Quote:
Originally Posted by northwind
Yeah, it was a comment from HRC, though I've seen others say the same. The front end of the RC211V ended up being redesigned for downforce not for drag reduction apparently. How they compare with most road bikes I don't really know, but in one of the magazines they had a comparison with a Busa and the Busa was slippier. It was put down to the Busa's tail end
Remember, it's not about the frontage so much- like I mentioned bikes are inherently pretty unaerodynamic because of the rear, you could build a very slippy bike but then you sit a rider on it...
Not to suggest they don't think about aerodynamics on the race bikes- just that they don't go all out for drag reduction in the way you might expect.
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Downforce? Maybe reduction of lift, but yeah, I get what you're saying. I suppose the GP bike is constrained as much, if not more, than the Busa - but by other things (beside competition regulations), like compact dimensions most significantly, I suspect, although styling probably plays a large part too. Nobody at Honda would be thrilled if the next GP bike was all 90s curves, bulges and louvres.
That said, I bet that the overall drag of a GP bike is very close, if not less than the Busa, even if the 'Busa shape is marginally more aerodynamic, simply because it's a much smaller frontal area.