HyperRocket: hot looking 125mpg reverse trike on Ebay
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Neat machine, HyperRocket.
I take it you built it? Care to share your story with us? http://ecomodder.com/forum/fe-graphs/graph2587.gif |
Rocket background
My name is John & I am Ford Motor Companies Fuel Economy Technical Expert. After working for over 20 years improving conventional production car/truck FE I wanted to try something with fewer constraints.
As you can see in the ebay photos it is a tandem seated reverse trike. This design offers the lowest frontal area and Cd. The vehicle and powertrain have been optimized with computer based simulation. GPS based coast down tests were used to confirm the Cd. The best FE of 125mpg was achieved using narrow motorcycle wheels and a small rear sprocket. I have had it up to 106mph and it was still accelerating. It is offered for sale because I am nearly finished building another one like it except it is a plug in hybrid. The garage is full something has to go. |
Wow, we'd love just to hear more about the design and building of these cars! Of course I can't afford it, but your expertise would be much appreciated if you ever feel like sharing the story of this or your current build, :)
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Thanks for the extra info, John. Is it a fuel injected engine? (I suspect it's out of the Kawasaki Ninja 250, so maybe not.)
I hope you'll keep us updated with your latest project as well. Mind if I copy some of your e-bay pictures into this thread? Do you have a web site? |
Very cool - I imagine getting pulled over by the police constantly thinking it is a race car.
Careful telling everyone you're Ford's FE guy... you may get lynched. |
John, I hope you stick around! :thumbup:
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Rocket
Thanks everyone for your kind inquires.
Yes the engine is a Ninja 250. Using an exhaust gas oxygen sensor & a laptop data acquisition system I was able to re-jet the carbs for max efficiency and driveability. Funny you should ask about the cops. I was pulled over for speeding last week & after I told the officer it gets over 100mpg he "called for back up". Four squad cars showed up, several houses of neighbors came out and the whole thing turned into a spectacle. No ticket, everyone was genuinely interested in ecomodding! |
That is an amazing ride!
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I see no license plate - does putting that on make a noticible difference in cD?
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Its on there Matt. But it is on a hinge so it will sail. I never tried to figure out how much it helps
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Looks awesome... Could you potentially post a few pictures of the cockpit? Or any build information/documentation?
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----- I'm really interested in your vehicle (alas, not to buy - I'm just graduating :p) -I've spent the past 5 years working on human powered vehicles like http://lh5.ggpht.com/_D2QxPcjAwMA/Se...0/P1050102.JPG (The ostentatiously orange one) and http://www.primitiveengineering.com/...es/splash1.jpg (Background: 2 Wheeler - Foreground: 3 Wheeled Tadpole Trike) I love your faired suspension/wishbone setup, looks beautiful..... I'm curious if/how you quantified a .16 cD? And, as the builder, what would you do differently next time (a question I constantly ask myself on the vehicle's I've worked on/built)? Sorry for all the questions :p |
Why do you refer to it as a reverse trike and not a tadpole trike? how is it reversed? or is it reversed from a delta trike?
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I blogged about the HyperRocket. Hope it helps your auction, John.
HyperRocket: 125 mpg, 100+ mph 3-wheel motorcycle Man, it looks fun. I'd love to try it. |
HyperRocket, you're getting a lot of attention and questions here... I was wondering if you drive this thing in a "sporty" way, a "typical" way or hypermiling? Do you have any average fuel consumption information instead of Xmpg@Ymph?
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HyperRocket. Welcome!
Your project is almost exactly what I want to build. Available cash is my only constraint or I'd just buy yours! Stay with us and share your experiences. I think many of us would like to get a glimpse of your experiences working within the constraints in the automotive industry as well as your personal perspective of where we should go next in efficiency with consideration for styling, utility, safety and affordability. Welcome! |
Someone submitted the blog item to Digg, so I added a Digg button to the post. Go Digg it, please!
