Going down a hill quickly

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Full and final results.

 

I'm happy with our 10th place for our first event ever, but it looks like we've some catching up to do if we want to get near the winners as I was 10 seconds off the pace.

 

 

 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Fantastic Mark, great first time result, and a huge amount of knowledge gained; can’t wait to see version 2.0

[djm]

@Mark (smokey mow) have you seen this conversion, not exactly the lightest but clever?

Bath Tub Cart Conversion: Creative DIY for All Ag…:

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

1 hour ago, djm said:

@Mark (smokey mow) have you seen this conversion, not exactly the lightest but clever?

Bath Tub Cart Conversion: Creative DIY for All Ag…:

 

That actually looks like quite a decent build. I wonder how many times he had to make the front uprights to get such a good tolerance fit?

 

I'm already planning next years build and it’ll be very different to the last one. I’ll post up some details soon. 

[djm]

Can't wait for the MK2!

[Mark (smokey mow)]

So planning for the Mk2 is well underway. I had planned to rebuild the original kart with narrower wheels and had gone as far as to buy 4 heavy duty BMX wheels with twin wall rims but as the designs progressed I realised I’d need to also re engineer both the uprights and the braking.

 

I guess then this is the Mk3.

 

for next year we’re keen to dress up a bit  and make the kart more fun for the  crowd.  
 

After various comments that in my crash helmet I resembled Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, the decision was made for our theme and this is the inspiration.

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

As I’d already bought the wheels, I’ve decided to stick with a BMX for the bike.

 

a cheep frame was picked up from eBay for £20 and the rest of the components will be robbed from my parts bin of old bike bits.

loosely assembled this is what things look like so far.

 

 

It’ll be getting a respray, fake engine, mudguards and lighting in the future to look like a motorbike.

 

The sidecar will be where most of the time and work will be needed. The easy option would be to have a fixed design but the current plan is to make it pivot so the bike can lean for cornering.

 

the best design I’ve found so far is this which I plan to copy and make something similar.

 

https://scandinaviansidebike.dk/?v=dd65ef9a5579

 

 

[Euan Hoosearmy]

Other option is to steal from these... if you're old like me you'll remember fhem....

 

Sidewinder

[Nic Chase (NICO) - Shropshire & Mid-Wales AO]

That’s a great idea Mark. Love the Skandi sidecar. Making it light enough will be a challenge. 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

1 hour ago, Euan Hoosearmy said:

Other option is to steal from these... if you're old like me you'll remember fhem....

 

Sidewinder

Thanks, that’s not one I’d seen but I had found similar. I’d looked into the tilting wheel idea as it does reduce scrub on the sidecar wheel, although adding complexity. In theory if I mount the pivot low enough scrub shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

1 hour ago, Nic Chase (NICO) - Shropshire & Mid-Wales AO said:

That’s a great idea Mark. Love the Skandi sidecar. Making it light enough will be a challenge. 

I think this will be a fraction of the Mk1’s weight. I’ve no estimates yet but the bike will be under 10kg and I expect the sidecar to be not much more.

 

The sidecar will be a lightweight tube chassis the same as in the video and then either aluminium or fibreglass for the body.

 

my concern was it might be too light and prone to bounce unless I introduce a damper.

 

 

[djm]

What a great idea Mark, I'm looking forward to seeing this one progress more than MK1!

[Mark (smokey mow)]

It was a cold morning in the garage today so I've made a start on the drawings

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

I’ve been quiet on this thread for the last few months, mainly because there had been some suggestion that the regulations would change for this year so I waited for entries to open earlier this month before investing too much in the build.

 

That don’t stop me drawing though and gathering a few of the parts need for the build.

 

One part I did buy over winter was a body to make the sidecar. I’d looked at various things such as pedal bins and water butts but in the end I found an eBay seller local to me who made fibreglass tote Tot-Rod bodies. The cost wasn’t much more than a pedal bin would be and it would save me a lot of fabrication work.

 

With that sorted I moved on to finalising the sidecar drawings, I’d initially looked to mount the pivot low to minimise tyre scrub but since the course is straight and the turns are minimal I instead settled on a high pivot as it would simplify the construction.

 

The sidecar frame itself is quite crude but I wanted to keep the design of it simple and the weight down.

 

 

Finally to get the BMX looking more like a motorcycle I modelled an engine. This will also double as a mount for the sidecar and also stop the crank arms from rotating.

 

 

This week I stripped the BMX down and it got a rattle can finish in Red and Black while I wait for the laser cut parts to arrive so I can fabricate the sidecar.

 

 

 

Finally my trusty companion Gromit who will be riding alongside me.

 

 

[Nic Chase (NICO) - Shropshire & Mid-Wales AO]

Can’t wait to see the finished result😀