Bob's 'Bananaskins' (GPz500, VT600&CN250)
Submitted by bobwreford on 27 May, 2009 - 7:53am
Inspired by Philip Wakeham's 'Anything is possible' attitude to engineering art I woke up one morning and decided to implement Royce Creasey's aerodynamic improvement hints (see his technical paper on this site) and cut the fairing into three pieces, chopped four inches out of the middle, and reassembled it!
The narrower fairing has little impact on comfort, reduces frontal area a little, but amazingly has made the bike much less susceptible to side winds and the turbulent air behind large lorries, it is more 'indifferent' as Royce puts it.

Submitted by bobwreford on 28 April, 2009 - 5:55pm
This is my second attempt to calculate the frontal area of my KawaBanana and this time I remembered to put the rectangle of white card of known size back near the rider's hip where the perspective would not make it look larger than life. So, cue roll of drums, the more accurate measurement of frontal area including rider is 10.9 square feet, which seems, quite a lot! But it does explain why strong headwind gusts were able to reduce my speed from 55mph to 45 mph at whim on the way home from Wales after 680 miles.

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:50pm
He went mad with that roll of reflective tape off ebay...now we dazzle everybody!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:49pm
Yes I went miles too......those Feet Forward fairings will all land up here too, you'll see Phasars and all of them.......we never rot you see!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:47pm
Someone loved me once!
We went miles too......until that sports bike came along which already had a fairing.

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:46pm
Yeh it's a racing crank mate!
We fink it's orf a factory racer actually......anti-foaming prototype.
What? Yes I 'ave got a drill as it 'appens!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:44pm
This is not Wales! Robin Thomas told me that The Classic Show and Autojumble was at Stafford and encouraged me to go - luckily pensioners get in for £8 instead of £9.....

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:42pm
Andrew Gibbens deserves a prize for the lines of that box, no apparent aero faults at all.....cheapest wind tunnel in the World!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:40pm
The dirt will all wash off for the part exchange deal......note the chain oiler, too afraid to use it in case oil gets on the back tyre and brings him off at the next roundabout, he has already surfed over the white muddy lines in the road and frightened himself to death that the front will wash away.....and that was at only 40 mph!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:37pm
Coffee time!
Did you notice his bald head reflected in his crash helmet in the last shot. Hee! Hee!
Mind you he was a bit hot wearing overtrousers over overtrousers over trousers - Too mean to buy Goretex you see.....

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:35pm
I tend toi cruise at 52 mph - Don't laugh!
I am only a 500 and have to drag all this 222kgs around. Mind you the Honda version of me had 300kgs - Whew!
Wait until the GSXR1000 version arrives......

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:32pm
Of course I am dirty, I get ridden!
680 miles this trip. And with the factory second air intake remade in the airbox I no longer run rich, 8 and a half UK gallons is 80 miles per gallon, I cannot do any more, I shall seize up if you try!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:30pm
Will I be in the Fast group, the Improvers group or the Novice group then?
What do you mean we didn't book so cannot race!!!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:28pm
The secret of not losing the centre stand to a constant blasting of wet grit from the back wheel, spray wax coating, excellent!
As long as the exhaust does not set it on fire that is.....

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:27pm
A brief interlude with nobody examining me....

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:25pm
It must be fast, did you see all those policemen looking at it earlier?
Faster than our Toyota MR2 Turbos do you think?
Never seen anything like it before, must be experimental.....

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:23pm
Wowee! I had heard that there was a 'significant police presence' in Wales in addition to the speed cameras every 3 miles , but not for me surely! I am slow! Honest!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:21pm
Being raised on Custom Car Magazine makes you take photos like this, sorry!

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:20pm
Yes we have a smaller holiday this year due to financial constraints, so the foreign country with pretty girls who speak a different language is Wales instead of Spain you see. Well, a trackday at Anglesey Circuit near Aberffraw to be precise, formerly known as Ty Groes if you are old like me.

Submitted by bobwreford on 26 April, 2009 - 7:16pm
Bore da! Nice here isn't it? Wales man, clean air and chips too, brilliant!

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