Another generation

Added more than a few kilograms with the increased 'engineering' which I'll happily balance out in the rear. the 60x40 box section in the gooseneck was recycled from a scrapped gooseneck in an earlier project. Keeping rubber to the road means I'll track better and transfer more power from the rig.

The footpegs came off the Moosetruck as I made them to heavy. As part of this I made another set to lighten up the front on the Moosetruck. Got the first set of tinted elastomers out of the mold ready for testing too.

Getting a good fit

After a full day making aluminium tinsel on the milling machine I now have a full set of female molds that make a good job of casting the elastomers. Surprisingly quick if you have access to a 1.25" drill and a micrometer boring head. Actually took longer to halve the stock and square it with the facemill.


Using an old pressure cooker for a vacuum degassing chamber helped keep the bubbles to a minimum. I might try running pressure on a set to see what works best.

Next update: leading link front for the barrow race buggy.

Bring a friend to the dunes

Three BF classics found a new home but first needed a little fitting out to fit in.
New kinked downtube:

Nice new fork:

My use of 15mm stubs were limited to this axle so with modification from flange fit to tube fit also goes to a new home:

Rubberly

Kenda's are fitted to the rear and the front needs a little modification to fit such fat wheels as these.


Then I realised how many wheels I have... have tested over the years. Here's an idea...

Running in

I've spent over a week working late winter nights to get it running for the midwinter BBBB event. You know you've been rushed as you do your final assembly and first sit in the buggy on the beach.

Springboard axle was a surprising success. Running over washboard ruts on the beach I soon realised that I was hearing the wheels on the ruts and not feeling them. Normally hard turns would break traction early in these conditions. With no axle tramp and reduced wheel bounce I had a hard time sliding this buggy.

Footrest came out nice but very heavy. I'll build another lighter set. However the weight balance was spot on the few times I got to break the wheels loose in a slide. Do need to trim the mudflap though.



Things to finish:
Shorten the stirrups
Trim the mudflap
Replace the velcro on the seatbelt quick release
Finish the GPS mount on the goose neck
Replace the elastomers with an unpigmented set
Clean up all the final details

The new axle is complete including the frame to mount it. I like the way the angle work and complete the stubby back end of the seatframe. The finish is not bad for an atmospheric layup either.

Layup consists of:
2x layers of blue cotton
2x layers of 6oz glass
4x layers of 9oz chopstrand glass

The reason for for the chopstrand mat is to provide the strength in flex to absorb bounds without reflex as rebound would break traction




Here are some shots of the stub-axle mounts. The big washer is just a spacer that sits on the machined bearing journal to allow me to snug everything appropriately.



I plan to do one for the race buggy on the vacuum table next. I'll cast some sidewalls to protect the wood from moisture too. The flex worked out well and I just have minimal sag with my weight in the buggy. Jumping on the back axle with the wheels on proved that it was both strong and did not bottom out on the ground which is a good sign.

Carbon illness

Another buggier wanting to get into freestyling. This builder has patternmaking skills in a composite boat building workshop though need the metal parts for the divinycell core carbon frame.

His frame consists of a semi-teardrop shape profile and the headset is a mating fit over it.


To keep weight down we considered 20mm thickwall tube for the stubs and front axle. You can also see the head set abgle had to be adjust to get the right lead angle on the fork since the down tube section of the carbon frame was to shallow.