HyperRocket: 125 mpg, 100+ mph 3-wheel motorcycle . |
trebuchet03
Aerodynamic Styling in my opinion is beautiful. Given the quest for improved FE I think we are going to see allot more good looking vehicles on the road. Ryland You will find there are many names given to this type of 3 wheeler. Tadpole & Reverse are common Darin Thanks allot for the well written Blog. I love Canada & usually vacation in the North Channel each year. I've been thinking of a trip around the lake in Rocket2. if I do, I'll let you take it for a spin. MazdaMatt Hwy is where most of North Americas energy is consumed. I started this project to create a vehicle that maximizes Hwy FE unlike a conventional hybrid which is designed for the City. Therefore I intentionally exclude drive technique like pulse & glide from the numbers. beatr911 Rocket2 the plug-in is a couple of months off. When I "gitter done" I'll post something here on it. John |
Fantastic looking machine and those figures are very impressive indeed. Good luck with the plug-in hybrid follow-up, I look forward to hearing about it!
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Now on Jalopnik... Jalopnik - Ford Engineer Builds 125 MPG "HyperRocket" In Spare Time - hyperrocket
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Do you have any pics of the chassis? And what about that windshield, did you make it or did you use a company resource? This really gets the gears in my head turning!
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The canopy looks like something from a Vans sport plane. Awesome work!
Similar to many of my concepts, but smaller. |
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If you ever do take this or your next trike into this neck of the woods, please let me know! I'd love to have a closer look. Too bad eBay didn't generate any bids. Quite a few other sites picked up the EM blog post: Jalopnik, Treehugger, and a Gas 2.0 version just went popular on Digg about half an hour ago. And you probably got e-mail today from a Popular Mechanics (Science?) reporter who asked me about you. |
Sorry about the lack of bids-if wishes were cash that critter would be mine...:p
Here's hoping the publicity you're beginning to generate gets you some bids when you re-post it. And if not, there's always Craigslist! |
Hey, maybe Craig Vetter will buy it. It almost fits his criteria.
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HyperRocket, i have been meaning to ask you about something...
You said you used a wideband o2 with datalogging to precisely dial in the jetting of the ninja 250 carbs. Exactly what jetting did you go with, and what air temperature was this at? What was your target AFR? |
It back on Ebay, even better starting price. Sure wish I could get it, but no funds yet!!
Custom Built Motorcycles:eBay Motors (item 220413928986 end time May-20-09 03:38:50 PDT) |
More potential free advertising coming your way, John...
A researcher for the Discovery Channel just contacted me about the HyperRocket. I provided him with your e-mail address. Good luck with the new auction. |
HyperRocket
I am in the dreaming/planning/collecting materials stage of building something very similar. Can you tell me what you used for the front suspension components, i.e spindles, brakes, etc.?
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I love the SS 4-wheeler wheels!! We sold alot of those at my old job.
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John,
Great job on the trike. I really like those side mirrors. I've been looking for some about that size to reduce drag. Can you tell me what kind of mirrors those are and where to get them? BTW could you give us any details on the plug in hybrid replacement and when it will go on Ebay (LOL) so we can start saving our pennies. Thanks, Ed |
John - great vehicle. Have you considered/would you consider selling all information pertinent to the creation of the vehicle as a kit (part drawings, copies of sketches, notes, solid modeling, etc)? How much of this were you able to "frankenstein" together?
...looking forward to building something similar... |
Does anyone know what happened to this vehicle? I'm not sure if it sold on eBay. I wonder if John decided to keep it for the hybrid transplant?
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John - How much did it cost to fabricate? No disrespect, but why did you pick an engine that has no reverse? Is that part of the reason why you're selling it?? It seems really awkward to me to have such a sweet ride and be pushing it out of a parking spot while everybody watches (probably wondering what's wrong with a car that was clearly custom built).
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I just noticed that he recently relisted it on ebay! Now $7500
Custom Built Motorcycles:eBay Motors (item 220489626311 end time Oct-10-09 16:30:54 PDT) |
Questions
John,
I have a bike and have started to gather the other parts to start a similar project. I have everything worked out except for the spindles. What did you use for spindles on the motorcycle wheel configuration? Like many others who have posted to this thread I have a ton more questions and design ideas to share. looking forward to see your next project. |
If I set out to build the most fuel-efficient daily driver possible on a budget of $20k (which I might well do in a few years), it would look very, very much like the HyperRocket.
I really doubt you could build your own for less than he's asking, but a vehicle like this has never been about saving money. If it were mine, I'd add Aptera-style wheel fairings. Tires are an aerodynamic disaster. |
For $7500 it is a steal! Alot of work went into that. Wish I had the dough!
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