Sunday, April 29, 2012

Mapping the Aprilia

The first step on any map is to find "You Are Here."

That's what we did at Richard Bruckner's HighGain Tuning. Richard ran the BBND Aprilia on race gasoline on his DynoJet SD12 to establish a performance baseline. Once we know where we are, we can determine where we are going.

Although the bike has run well on gasoline, fuel starvation issues on alcohol have been difficult to overcome. By fuel injecting the motor, Richard believes performance will be improved with gas, and an alcohol/nitro methane/air mixture will be predictable from zero to top speed.

Rob and Richard load the Aprilia on the DynoJet
I am really eager to see how this evolves.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

See you on the Salt

I spent the morning filling out entry forms for the 2012 BUB Speed Trials. At this time, we have four bikes entered: the Hayabusa on nitro methane, the Buell on gasoline, Randy Miller's nitrous oxide Buell, and the 40cc Aprilia which will run on both gasoline and an alcohol/nitro methane fuel mix.

We have exactly four months before opening day at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Lots of work to do.


Sunday, April 15, 2012

More Power to the Aprilia

Carburation of the Aprilia has been an issue for Rob.

While little Pinocchio runs just fine on race gas, it seizes every time Rob runs it on alcohol. Regardless of the jet size, the carburetor can't deliver enough fuel to evenly cool the cylinder and piston. That has turned quite a few pistons into mantel pieces.

Enter Richard Bruckner of High Gain Tuning, who specializes in Aprilia bikes and scooters. Richard has the ability to build a fuel injector for the BBND Aprilia, thereby improving its fuel delivery and atomization throughout the range of performance.

We are excited about the prospect of working with High Gain Tuning as we look to breaking our own records in August.

                                                           www.highgaintuning.com

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Just Add Air



Rob demonstrates the air movement through the can by adding compressed air at its base. Even with a small volume of air, enough of a vacuum is created at the holes to suspend a paper towel.









Mounted on the BBND Hayabusa, the vented exhausts will emit significantly cooler gases, while increasing the thrust generated at the end of the pipes.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Venting the Exhaust

Rob drills guide holes at the base of the cans
That's going to be extremely hot air being pushed out those Hayabusa pipes when they start venting nitro methane exhaust, so Rob is drilling holes to draw in cooler external air.



The actual exhaust pipe runs inside the cans to carry the hot gases from the engine. Just adding a dead air space between the pipe and the outside adds a layer of protection from the heat.


Each hole is three quarters of an inch in diameter


By opening vent holes, Rob is creating an active air exchange. As blazing hot exhaust rushes through the pipes, it will pull cooler air through the holes. That will lower the temperature of the exhaust, while creating extra force.

The area of the the holes is approximately equal to the area at the end of the can, making a vacuum that should make a dramatic effect. 




Thursday, April 12, 2012

Blood Sacrifice

Every one of you has experienced it: the blood required to breathe life into machinery. Why did God give us knuckles if it wasn't to bust them on head bolts, removing spark plugs, or in this case, operating the band saw. Maybe Rob just felt he needed to infuse the Hayabusa with his own life blood. Too many vampire books.