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So I was coming home on the freeway today, using my throttle lock, and realized this...tried it over and over and got the same results. My bike is an S, btw, with the stock windscreen.
Sitting bolt upright in the saddle, with my arms fully extended to the handlebars, I reached a steady speed of 85 mph (indicated), and locked the throttle lock. I kept it that way for a few minutes to make sure that my speed was steady. I then crouched down into a full tuck, without making any change in the position of the throttle (since I have a throttle lock, there's no doubt that the throttle remained in the same position and didnt move). I tucked way down behind the windscreen, so that the wind off the top of the windscreen was going over my helmet. My speed started gradually climbing, up to 91, before traffic dictated that I had to slow down. I tried it several times, and every time I reached 91, and had to slow down because of traffic. By the time I reached 91, though, acceleration had slowed, so I dont think it would actually get a whole lot faster than that.
So...a few rough calculations show (err...if my assumptions and my math are correct) that tucking down behind the windscreen yields an increase in fuel economy of roughly 3 miles per gallon (assuming a speed of 90 mph, and a baseline fuel economy of 45 mpg).
very interesting stuff! I knew wind resistance would play a role in speed and fuel economy, but here's proof!
Sitting bolt upright in the saddle, with my arms fully extended to the handlebars, I reached a steady speed of 85 mph (indicated), and locked the throttle lock. I kept it that way for a few minutes to make sure that my speed was steady. I then crouched down into a full tuck, without making any change in the position of the throttle (since I have a throttle lock, there's no doubt that the throttle remained in the same position and didnt move). I tucked way down behind the windscreen, so that the wind off the top of the windscreen was going over my helmet. My speed started gradually climbing, up to 91, before traffic dictated that I had to slow down. I tried it several times, and every time I reached 91, and had to slow down because of traffic. By the time I reached 91, though, acceleration had slowed, so I dont think it would actually get a whole lot faster than that.
So...a few rough calculations show (err...if my assumptions and my math are correct) that tucking down behind the windscreen yields an increase in fuel economy of roughly 3 miles per gallon (assuming a speed of 90 mph, and a baseline fuel economy of 45 mpg).
very interesting stuff! I knew wind resistance would play a role in speed and fuel economy, but here's proof!