My new Superbike!
That’s me in the center. I’d fooled around with my own little homebrew faired bike for a few years and about killed myself several times. So I decided to stop fooling around and get the real thing. Just then I saw that the regional HPV race squad was wanting to sell their superfast vehicle to raise funds for their next big thing! Wow! It cost a lot, but I hemmed and hawed and worked on Martha until we decided what the heck. Actually, it only cost what the bare frame of a race HPV would cost. There’s no other way I could’ve gotten into highspeed HPVing. And that’s the truth.
My old rig simply had a too short wheelbase. It would get hobbyhorsing and throw me. It also was just plain slow. My goal is car speed. I live at least 5 miles out in the country. For me to have a bike that can realistically replace the car for everyday errands it has to be FAST. So I just went all the way.
The WISIL Missile was developed by the Wisconsin Illinois HPV racing team. A group of engineers and riders. It went races on the circuit for years as it went from pilot to pilot, until everyone wanted to try something new.
It’s top speed was a sprint at 53mph into a headwind on the flat, for one of its wins. It has also been ridden for 30 miles in the hour.
I came with a head-out fairing, which I use for everyday commuting. And a fullyenclosed fairing that matches the ‘tub’ part, which was used in its early race days.
The fairing is patterned off of a NASA wing profile. It is dual suspension, using a custom fork invented by the WISIL team, which has proven very effective. It’s a low-racer, with a seat only about 10″ off the road. 20″ front wheel, 700c rear. 66-tooth crank, with an 11-tooth small cog for about a 132″ top gear. Compare with 110 on a top upright race bike.
I can run a headlight in it and I’ve built in 5 cargo bays to carry a whole bag of groceries.
I can ride 30mph much of the time, but I average about 26mph tops so far. I bet that our suburban motorists only average 28mph. When I’m out riding the cars go by me very slowly. It’s a very comfy feeling.
I’ve come to greatly appreciate the secure feeling of riding in a top level fully faired HPV. It handles great. Like a rock solid rocket. Sidewinds don’t bother it at all, since it has fully curving sides and is so low. Cars treat me nice and always seem to see me. When you go so fast and they pass so slow, it greatly increases your safety range. Cars coming up on me have lots more time to see me. The dual sus really smoothes out the ride and makes high speed cornering a breeze, especially on bumpy road.
I usually can hit 40mph when out for cruises. If I take it out for a club ride, I can get home about a half hour early for a 25 mile ride. Not very sociable, I know, but when dinner is waiting.
I plan to use it for the 60-mile commutes to Ann Arbor and Battle Creek someday, but that hasn’t happened. If I do that, it’ll give me a chance to see what kind of time I can set for an open road 100k self-supported.
I ride it unfaired as well. It’s a red Ferrari, in that case. It feels like an Xwing fighter. I just hop into the cockpit and blast away. I’ve been tempted to try the Michigan 24 Hour Challenge on it. But I presume my butt will give out. (I wish those guys would let me swap between recumbent and upright. What a way to extend your muscle life and comfort range!) This is the unfaired bike I used to lap the USCF crit field.
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I just did this year’s big HPV race with the Missile: a 14-mi road race at the lovely, twisty Waterford raceway. I averaged over 30mph for the first time! I got 3rd place and was the only street-legal commuter-type HPV to keep up with the super-streamers. In fact, we 3 just about lapped the rest of the field, including several very fast fully faired rigs. Last year, those 2 streamers lapped me, but this year I stayed quite close to them the whole way and even passed the Moby for 2nd for awhile. I also sprinted it to 38.5mph, with 40 showing as I left the trap—much better than last year. Basically, I’ve learned to ride it in the past year. Now I have a few improvements to make to shoot for the overall title next time! —Wheeldisks, rear derailleur fairing, improved top fairing and wheelhole fairings. That should do it! I’ll also get new tires.
The HPV tire guru, Zach Kaplan, is right when he urges highspeed HPV pilots to use the fattest, best tires they can. You want a lot of reliable rubber on the road when you’re going 40+.
