Tail box/sock/pannier combo

I've researched and thought at length about streamlining my shockproof, and
I've come up with an idea. Please lend me your thoughts and any references
on similar projects.

Presumptions:

Full hardshell tail fairing:

+ Convex curve transition behind body needed for aero shape.
Hardshell trunk is really nice - foam core makes great cooler

- streamlining body / fairing interface is tough, weak, and heavy
long extensions under seat and frame and back to tail are heavy and yield
little storage
getting nice appearance (although positively dreamy) is very labor
intensive - conversely, coroplast can make functional fairing, but looks
bad.

Tail sock/stick:

+ Easy

- no storage, obviously a sock on a stick, convex, less aero, wind catching
shape.

Panniers:

+ Functional, looks OK

- Aerodynamically so-so

ANSWER?:

Make an aerodynamic shaped trunk out of foam and glass, rather like those
rounded tapering touring trunks you see on motorcycles. You try to make it
look good, since this will be your "casual" trunk. This will pop onto the
back of your seat behind your shoulders. It extends no further than the
back of your tire. Flat backed, with maybe a removable rubber trim Kamm
spoiler.

But for those times you want real speed, you take a small aluminum frame
from behind the seat and mount it to holes in the trunk. Then you stretch a
sock that attaches to the frame. Up front, it closes around the sides of
your torso with a drawstring to get a seamless body/fairing transition. It
also seals up around underneath your seat, so you basically become a
streamliner from your butt back.

I'll be making the trunk over the holidays and trying to get some good
"trunk only" data.






















--
Robert Haston
Satellite Beach, FL

I just came across their site - after I spent 8 hours getting the exact
profile I want, and cutting the profile of the foam core of my plug.

I'll go ahead and finish anyway. The boxes I have seen are either luggage
trunks that don't fair the body well, or low racer fairings that end in a
vertical tail covering the big rear tire.

What I am coming up with is more of a highracer tail fairing, which has an
open front to enclose the shoulders, and tapers off in a horizontal tail
(due to the 18" x 10" shoulder section).

My "vision" is to store a body sock inside the front of the shell, which you
can pull forward to hook inside your front fairing.



"Jeff Wills" wrote in message
om...
(Tom Nicholson) wrote in message
. com...
Robert,

I think M5 makes a hardshell box for the Shockproof. Check out the
'Carbon' part of the website. It's also not that expensive. I was
quoted $700 Australian Dollars delivered by the Australian dealer when
ordering a Shockproof 559.

Tom

Novosport makes similar tailboxes. There's a chart on this page to
determine which fits what bike:
http://www.novosport.de/english/frame03.htm

Jeff