[redyaris]

Originally Posted by MisterInnovation

I am building a full fairing around my Honda Rebel after reclining the seat to a recumbent position to lower frontal area. The end goal is to cover the exterior skin with solar cells to create a giant solar panel so that the bike is generating a significant amount of electricity as long as the sun is out. I plan to use the power to eliminate the alternator load from the engine. When the battery is above a certain limit the power will be used to generate hydrogen from a fuel cell behind the seat to boost mpg. Even if it is an insignificantly small improvement, all the electrical needs are met, so long as I don't add an electric hybrid motor onto the frame (not out of the question) The excess energy is used to generate an explosive gas that *in theory would improve my fuel economy by allowing me to be able to run leaner in my 233cc engine.

Does anybody know where I can get an electric motor that I could attach to the chain drive? Maybe build it into a sidecar design with batteries in there to power the vehicle to start and at low/med speeds <35mph or so depending on battery availability.

Perhaps adding a clutch between the electric motor and the chain.

This is all beside the point. As of today the bike has no sidecar but it can run on ethanol/e85/gasoline [with a 20 minute conversion] or hydrogen and any of these mixes. I would like to add a full fairing next to reduce my drag.


On the topic of my air cooled engine, would a shape similar to that of an f86 fighter be more efficient/better for cooling the engine or would such a duct be better for areodynamics if it was placed under the bike behind the front tire and in front of the engine? Am I right in thinking that I could use the front tire to push rotational air up into the duct from the tire spinning?

I want to stay as streamlined as possible with a lexan windshield and windows to promote visibility, reflective glass beading over the parts of the vehicle that aren't solar panels to increase visibility at night. I also want to add peltier cells to the engine to generate enough power to run led strips off the engine heat to optimize visibility at night.

I would like to do a plastic sheeting skin mock up and tuft test of the shell before I build a fiberglass/insulation or a flashing/insulation. Any thoughts on the shape?

I have read all of the Craig Vetter Diaries and think they are absolutely wonderful, I hope to compete in the Fuel Economy Challenges in the years to come.

My dream is to build an all electric solar assisted streamlined three wheeled vehicle that can run at highway speeds, with trailers of batteries instead of tanks of gas. But right now I can't do that, so I will make the most out of what I have by making my rebel as efficient as possible.

I like the idea of the boxfish shape but I can not seem to find a 3d model of the boxfish shape to study and incorporate the shape into the fairing.

After the fairing is done I will change the gearing, after the gearing I will explore different hybrid technologies that I may be able to incorporate into the project. I build and sell solar panels for a living so that's where I will start.

The object of this project is to test the viability of hybrid technologies in everyday vehicles to reduce my dependance on fossil fuels, eventually becoming completely energy independent.

A HUMBLE HOWDY FROM TEXAS AND LET'S GO!

What the front wheel does to the air is make it turbulent, which means that is moving in all directions at once [terbulent]. Turning the front wheel into some kind of squerl cage fan would be very heavy and dificult, and consume energy. A better aproach would be to fair the front wheel so that ducted air would be directed past the wheel smoothly, at the cylinder and head cooling fins.