Bonneville and Bikes

[106-1194218389]

I was one lucky guy in that one! If you look at the last picture that is straight from the back you can see that the drivers seat back broke. The car tipped on it's side and was slidding when the car I was racing hit me sending my car into the air where it barrel rolled three times before it hit the ground again. It hit top first and I remember the thump to this day. Hard, very hard and proved the worth of a good helmet. What kept me from getting a broken neck was that seat back breaking and letting me go backwards. I remember looking out the windshield as it rolled and thinking it reminded me of the films I had seen of airplanes doing barrel rolls. Amazing what we think of when we are looking death in the face. When the car first went over I was so stinking scared, I knew I was going to die. Then it was funny I got the most calming feeling that just told me I would be ok and to just hang on like heck. The only problems I had was some glass cuts in my elbows from crawling out, being very stiff for a week and having to pull naugehyde out my butt because it had sucked on so tight.

John

[slracer]

I got this email today, and thought I would pass it on. Don't blame me if the time isn't right, but keep your eyes open.
Doug
PS - Not bikes, but Bonneville!

Christmas is early this year, Discovery Channel will air ( Speed Capital Of The World Bonneville ) on December, 16 at 9pm Central. Poteet & Main's "SPEED DEMON" & George Poteet 's 69 Cuda the Blowfish salt cars featured in the hour long story of men and machines against the salt in attempts to set land speed records.

This should be some of the best coverage of Bonneville due to the amount of special equipment used by the Discovery team involved in its production.

Ride along with George & Ron at a top speed of 290mph and experience why these men go back each year.


Bonneville, the most beautiful Race Track in the world!

[larrycavan]

[slracer]

Hi Guys, Check this out! It's gyro stabilized and electric powered with a top speed of 25mph ("now, bigger motors will allow it to go faster"). No controls, it is like a helicopter: tilt it forward, it goes forward and faster. Tilt it back, it slows. I assume it has brakes for the final stop. It has only 2 wheels, but the BV rules specify a "single track" so I don't know what class it runs in? Anybody got any money left, he's looking for an investor to go into production. Think I'll wait awhile! -- Doug

[106-1194218389]

That is really cool! I just wonder on the stopping distance :;):

Is it built by the same people as Sedgeway?

John

[slracer]

Here's the "info" in the email I got (from the head of Bonneville Technical Inspection). From one comment therein, I would say it had no relation to Segway. Another pic too! It looks like there is a hand control in the first pic, I would guess it's the brake for making it STOP instead of slow down.

Doug

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A young inventor has created a motorbike with a twist - it uses two wheels but they are positioned right next to each other, giving it the illusion of being a powered unicycle. And even better, it might help save the planet.
Ben Gulak has spent several years building the electric Uno that uses gyroscopic technology - like the infamous Segway commuter device - to stay upright.
The bizarre-looking contraption has only one switch - on or off - and is controlled entirely by body movement. The rider leans forwards to accelerate to speeds of 25mph and back to slow down. It has two wheels side-by-side and has been turning heads wherever it has been ridden.

Ben Gulak designed the Uno himself with the help of a simple 3D program
The green machine is so small and light it can be taken indoors and carried into lifts - and is recharged by being plugged into the mains.
The wheels are completely independent, allowing the bike to turn on a sixpence and the technology takes the balance and guesswork out of riding a unicycle.
Its 18-year-old creator is now looking for investors to get the Uno into production and onto the streets.
Ben, from Ontario , Canada , said: 'I was inspired to make the bike after visiting China a few years ago and seeing all the smog.
'They all drive little bikes that are really polluting and I wanted to make something to combat that.
'I started with the concept because if something doesn't look cool people just won't be interested.

