Bike drag chutes

[Artist]

Bike drag chutes, first used in Australia on Top Fuel bikes and now being used on American drag bikes, would make life a lot easier and safer for pavement land speed bike racers. http://phpbbplanet.com/granddaddyjoe...randdaddyjoesm

[Beagle]

Bike drag chutes, first used in Australia on Top Fuel bikes and now being used on American drag bikes, would make life a lot easier and safer for pavement land speed bike racers. http://phpbbplanet.com/granddaddyjoe...randdaddyjoesm

hell yea, I want a chute to accidentally deploy and yank me off of a 'busa running 210 or so... maybe not.

Maybe a backup one for the rider in case they get seperated from the vehicle? Would still scare the crap out of me if I came off the bike with all those cords. Truly ugly could happen.

[DanStokes]

We had a 'chute seminar last year at Wilmington and bike 'chutes are, indeed, being developed and some have been successfully used. They attach to the bike (makes sense unless you wanted to go parasailing) and they have a mounting point that works. One of the interesting things we learned is that the 'chute (either bike or car) is not there to slow the vehicle but to provide stability. Losing speed is a side benefit. That's all I can remember on the bike 'chutes off the top of my head.

Dan

[Artist]

We had a 'chute seminar last year at Wilmington and bike 'chutes are, indeed, being developed and some have been successfully used. They attach to the bike (makes sense unless you wanted to go parasailing) and they have a mounting point that works. One of the interesting things we learned is that the 'chute (either bike or car) is not there to slow the vehicle but to provide stability. Losing speed is a side benefit. That's all I can remember on the bike 'chutes off the top of my head.

Dan

I think in the Top Fuel bike message board I also read a comment about drag chutes providing stability.

"For something to fly straight, there must be more weight in front of the centre of pressure (body, fenders, fairing etc)than behind that centre of pressure

In other words, for everything you add to the front in terms of panels that cause air to be deflected, you need to put equal or more on the back.

The issue gets worse as you go faster as the frontal area adds pressure to the front in a ratio equivalent to the square of the speed... so where it was fine at 200, it might be uncontrollable at 210.

This is what caused my last high speed crash. The new bike had a body from the same mold, but a little different front to rear weight balance. At 210 it was fine. At 220 it lost control when I clicked it off.

So be careful putting more fairing on the front... if you do, add more side panel at the back. Wheelie bar side panels are great in this regard.

This aero action is also why a bike goes straight when the chute is out."

[Artist]

hell yea, I want a chute to accidentally deploy and yank me off of a 'busa running 210 or so... maybe not.

Maybe a backup one for the rider in case they get seperated from the vehicle? Would still scare the crap out of me if I came off the bike with all those cords. Truly ugly could happen.

My late friend Arvil Porter was one of the very early bike riders to wear a rider stabilizer chute.

[Artist]

Jack McClure used a Jim Deist motorcycle streamliner drag chute on his 200 mph rocket kart.

[Artist]

McClure was also the first outside of drag boat racing to wear a stabilizer chute.

[Artist]

First open bike to use a drag chute. http://www.canosoarus.com/09JetBike/JetBike05.htm

[Artist]

Rider stabilizer chute worn by rocket bike racer John Dixon.

[Fordplay0621]

To Many Oh----! Variables. Better brakes and better skills.

[Artist]

To Many Oh----! Variables. Better brakes and better skills.

Most land speed bike riders are amateurs.