Eddie McD in V50 Phasar in 1995
Eddie McDonnell in the V50 Quasar, after he removed the roof and turned it into a Phasar. Eddie recalls: "This photo was taken outside work at Tameside College, Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1995, by my workmate Graham Oakley. It was just after I'd fitted the fairing and before I dressed it up with stripes and screen, as in the other photo taken at the Calf of Man. Interesting thing about this: I'd run the machine bare for a year – the fairing wasn't ready but the rest of the bike was.I took it round Oulton Park on a track day, have a photo taking Island Bend that I might scan and post for y'all. On the very first run with the fairing, just through Sale, between Manchester and Altrincham, 40mph for a short stretch but mostly 30 – but actually doing 40 as you could get away with in those days – the benefits of streamlining were immediately noticeable. It was sprightlier on acceleration, with smaller throttle openings."
Photo: Graham Oakley
Benefits of Streamlining, as demonstrated by the 1956 Dreamliner
Your comments remind me of the fascinating test undertaken by Vic Willoughby for The Motor Cycle in 1956 with the Dreamliner fairing on a Royal Enfield twin, and written about in his book Exotic Motorcycles. One of the most surprising statistics to emerge was that even with all the additional weight of a full fairing, low-speed acceleration was still better than with the same machine naked. Read the whole article here: http://www.eurospares.com/graphics/aero/Dreamliner.pdf
PNB