Vetterizing my 2013 Zero S ZF11.4

[sendler]

You can curve the side profile as well.
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http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...rt-c-9287.html
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The 8* departure angle might drag on some driveways and 4* looks way too slow along the top.
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If you are going to do all that with a plug and fiberglass, why not do the nose as well like Ben did and save your $2000?
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http://ecomodder.com/forum/380452-post120.html
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[PeterS]

Burton, are you planning an openable storage compartment in the rear section ? If so have you any idea how it will be arranges and how the lid will work?

[Burton]

Originally Posted by PeterS

I do recommend the canoe strip plank method of construction , if only for your plug. The strips have a wonderful way of lying in a fair curve without any effort from you.

Yeah from everything I see this is going to be the method to use for quicker realization of the shape. If done right I will only have to sand twice, once for the general shape, and once to fill holes. Then it is epoxy fiberglass love.

Originally Posted by sendler

You can curve the side profile as well.
The 8* departure angle might drag on some driveways and 4* looks way too slow along the top..
If you are going to do all that with a plug and fiberglass, why not do the nose as well like Ben did and save your $2000?

I thought the side profile didn't seem right either but I was going with what Grant-53 suggested. At this point I can do anything as it doesn't exist yet outside of my computer.

As for the front fairing I already bought it from Vetter and it has been sitting in my living room a while. Good thing I am single lol Vetter spent a lot of time making this thing and at the time I wasn't considering making my own as I have no fiberglass experience and or streamlining experience. That would mean the cost was made up in the time I would have spent making it.

The tail I am making isn't the only one either. I plan on making a vetter tail to get the thing on the road asap. The ideal tail will likely stay on it once it is done though. The idea of leaving my belongings inside a paper shell doesn't sit well with me.

Originally Posted by PeterS

Burton, are you planning an openable storage compartment in the rear section ? If so have you any idea how it will be arranges and how the lid will work?

Right now the plan is to purchase the vetter seat cowl he finished tooling a week ago. It is at his fiberglass guy now if I recall but wont be available for a month or two. It has built into it a recessed section to accept a hatch of some sort.

I imagine you could go with wood here and hinge it to the fiberglass. Wood or metal should be used for the load bearing side of the opening as well as the locking section. The rest could be a foam / fiberglass sandwich and you could get away with it so long as you included mounting points when you made it.

There are notes on each of these images at flickr. Nothing is to scale it is merely to show concepts but if you can't grasp the drawing after reading their descriptions let me know.

Door_Latch
Door_HingeOp2
Door_HingeOp1

[PeterS]

Thanks Burton .

Don't forget to make the wheels easily removable, motorcycle tires really don't last long and if you use the bike a lot you'll change tires often.

[Burton]

Originally Posted by PeterS

Thanks Burton .
Don't forget to make the wheels easily removable, motorcycle tires really don't last long and if you use the bike a lot you'll change tires often.

More like don't forget to make the whole tail easily removable. Vetter prides himself in being able to easily remove both front and back fairings and I plan on following the same path.

I have 40k miles on my current bike in about 2.5 years so I know a thing or two about changing tires

[PeterS]

Excellent ! I't's one of those little things I've been thinking about .

BTW, I wish I could afford a Zero, a new one is A$25K in Australia!

[Grant-53]

This is proving to be a global project. The angles I recommend are from the Morelli/ Aptera shape and match those found on vintage sailplanes. The ground clearance, 4" plus, should keep the tail high enough. The latch receiver plate need only be a piece of metal as the locks come in different lengths.
Sendler and I occasionally butt heads which is one reason I always wear a helmet

If anyone is interested we have the National Sailplane Museum and the Glenn Curtiss Museum nearby. Curtiss built motorcycles before getting into aviation. It's about 2 hours from Syracuse.

[Burton]

Prepare to but heads some more.

Applying ideal shape to side

Ideal shape applied to side profile as well as top. Interestingly enough the overall angle is close to the one Tom Finch suggested Terry use on his tail.

[Burton]

There should be more than 4" of clearance at the rear given the tail is only going to be about 2 or 3" under the frame of the body, maybe even flush with it idk yet.

It would really suck to drag a tail down hill. Let me do some quick math. Ok it would take a slope of 21 degrees to start dragging tail with the bike not bottomed out. If it was bottomed out it would take a slope of 9.3 degrees to touch down.

Bike bottoms out at 3" off the ground. My wheels are 17" rims so about 14.5" from axle + the 4" from loft.

EDIT: Just realized / remembered the seat cowl Vetter is building angles backward >_< This means the above is wrong as that isn't the final vertical profile. Oh well, getting faster at producing them so.

[Burton]

It looks like there will be a welder in my near future.

Vetter was looking at my bracket concept using only machine screws and said it wouldn't stand up to the forces involved likely sheering while in use.
He said I needs to be welded and to find a welder. Granted he was talking about finding someone who can weld but I have been meaning to learn for a long time now.

So knowing this project might require welding I am actually already a month into research but I think i will pull the trigger shortly.

Going with a green box 250ex and buying a WP20 torch @ 25' w/ superflex cord, stubby lense kit, extra tig 2% ceriated @ 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, gloves, miller 9000 helmet, some filler rod for mild steel 10lbs, water cooling unit (again green box), a tig finger, and a nema 15-50p plug so I can wire up the green box. Comes out to under 3k but close to it >_<

I am likely missing something in the list. I realize I need long sleeves when welding and I should be protecting my neck from radiation as well. I already sent out requests to electricians to get a 15-50p 50am 240v outlet installed outside my breaker box but that will likely cost $350 but I can use it for my bike as well. ^_^

Good times.