Drafting

Low rider

Low rider

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I saw a guy this morning (not raining) on a 450 Night Hawk on the 401. I could see that he was cold, so he was drafting behind a truck.
It brought back many memories of myself when I had a CB350 and a CB360 also drafted a bit on my SR500.
When your bike is low on power, it sure helps out doing large highway miles.
It helps in cold weather also.
But you always have to keep in mind that the truck driver may not know you're there.

The guy I saw this morning was doing alright, but he needed to get a lot closer than he was to really see the fuel savings kick in.

I would get right up on the tail gate of the truck. You could roll back on the throttle when you're that close.
 
Seen the aftermath of people doing it in cars and the trucker having to make an emergency stop. I have zero interest doing it on the bike.
 
UM. like if a truck slams on his brakes, you wouldn't be able to stop in time?
 
I used to draft on my 125 during colder days when going to school. It def helped with the cold wind. I especially loved it when you hear the sound change in your engine when you hit the sweet spot. Practically all wind resistance is null
 
Another thing. The bikes I used to do it with were also air cooled.
I had to peek out from time to time to cool down the engine.
 
Did it once before traveling through the desert between Pheonix and LA at night. Running out of gas so I had no choice to draft, not many gas stations out there open at night. Was about 30 degrees so my bike kept running hot without any airflow through the rad.

I didnt feel safe doing it not because I wouldnt stop in time, but if there was any debris I would not be able to see it.

Also after seeing this happen http://youtu.be/xjV2m70hA4o I want to avoid being a victim of debris.
 
Yes, there are dangers. Debris is always an issue.
 
Drafting trucks is tricky. If you're not close enought it just buffets you like mad, and it gets annoying fast as you look like a bobble head with your helmet all over the place. Get close enough for buffeting to die down and you're dangerously close to the back end.

I did draft a suburban coming back from Deals Gap once...250km i was behind him...waved to him when i peeled off to refuel...gave me my best gas mileage ever.
 
I did it for 500 miles once when I got my new 1984 Honda Cb700SC Nighthawk-S. It was march and COLD, snowbanks etc. I talked to a tractor trailer driver and he was ok with it, I drafted close all the way from Grand Island Nebraska to Colorado Springs. Great way to break in the bike, one 500 miles trip!
 
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