Would a bike with two in-line rear wheels work?

[Franklin]

In other words, a three-wheeler bike where the drive wheels are in line instead of side by side?

 

[fstbusa]

I don't see why not... the length of the bike is gonna grow considerably and with that comes the inability to throw the bike around through the twisties.

 

[Bike382]

Sounds cool, but it may cause traction problems at Bonneville. It would double the contact area but reduce the psi of tire to track contact by 1/2.

With wheelspin being an issue it may not work unless a wing was added for downforce. A concrete or asphalt track may not be as bad.

This surely isn't the gospel, but just the basics that come to mind when thinking of the real world track conditions for top speed racing.

I like the technical stuff you have been posting Franklin. It's good to see folks thinking beyond just bolting on the usual goodies. Keep it up.

382

 

[Franklin]

I thought about conditions at Bonneville too, and it occurred to me the rear drive wheel will need some sort of shield or deflector in front of it so that the salt roostertail from the front drive wheel doesn't get under it to worsen slippage.

As far as wings are concerned, at 250 or 300 mph it doesn't take much wing to generate several hundred pounds of downforce.

 

[Bike382]

I hadn't thought about the salt spray, it could be an issue. You are right about the wing, it sure wouldn't take much at those speeds .

 

[ThunderPants]

I would think that you would need to have separate suspensions for both rear wheels. If they were on the same swingarm, when the front rear wheel would hit a bump it would lift the back rear wheel at the same time, and then the back rear wheel would spin when it hit again only to lift the front rear wheel which would also spin when it came back down. So it could work but each wheel would need independent suspension, if I am thinking it out clearly. Of course if the surface was smooth enough it might work on the same swingarm.

 

[frisbee]

 

[Franklin]

I suppose you could build a frame longer than the wheelbase so that you could have a conventional swingarm for the forward drive wheel and a swingarm for the rear drive where the shock unit and pivot are BEHIND the wheel. This way the drive wheels could be kept close together so that the wheelbase doesn't become excessive.

Hardtails are okay for dragstrips but out at Bonneville having a suspension is by itself worth more mph.

 

[GMbusa]

Multiwheels? Why not just get that 250mm new tire kit and fit a race M/T compound tire.