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| Making the tail We were so busy getting Terry on the road, I did not have time to show you how we made his tail. The tail structure begins with the seat bulkhead. Because I don't have the bulkhead finished, we had to make Terry's tail structure of wood. We did not have time to bring it to a - point which would consume even less energy. Fortunately, Alan Smith volunteered to spend the week helping out. Virginia Tech is building a Vetter Challenger and sent graduating engineering student, Justin Burr to California to help and learn. We are all grateful for his help. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Five days before he wanted to leave, Terry returned with another battery to put on. He wanted to install four more chargers, too. | "It is just 160 pounds", he said "It will be OK" | |||||||||||||||||
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| To make the tail, we had to begin with the seat bulkhead. We sat Terry down and drew a line around him. | Then we sat each other down and drew lines around all of us. I took an "average", drew the bulkhead shape and cut it out of 1/4"plywood. | |||||||||||||||||
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| From tuft testing, we learned that we needed to "square-off" the top to continue the shoulder shape. I am not happy about the way it looks but that is the way it must be. | This will be a temporary tail to get Terry on the road as fast as possible. I reinforced the edges with 3/4" plywood. The floor would be solid plywood to carry the new battery. | |||||||||||||||||
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| Justin glues and screws the various wooden tail parts together. You could actually make a tail yourself like this if you wanted. | Terry was concerned that the extra weight could make his motor run hot. Then he noticed that his feet felt colder with the streamlinined nose. I decided to direct that cold air to the motor. | |||||||||||||||||
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| First I made ducting of cardboard. Then I replaced the cardboard with aluminum and taped it all together. His motor should stay cool and his feet should stay warm. | Here you can see one of two extra chargers Terry mounted. With the streamlining off, you can see the aluminum intake duct. | |||||||||||||||||
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| Andre Okazaki of Reproduction Decals made the classic Vetter lettering for me. | Alan and I shape and fit lightweight foam fairings that will help the wind slip by. We have one day to go. | |||||||||||||||||
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| After two years of use, I have come to believe that my "milk-carton" paper covered with pressure sensitive vinyl is the most durable, lightest and least expensive covering material we can use. | We carefully figured out the shape, took it off, laid it flat, covered it with the vinyl and put it back on using our Banana Tacks. | |||||||||||||||||
| Terry wanted head home to Florida. We did not have time to finish bringing his tail to a point. I expect him back. We can finish it up later. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| "If fuel ever becomes precious, we will want to be streamlined" Craig Vetter, 2008 Fuel is precious in electric motorcycles | ||||||||||||||||||
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| The genuine Vetter Challenge Streamliner Kit for the nose is now available | ||||||||||||||||||
| Modified July 31, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||
