Aero calculations - Part One

Bob's 'Bananaskins' (GPz500, VT600&CN250)
Aero calculations  - Part One

I know very little about the Black Science of aerodynamic drag but this is a starting point so there is only Part One at present! I was intrigued to read this morning in an old magazine article by Kevin Cooper of the College of Aeronautics in Cranfield, UK, that the amount of power needed to double your speed is eight times as much, so if you need 15 bhp to reach 70 mph on a bike with 6.6 sq ft of frontal area and a drag factor of 1.0 you will need 120 bhp to do 140 mph. No wonder fuel economy enthusiasts like me find a sweet spot around 55 mph. I shall try and test this by averaging different speeds over long distances.....