Current state of the Aerobike...
The Aerobike is currently partly dismantled, I was selling more as an on going project rather than a going concern ..so this is the current state of things -
I have taken the body panels off and drilled out the rivets that mounted the front wheel tunnel as I was using the remaining chassis and engine for experimenting with a tilting 3 wheeled tadpole trike -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyCFq6ochdY - I am not going to continue with this format, being a "free" leaner, it requires countersteering to initiate the lean , although this felt natural on the Aerobike, it did not on the 3 wheeler and I had a number of crashes when transitioning from locked tilt ( steer left to go left ) to countersteering (steer right to go left ).
I still have the RF900 forks, front wheel brakes etc to convert back to the Aerobike, although the gear linkage, brake pedal mount etc would require re building .. the RF900 motor is currently out of the chassis but I still have this... I had decided that if I continued, that I wanted to go a less powerful option, possibly using a 700cc Raptor quad bike motor which has a reverse gear or even electric - the way of the future and way simpler !
I have most of the other motorcycle donor parts and could re-assemble as a rolling chassis with the body panels fitted...
Stabilisers - although these were working reliably, they would have been a nightmare to fix at the side of the road if things went wrong. I have a rough gravel driveway and hated the side to side rocking when going over uneven ground and had decided that if I continued with the project that "smart" stabilisers that automaticly kept the bike vertical would be required, so the telescopic legs and wheels are there and I could supply the steel wire ropes etc that pulled them up and down but I would not really recommend this set up ..
The fiberglass body panels are slightly damaged from the side wind crash and could easily be repaired but not so good - when I was maneuvering the bike in the garage with the stabilisers up, it fell away from me and the mirror punched a hole in the canopy ( very disappointing after all the work that went into making it !! ) I have the broken pieces and have been told this can be repaired and made almost invisible .. the canopy also has scratches that could be polished out..
So,I could sell it as - chassis and body panels, rolling chassis with body panels (no motor) or with all the parts ( less the mufflers and a few other parts that I have sold ) . ( The fiberglass moulds can go with the panels ) I have no idea of what shipping costs might be ..
If you want to call me on the phone , my number is NZ 06 370 8958
Cheers,
Roger
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Hi Roger,
I sense a certain amount of disapointment around your project, but really you should take great satisfaction at what you've achieved. Not many people on earth manage to complete a self-design vehicle project, mainly because it's not easy - people with the technical skills and the organisational ability are rare, those with the determination to reach completion ever rarer. You've gone on the join the extemely select goup who've done this with an FF two wheeler, producing an exceptional neat and well-integrated, fully enclosed example, the most difficult option.
And then running it around a track and presumably the road at some length. Most FF projects, including a number of mine, are still rusting ion sheds somewhere!
Arnold Wagner and the Peraves crew are undoubtedly relieved that you're not productionising it, it's smaller, neater and certainly lighter than their Eco/Mono series. The finish and fit up shown in your track video is truely impressive.
At the very least you've now learned more about vehicle design, and specifically enclosed two wheel design than anyone on earth, except a handfull of similarly inclined nutters. Quite apart from the character forming process...
Hopefully it'll get picked up by another innovator, idealy with a view to fitting electric power.
Can I ask you to comment further on the lessons you learned with this design?
Outrigger design is excercising a number of people seeking to eliminate the 'transition' problem and define the best power system. The aerodynamics of fully enclosed two wheelers is clearly a key area of research - Arnold will tell you I'm wrong but I understand that the similar Peraves shape, even with the separation features of the 'Mono(t)racer is not perfect in terms of sidewind indifference.
But there are several other points where you may have gained knowledge. Was demisting a problem? and if so how did you do this? How about entry and exit? Service access? How much did it weigh? Of course you may with to keep all this to yourself, but if not it will be of great help to those who follow your footsteps - there are very few examples of full enclosure.
Royce
Noooo!
Horribly dissappointing to hear this project is not continuing. What can we do to convince you to see this through? Being a kiwi myself (grew up in the waikato) I would love to see you show the brits how it's done.
Still, my own half finished halfFF was project 3 and the first to make it to the road so I understand bighting off more than you can chew first time around.
Do you think there are any other FF entheusiansts in Aotearoa?
Peter
The other FF pioneer in New Zealand, Dave Lochead
Roger, sorry to hear of the sad demise of the Aerobike. I second Royce's praise of your efforts. I hope one day you'll get the chance to try an Ecomobile or Monotracer. Have you had any contact with your fellow FFing kiwi Dave Lochead in Blenheim? I presume you are aware of his impressive Quasar that he built several years ago and ended up selling to an Englishman. This video shows it working well in NZ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV4qVbNPX_w
PNB