Update 016
So its been quite some time since my last post, and I left the prototype rear hatch fabrication method half way through. My apologies to all who were following the blog, but I became a bit distracted with other aspects of the project.
I have been hard at work fabricating a vacuum forming machine for the full length clear canopy, procuring an engine management system to drive my EFI throttle body and injector, and working on some alterations to the front suspension which will improve the relevance of this prototype. I‘ll go into greater detail about these plans later, but first I feel I should complete this section about how I make my bodywork.
So continuing from update 015 (in post #262) the next step was to lay-up fibreglass on the inside of the panels that I had screwed together.
Once hardened, this made a single piece construction with a poor quality outer surface that required filling and shaping with polyester automotive body filler (I believe “bondo” is the US vernacular).
Then, after sanding, a coat of high-build primer (pictured) was flatted and painted.
The final shot shows the finished part on the bike. While far from perfect, this part was relatively simple to produce, cost next to nothing but my time, and looks OK. I can now go testing with wool tufts attached and get some idea of the aero performance behind the driver.
I’ll finish this update with an image of how I’m currently employing the same technique on other panels of the bike. This shot shows the forward side panel under construction, as I try to incorporate an air-vent from a scooter side panel into my body.
In my next post I’ll spend a bit more time talking about the body design and my planned testing.