The Uno works like a Segway - just tilt your body forward to start moving

Ben Gulak turns heads from onlookers as he rides past them
'After coming up with the concept I started to build it and now have the first prototype and the reaction has been amazing.
'It has two wheels side by side and that means it is easier to turn as they are completely independent and have their own suspension.
'The bike has a 'neutral point' and when you lean forward it accelerates to keep the neutral point in the right place.
'It has a couple of gyros and is basically self-balancing - it takes the guesswork out of riding a unicycle.
'The bike takes a bit of getting used to because you have to learn to trust it. But it doesn't take long.
'It takes any weight and weighs 120 lbs and can fit into a lift so you can take it indoors to charge it up.
'Currently it has a top speed of 25mph, but that will be increased greatly with bigger motors.
'It has a range of about 2.5 hours and it is designed for the commute to work through busy towns. I believe this could be electrical alternative to the car.
I'm just looking for an investor to help me get it into production.

[106-1194218389]

You know Doug, it looks like something out of Star Wars.

John

[slracer]

Hi all, Louise Noeth is a personal friend of mine from our days as members of the Gear Grinders club in the LA area. It turns out she is an associate editor for the Discovery Channel special on Bonneville which airs next week so she sent the attachment shown below. As with all of these programs, she urges "Check your local listings for the time in your area!" I hope I don't forget to watch! :p

As an aside, Louise introduced me to an English engineer who was making his first trip to BV and we spent an hour conversing about some of the vehicles I was acquainted with before I finally asked him what his interest was. He was the Chief Mechanical Designer for the Thrust SST supersonic car! I did a lot more listening the next hour! -- Doug

[bruce]

I watched the show last night!!

[jfholm]

I am getting the Bonneville itch! I was thinking about building an XO/STR which is a street roadster with an old inline 235 style engine I have. I think I have changed my mind and am thinking about building and XO/GL which is a vintage engined gas lakester.

I really think it would be easier to build and less restrictive on the rules. Record is 181 mph compared to 151 mph. So gulp, it looks possible on the computer so I think I will go that way. Need to get my old behind into gear though.

John

[slracer]

John, Your timing is perfect! I got 2 emails today, one from the chief M/C inspector at Bonneville and the second from the head of Volunteers for Bonneville. They say it is going to be a "really big show" this year and that rooms are going fast! I told them both that I would be there and was available to come early if needed/wanted. I'm going to Calif next week to work on the new bike (described earlier). I have been working on a mockup and am ready to start cutting tubing and welding up the frame. I'm on version 6 of the centerhub steering, but this one is looking good (at least in wood it looks good, maybe it's the rosewood finish and high gloss coating? ). With the latest mod, it has a 100" wheelbase! Pics don't do it justice! Note, the wooden block in the front of the picture is a "spacer" holding the CL at the right height. -- Doug

[jfholm]

Doug,
That is going to be neat! I will of course not have my car done this year, but I am going over and build a fire under my friends that are building the 50cc turboed Honda. They are not that far away.

John

[slracer]

John, We have had a 125cc turboed Honda at the salt and he had problems keeping the turbine spun up. Every time he shifted, the rpm of the turbo would fall and take a long time to come back on the boost. Whatever size unit is on the 50cc engine, make it smaller! If I can find the one I looked at, I'll post the map vs the requirements! :p Here is a website for "TurboTech" by Garrett. The attachment is an Excel sheet I did using the methodology in TurboTech 103. -- Doug

[slracer]

Hi John, This pretty much "explains" the problem with small engines and existing turbos. This is Garrett's GT12 which is their smallest unit and is supposed to be good down to 400cc. With a 15HP target and 100cc, the required mass air flow is only 1.8 lb/min and the pressure ratio is almost 3.1:1. That puts it outside the operating envelope for this unit! Your friend's 50cc is even more of a problem, especially with a 2 stroke as the lower end seals are sometimes a problem. I wish them Good Luck as it gets boring looking at the same thing all the time in inspection. If I never saw another Hayabusa, it would be too soon! -- Doug

Can anyone tell me what parameters move the envelope to the right? The right side of the envelope is usually labelled as the "surge boundary". If I am understanding what I am reading, the primary driver is the diameter of the compressor wheel and the height of the wheel (when viewed from the side).