was a quiet night when Ikarus met a Desierto of the Touratech family. One word led to another and soon the night involved a  test drive of them on the half empty streets around town.  

Take 3:

Rider's Height: 180+ cm 

Helmet HJC RPHA-10 (street, with good aerodynamic profile)

Wind: Moderate 

Screen position: Top Up 

Test Field: Sigrou Avenue/ coastal avenue

Results: "Air flow at the top of my helmet. No turbulence up to the head. No wind noise even with open helmet's screen, up to 120 klm/h. In the city full wind coverage up to 175 klm/h. Wider air pocket than the Desierto's, especially up to the shoulders and head. But the height adjustment system is not so easy to use as the Desierto's one. Impressive!