Newsletter  NovaBike      Racing  Team  Delft    

4th  of  March  2011  

The  most   busy  month   for   NovaBike   (so   far)   is  history.   At   an   incredibly   high   working   rate  NovaBike   02   was   built   towards   the   deadline,  the   Motorfair   Utrecht.   In   this   newsletter   you  can  find  articles  about  the  building  of  NovaBike  02  and  off  course  of  the  Motorfair  Utrecht.    

 

         

Also,   our   rider,   Nick   Appelman,   shares   his  experience  and  future  perspectives.    

We   want   to   thank   all   our   sponsors   for   the  financial,  material  and  immaterial  support.    

Follow  NovaBike  also  on  Facebook,  Twitter  and  Youtube!

 

 

Motorfair  Utrecht  

Fair.   From   the   23rd   till   the   27th   of   February  NovaBike   could   be   found   with   a   stand   on   the  motorcycle   fair   in   Utrecht.   Last   year   the  NovaBike   01  was   presented   as   a   guest   on   the  stand  of  the  Dutch  Road  Racing  Association,  but  for   this   year   we   managed   to   get   hold   of   our  own   stand,   strategically   placed   between   the  well   established   brands;   Harley   Davidson   and  Ducati.  This  led  to  a  steady  stream  of  interested  visitors   who   came   to   admire   and   learn   more  about   our   project.    Many  conversations  were  held  with  people  new  to   our   project,   followers   and   many   ex-­‐racers  which  came  to  share  their  experiences  and  tips.  

Critical  questions  were  asked,  but  often  people  left   with   a   big   'thumbs-­‐up',   good   luck   wishes  and   the  message  that   they  would  keep  a  close  eye   on   our   developments   throughout   the  season.  In   the  weeks  preceding   the   fair,  we  have  been  working  hard  assembling   the  NovaBike  02.  We  also   had   much   help   of   our   sponsors   who  reworked  their  schedules  to  make  it  possible  to  produce   the   necessary   parts   in   very   short  notice.      We  would  like  to  thank  everyone  who  helped  to  achieve   this   result   on   such   a   tight   time  schedule.   We   look   back   on   an   incredibly  rewarding   and   successful   fair   and   are   looking  forward   to   next   year.

 

 

Update  progress  NovaBike  02  

Hardware:  The  steel  show  frame  is  completely  

finished.  All  aluminum  milling  parts  such  as  the  link   system   were   CNC   milled   at   the   faculty   of  Industrial  Design  Engineering.  The  Reynolds  631  chrome  molybdenum  steel  has  recently  arrived  from   England.   Next   week  we   start   with   fitting  the  tubes  for  the  race  frame.  When  this  is  done,  the  tubes  can  be  placed  in  the  welding  mould  to  TIG  weld  them  to  form  a  lightweight  race  frame.    

 

 

 

 

 

Bodywork:   All   bodywork   parts   where  

laminated   at   the   faculty   of   Aerospace  Engineering.  A  few  parts  need  some  corrections  before   they   are   being   polished   and   painted.   A  reserve   bodywork  will   be  made   in   the   coming  weeks.  Polymess  vacuum  formed  a  unique   fuel  tank   and   windshield.   A   sheet   of   HDPE   was  heated  and  then  drawn  around  a  mould  using  a  vacuum.   After   cooling   down,   the   two   parts  were  joined  resulting  in  an  impact  resistant  fuel  tank.  

 

 

 

 

 

Engine:  The  carbon  fiber  air  box  and  air  duct  

are  finished.  HGS  Exhaust  Systems  has  made  a  custom  made  stainless  steel  exhaust  system  in  two  days,  this  will  maintain  the  power  output  within  the  sound  limit.  The  cylinder  head  is  back  from  a  trip  to  Germany,  where  KTM  Team  West  has  flowed  it  and  equipped  it  with  a  fast  camshaft.  PMI  will  provide  a  high  compression  piston  which  increases  the  compression  ratio  up  to  14:1.  The  electronics  are  being  made  and  the  data  logger  which  can  log  accelerations,  speeds,  temperatures,  etc  is  almost  complete.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team  member:  Nick  Appelman  

 

 Last  year  I  was  one  of  the  founding  members  of  the   Novabike   project.   This   year   I   will   also  provide   the   new   bike   with   a   custom   fuel-­‐injection   system   and   I   will   be   the   driver   once  again   during   the   2011   season.   Last   year   our  primary   goal  was   to  modify   the   standard   KTM  690   engine   to   be   able   to   safely   run   on   Bio-­‐Ethanol.   During   the   races   it   became   clear   that  we  did  not  have  the  most  powerful  bike,  so  we  decided  to  do  a  more  radical  approach.    KTM   Austria   will   provide   us   with   a   so   called  Duke-­‐R   engine   which   gives   us   a   little   more  engine  capacity.  In  order  to  gain  full  advantage  

of  the  properties  Bio-­‐Ethanol,  we  will  be  using  a  high-­‐compression  piston,  the  cylinder-­‐head  will  be   modified,   lighter   valves   will   be   used   and   a  new   cam-­‐shaft   will   be   fitted.   HGS   exhaust  systems   will   once   again   provide   us   a   new  exhaust   system   to   be   able   to   maximize   the  performance.  I  have  to  adjust  the  fuel  injection  in   such  way   that   the   fuel   injector-­‐  and   ignition  timing  and  some  other  parameter  are  optimally  tuned.    Besides   these   engine   modifications   also   the  aerodynamics   and   ergonomics   are   improved.  The  new  bodywork  will  provide  as  little  drag  as  possible  without  compromising   the   ideal   riding  position.   Analysis   predict   a   6%   top   speed   gain  due  to  improved  aerodynamics.    Before  the  season  starts  a  lot  of  testing  still  has  to  be  done,  but  undoubtedly   the  new  bike  will  be   a   big   improvement   over   last   year's.   I   am  quite   familiar   with   the   Assen   (NL)   and  Oschersleben   (D)   tracks.   Spa   Francorchamps  (BE),  Oss  (NL)  and  Most  (CZ)  are  new  but  I  can't  wait   to   get   out   on   the   track   to   get   some   nice  results  during  the  races.      

 

 

Our  next  newsletter  will  appear  on  the  18th  of  April  2011.  

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