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| Lykle:
Hi Tom, Thank you, I had not looked at the design from the collision standpoint. Good point! As I said, back to the drawing board. I had a good look at it, and it is not going to be easy to improve. Or I do a complete redesign and change the chassis completely, or I accept the fact that there is an issue and move on. The fact is, I will not use this thing all that often, so maybe I should accept the fact. But I am certainly going to have a good look at it and see if there is a way to mitigate it. Once again, Thanks Tom! |
| Lykle:
Thought about it. Conclusion, this thing is dangerous. There is no good way to protect myself when a collision occurs. Doesn't stop me from building it though. |
| Lykle:
Lot of changes recently. I changed the main frame after I realised that I don't need the long tube sticking straight into my gut. The frame is now stronger, but still a bit too flexible. Deflection at the front is 5 cm with 4 times the load. Working on it, but other than increasing the tube sizes, not much I can do. Perhaps a shoulder height tube, but no smooth way to fix that at the back. Also, I had a look at bodywork. I want something weird, not aerodynamic per se. More something that will keep my legs covered. The result is attached. Small issue with this design is, if I hit something head on, I will be decapitated. So I will have to build in strong points and breaking points to get it to crumple correctly and keep it away from my neck. So many issues, so much time to think about it. |
| Lykle:
Chassis is now defined. Stress levels are acceptable, deflection is still a bit large, but I do not want to make the frame higher at the back. That would be the only way to reduce the deflection. All in all, I am happy with what I have now. The next task is the bearing pack at the front, that connects the frame to the tilting part. These bearings are doing my head in. Or I have become very stupid at my age, or I have no clue as to what I am doing. Probably simply need to sleep on it. Looking at the design examples SKF are giving me, I cannot fit any bearings to this frame. Ah well. All the other stuff is all but done, suspension, steering, tilting (except the bearings) and electrics. Anyway, here is a nice deflected image with stress colors. |
| Lykle:
Progress has been very slow, as I am hard at work trying to find a job, but nobody is interested in a 50+ years old IT manager. Ah well, such is life these days. The chassis is done, designed and ready to be built. Fiddled around with the bodywork. Can't get a good look in my head. It is such an unusual shape and new concept, it is hard to think of something that will look good and cover the important bits, like my balls. The V of the legs will neatly guide every little piece of debris, like stones, towards my stones. Not a way to go driving fast. I think the real shape will only emerge after I get to see it in the metal, so to speak. Another thing I am playing with is the hand controls. As I only use my hands for throttle and brakes, I had clip-on handlebars with a twist throttle and brake levers like on a bike. But I am now moving towards a kind of joystick, the ones that fighter jets use for throttle control. Lever, full forward is full speed, pull back and first the regenerative braking kicks in and then the hydraulic brakes start working. I had a thought of using directional braking. Pull the stick back and to the left, the left front wheel gets more braking force than the right. Because I am throwing the "standard controls" out the window, I might as well go all the way. I would like to try it, just to see how it feels diving into a corner. But the way I designed it now, will not work as it sticks out too much and will be scraping along the road at max lean angle. Not good for the master brake cylinder! I am still not happy with the main tilting bearing pack. I need to make sure I have space for thermal expansion while still keeping it stiff and locked in. I think I will have a another look at it during this week. Or simply forget about it and bolt it in. |
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