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Post by streethawkuk on Oct 10, 2007 15:41:47 GMT -5
Sorry mate didn't mean to go all fiberglass lesson on you, I think I misunderstood your earlier post. It sounded as though you hadn't done much work with it before. Sounds like you've been doing your homework on carbon fiber. My only experience of carbon fiber was the small projects I saw going on and what the guys I worked with told me about it. The company where I learnt to laminate was involved in R&D for other companies. I made prototype moulds for a car a well known American company were building in partnership with a Chinese firm. They were not intending to spray the surface of the panels once they were taken from the mould to cut down on cost. That's why I was taught to be uber careful with print through on moulds because they had to be perfect so the panels had no orange peel or fiber marks. I'm sure you don't need worry to much with your panels because you will be spraying them. If it's possible to do the Carbon Fiber like you say, I would love to see a bike with just bare carbon fiber panels. It would look like a true prototype ;D I wish you all the best with your bike from what I've seen so far it's going to be awesome.
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Post by spyhunter2k on Oct 10, 2007 20:02:48 GMT -5
I've got a fair amount of experience with fiberglass, but I'm sure I could still learn quite a lot from someone who's worked with it professionally--please don't hesitate to lend me advice if you have it. Now I'm off to apply body-fill to the upper nose!
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Post by Pentastar on Oct 18, 2007 12:02:10 GMT -5
Now I'm off to apply body-fill to the upper nose! Sounds like the Michael Jackson project!
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Post by streethawkuk on Nov 16, 2007 18:18:19 GMT -5
Hi Spyhunter how's the replica going?
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Post by spyhunter2k on Nov 19, 2007 13:06:54 GMT -5
I'll hopefully be finishing the dual fuel cells this week. I got a lot done on them last night. I took my time trying to research the best thing to use. I can't find any commercially available fuel cell small enough to fit in the narrow areas underneath the rear of the Street Hawk nose.
I finally settled this past weekend on using two single-quart metal containers, of the type available at home supply stores.
The problem is that the screw-top is on top, but since the cans will be postioned on their side length-wise, I'm relocating the screw-tops to the side. A new metal plate is replacing the hole where the screw-top was and a nozzle is being epoxied to the bottom.
Lines from the two single-quart containers will feed to a T-junction, and then to an inline filter and on/off valve originally meant for a lawn mower.
I will have the cells put together tonight. I'll re-paint them and mount them to the bike hopefully by the weekend and will take pics.
Range will not be good. At 40 miles/gallon, that means two quarts will last about 20 miles. An alternative would be to commission two custom blown-plastic tanks that would fit the exact dimensions under the rear of the nose, but that would multiply the costs of the fuel cell system by a factor of 100 vs. using the quart containers. It would squeeze some additional fuel in there, but at too high a price.
Another member has suggested using the hollow area underneath the absent left exhaust to hold more fuel, and I may explore this eventually.
The shape of the upper nose itself has finally been achieved. It will be recieving a final skim-coat of filler soon, but I need to finish the fuel cells first and crank the bike. It's been months since I last cranked it and need to keep the engine loose.
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Post by spyhunter2k on Nov 25, 2007 0:39:44 GMT -5
Took a break from the fuel cells and worked on the nose some more. I stretched fabric over the lower side openings and then trimmed it all around.
After that, I layed on a layer of fiberglass cloth, followed by a layer of matt. Next will be filling in the lower sides with body filler to complete the lower half of the nose. Hard to explain in words...
I've taken pics but it's too late to post them now--will try to get them up soon.
S.
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Post by Josh on Jan 2, 2008 10:43:12 GMT -5
Hey spyhunter, any updates on the replica?
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Post by spyhunter2k on Jan 4, 2008 13:44:43 GMT -5
I'll have updates next week. I took a small video of the bike running with the two fuel cells mounted. It's a beauty!
I've also been working feverishly on the nose trying to finish it. It's mostly final surfacing at this point. I'll begin working on the side panels soon.
Pics of the nose and the fuel cell, along with the fuel cell video, will be posted next week.
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Post by spyhunter2k on Jan 8, 2008 20:31:33 GMT -5
The fuel cells as they began life: And when they were finished:
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Post by spyhunter2k on Jan 8, 2008 21:07:38 GMT -5
A video of the bike running with the fuel cells mounted:
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Post by spyhunter2k on Jan 8, 2008 21:13:26 GMT -5
The nose after stretching fabric over the lower openings and then fiberglassing over the fabric:
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Post by spyhunter2k on Jan 8, 2008 21:27:48 GMT -5
And the nose as it is now. The lower sides have been filled in and sanded smooth. The upper front has been repaired. The rear tank display area has been filled in, though it will likely need another couple of fills to be finished. The only tricky part remaining is creating the front midline creases using filler, but as i'm getting closer to finishing the nose I'm working on it much more often. The next update will probably show the nose buck in primer.
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Post by Josh on Jan 9, 2008 19:12:03 GMT -5
Very cool! Thanks for the update!
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Post by spyhunter2k on Jan 23, 2008 13:57:12 GMT -5
I am trying to pin down the exact measurements of the pilot bike side panels. As best I can tell, these pictures are of the same scale: I say that because I've sized them so that the width of the wheels and the 13" PM front brake rotor are identical. Also, the distance from the rear wheel hub to the upper rear edge of the front nose where it meets the front of the seat is the same. Notice the centerline of each of the two side panels. The series bike dips downward towards the front to accomodate the larger belly of the series nose, even though the blueprints for the altered series bike called for the side panel to be exactly level and symmetrical top to bottom. The midline of the pilot side panel shows that the front vents are actually angled up slightly, though I attribute this to a sculpting error, as Proberts final design has the panel level and symmetrical. Also, note how much longer the wheelbase is on the pilot bike. See where the tip of each front nose falls in relation to the front of the front tire? The series nose is about even with the front tire while the pilot nose isn't even close. I hope to have final measurements made soon and begin work on the side panels as I finish up the nose.
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Post by spyhunter2k on Feb 19, 2008 13:10:41 GMT -5
I should have another update soon. I've pretty much finished the shape of the nose except for some final refinements to the windscreen support. I've created line drawings of the side panels and will be printing them out in the next week or so so that I can start on them.
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