did the ducati motogp bike get smaller?
-
Hey Everyone! Enter your bike HERE to be a part of this months Bike of the Month Challenge!
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Did this have to do with anything relating to the smaller 800cc engine size now in place?
how would bigger fairings be better in any situation? what did they base the street RR after btw?
a little more compact is an understatement, i'm looking at a picture of them side by side and they number 1 bike looks like a 250cc bike.
Joined
·
9,757 Posts
I won't pretend to know how the D16's aerodynamics work, but the smaller the surface area the less the aerodynamic resistance. A lot of other things come in to play though, namely shape.
We gotta think of the D16's shape and size as a function of compromises between top speed and cornering "flickability". Long streamlined fairings are more conducive to top speeds, but shorter fairings assist in making side to side transitions easier.
As far as the switch from 990cc to 800cc, I would speculate that the emphasis on cornering speed in the 800cc era over top speed in the 990cc era means the 800cc bikes need shorter, more compact fairings... again I'm not an aerodynamicist.
The RR is based on the 990cc machine btw, but its bodywork is actually quite different from that of the genuine race machine.
We gotta think of the D16's shape and size as a function of compromises between top speed and cornering "flickability". Long streamlined fairings are more conducive to top speeds, but shorter fairings assist in making side to side transitions easier.
As far as the switch from 990cc to 800cc, I would speculate that the emphasis on cornering speed in the 800cc era over top speed in the 990cc era means the 800cc bikes need shorter, more compact fairings... again I'm not an aerodynamicist.
The RR is based on the 990cc machine btw, but its bodywork is actually quite different from that of the genuine race machine.
ic..
how does bigger fairings help flickability?
looks so tiny in comparison
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/image/2009/wsbk/imola/m1/3e.htm
how does bigger fairings help flickability?
looks so tiny in comparison
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/image/2009/wsbk/imola/m1/3e.htm
Joined
·
1,435 Posts
i've always been really curious about how fairings really work too...
i'm not sure if the term bigger really effects top speed or flickability... the easy one is from the front. think of an airplanes wing.. it's not pointed in the front, but slightly curved.. thicker in font to a narrower end... it's all about the airflow... a wide bike can have better flow than a narrower bike... it's all about how the wind travels around or though the bike and rider.. take the zx14.. a large and wide bike... but with a good flow through and around the bike and rider... so it does ok with the wind... it probably has a lot better aerodynamics than a hypermotard... even though the hyper is thinner and smaller... look at photos and video of motogp riders on a straight.. you'll see them lift their butts out of the seat a bit to streamline their body with the fairing of the bike... every little bit helps...
now from the side... for flickability.. the air must travel through the bike from side to side... so a solid fairing with no holes at all would be bad.. ever seen a tent blow away from the wind... put a whole in it, and it's less affected by the wind... similar theory... i remember the first CBR900's back in '92... they had holes in the fairing on the sides (turn signal area).. and the front by the clutch and brake reservoirs... these were an attempt to improve the side to side movement...
so somewhere in the middle is the key... enough plastic to get the air around the rider and the bike... but also vents or holes to allow the air to travel side ways through the bike when leaned over at speed. but the bike's fairing has to work with the size of rider as well... take a small bike with great aerodynamics.. put a big rider on it.. if the air flow is interrupted from the riders body... the shape of the fairings is nullified a bit...
the easiest way to feel the difference... get on a bike and and find a long straight... tuck behind the screen and get a move on... now without decreasing throttle input... raise your body from the tucked position... you and your bike will slow dramatically... like matt p. before me.. i won't pretend to know this stuff that well, but i've sculpted some fairings in my time.. and when it has bad flow... you know really quickly.. one of these days i'd love to play around in an air tunnel..
i'm not sure if the term bigger really effects top speed or flickability... the easy one is from the front. think of an airplanes wing.. it's not pointed in the front, but slightly curved.. thicker in font to a narrower end... it's all about the airflow... a wide bike can have better flow than a narrower bike... it's all about how the wind travels around or though the bike and rider.. take the zx14.. a large and wide bike... but with a good flow through and around the bike and rider... so it does ok with the wind... it probably has a lot better aerodynamics than a hypermotard... even though the hyper is thinner and smaller... look at photos and video of motogp riders on a straight.. you'll see them lift their butts out of the seat a bit to streamline their body with the fairing of the bike... every little bit helps...
now from the side... for flickability.. the air must travel through the bike from side to side... so a solid fairing with no holes at all would be bad.. ever seen a tent blow away from the wind... put a whole in it, and it's less affected by the wind... similar theory... i remember the first CBR900's back in '92... they had holes in the fairing on the sides (turn signal area).. and the front by the clutch and brake reservoirs... these were an attempt to improve the side to side movement...
so somewhere in the middle is the key... enough plastic to get the air around the rider and the bike... but also vents or holes to allow the air to travel side ways through the bike when leaned over at speed. but the bike's fairing has to work with the size of rider as well... take a small bike with great aerodynamics.. put a big rider on it.. if the air flow is interrupted from the riders body... the shape of the fairings is nullified a bit...
the easiest way to feel the difference... get on a bike and and find a long straight... tuck behind the screen and get a move on... now without decreasing throttle input... raise your body from the tucked position... you and your bike will slow dramatically... like matt p. before me.. i won't pretend to know this stuff that well, but i've sculpted some fairings in my time.. and when it has bad flow... you know really quickly.. one of these days i'd love to play around in an air tunnel..
Joined
·
9,757 Posts
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Join the discussion
