Jim Junget has built the for the Dragster Trike |
Those wishing to kibitz are welcome to E-mail their comments and suggestions to Jim Wilson. If anyone wishes to send sketches of their own designs, we'll set up another page for those. |
BikeRod&Kustom's R E C U M B E N T D R A G S T E R P R O J E C T |
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Goal: To construct a human-powered drag-racing vehicle capable of competing in the IBRKA Recumbent Dragster and Unlimited Recumbent Dragster Classes. This page will document the design and construction of the vehicle. |
Above: Plan View and Side Elevation of the chassis. Except for dropouts, BB shells, seat-base cross-member and various steering components, all materials are thinwall aluminum tubing. Steering tube and center keel are of round cross-section, all else is 1"X 1" square cross-section. Side Elevation: All vertical and diagonal structural members forward of seat are only located on centerline of chassis. Rear stays and seatback members are on the chassis perimeter lines. As shown here, all wheels are 20" size. Provision is made for use of 26" rear wheel for road use. The rear wheel in this illustration is made up of two 20"X 2.125" rims laced to a single hub. rear tires are Stingray-style Sliks. Front wheels are Peregrine 5-spoke composite with GT high-pressure road tires. Steering is by auto-style Ackermann linkage. |
Provision is made for the use of a flywheel energy storage device. In the Unlimited Recumbent Dragster class, the flywheel windup is yellow-lighted for 60 seconds or so. Upon green, a trigger-jack is released, allowing the fixed-gear dual sliks to hit the pavement. Rubber smokes and the vehicle accelerates rapidly.The piloto cranks madly to maintain the momentum, following the burst of flywheel energy upon launch. In the true spirit of the IBRKA, it is built as cheaply as possible. This set of materials is the basis of the design because they are materials which were already at hand. Had there been a quantity of steel on hand, that would have been the basis for a different design. Due to the use of thin-wall aluminum tubing, this design uses a fairly complicated truss structure to give the chassis adequate stiffness and strength. Welding costs will be comparably higher for the aluminum structure. By making one's own welding jigs, one can save a lot of money on welding costs, however.Web reinforcements are shown at joints. These may not be necessary in the final structure. The basic chassis is slated to be used in several different applications. As the IBRKA rules ensure that all sanctioned vehicles must be actually roadworthy, through the mandatory bike parade, it was decided that it could also be fitted out as an urban runabout to take advantage of its potential practicality. The unlimited class also permits streamlined fairings to be used. Mounting points for this fairing will be part of the chassis. The same mounting points can be used for the fitting of other bodywork, as will be depicted later. In urban traffic, a vehicle's surface area is extremely important to its safety. Small cars get more respect than bicycles. Chassis options include mounting points for an auxiliary pedal-assistance motor. |
Those wishing to kibitz are welcome to E-mail their comments and suggestions to Jim Wilson. If anyone wishes to send sketches of their own designs, we'll set up another page for those. |
Jim Junget has built the for the Dragster Trike |