NovaBike Newsletter - JULY 2012

2 - NovaBike Newsletter: July 2012

FOREWORDIn this edition:

Red Bull Ring 4 Race in Spielberg ... still a lot of homework to do!

Race in Schleiz 5 Read more about our fouth race , which was held in Schleiz

Progress NovaBike 7Presentation of our new setup

Sponsors in the spotlight 8Short presentation of two of our partners/suppliers.

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» Hereby the fifth newsletter for this year. We

would like to commence this edition with

articles about the previous two races The

first held in Spielberg the second in Schleiz.

Also a presentation of our new setup can be seen,

were we highlighted the major changes.

We conclude with a presentation of two of our

partners.

We would also sincerely like to thank all the

sponsors for the financial, material and moral

support!

Follow with our progress on Facebook,Twitter and

Youtube

RED BULL RING (29-30 JUNE)

» In the week before the race NovaBike tried to eliminate the chatter in the front wheel. Thanks to HK suspension we were able to adjust our suspension which resulted in an incredible improvement. The engine setting was tuned and everything was being tested. NovaBike was ready to race!

After a very long journey we arrived Thursday evening at the very hot Spielberg (Austria), where the Red Bull Ring was being held. The next day, at 12:45, a free training session was scheduled. Hugo was able to perform 8 laps with a best time of 1:54. Here the new suspension seemed to be too weak, causing contact between body and track. Besides this, Hugo also told us that NovaBike was not really performing as it should. The engine was lacking the power to perform!

The suspension was changed and a closer look was taken to the fuel system. A ‘mapswitch’ was made. This feature allows Hugo to switch to another engine-setting while driving.

The first qualification session started at 18:20. Here NovaBike obtained a best time of 1:50.056, which resulted in a 13th starting position. Hugo told us he encountered the same problems as before; a lack of power and a bad throttle response.

The next day, Saturday, all preparations were made for the second qualification session which started at 12:55.

Unfortunately our adjustments were not sufficient the bike was unable to perform and soon it became clear it was impossible to set any decent qualification times. GP2 resulted in a best time of 1:57.27.

Again some adjustments were made. The dynamo was placed. After this a too high voltage level was measured. Eventually we placed the two batteries in parallel; this to minimize the voltage drop.

19:25, start of reconnaissance lap. In the following positioning for warm up lap Hugo was letting us know that things were not looking good. It all ended in the warm up lap itself. The engine was not proving itself competitive causing continuing to be pointless and maybe even dangerous.

Very frustrating! On the dyno, NovaBike is almost making lift-off whilst during the race it isn’t even competitive.

However it is also the learning experience that counts. Without this kind of troubles we would not learn a thing!

“Racing is life... everything before and after is just waiting” (Steve Mc Queen)

4 - NovaBike Newsletter: July 2012

RACE IN SCHLEIZ (21-22 JULY)

However the real problem was not yet solved, we did our very best to find the real problem. We did!It seemed that the pressure in the system was becoming too high. After solving this everything seemed to be running just fine.

The next day NovaBike prepared itself for the warm up. Here we managed to finish! This meant that NovaBike could compete!

Rain! Just 20 minutes before the actual race the weather changed for the worse. The decision to change the tires was immediately made. This caused a lot of delay and we started the race 2 minutes late. Despite the fact that there were many others who started with a serious delay, we realized it was becoming impossible to set any competitive times.

Hugo showed, once more, his very impressive riding skills. Unfortunately it was almost impossible to make up the lost time. This resulted in a 20th place.

As we look back, there is no real disappointment. In the beginning all seemed catastrophic; however at the end we managed to participate.

Now we are looking forward to the next race!

“Hugo kan het .... nu wij nog ” (NovaBike)

» Schleiz is a little town located in the East of Germany, known for its track. It was here that our fourth race, for the European championship, was being held.

We arrived Thursday evening, after a trip of 700 kilometers. The next day two qualification laps were scheduled. Tires were changed and the bike was being prepared.

Everything was ready to set a smashing time! Unfortunately this was not really the case. Approaching the first corner Hugo detected some serious problems; NovaBike was not able to reach full power. Hugo finished his lap and was then forced to quit the first qualification round.

The problem seemed to be, again, a malfunctioning fuel system. Our engine team did everything they could to solve this. However the problem remained. The second qualification round had no real improve-ments and NovaBike was not able to qualify.

Fortunately the race commission allowed our participation on two conditions. First that we would qualify on the warm up the next day and second that we would start last on the actual race.

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6 - NovaBike Newsletter: July 2012

» To have the new set up ready before the race in Schleiz, everything had to shift up a gear.

Many parts were finalized and assem-bled to the bike. Here we have to express special thanks to our fellow team member Yoeri Sigterman, a tremendous help in producing the new set up!

The exhaust changed from position, now it lies underneath the bike. The sounds and looks are very impressive. Besides the esthetics also the performance part should certainly be present. Before producing many simulations and tests were performed. The exhaust system is completely designed by Joao. A very fine job (even if we say it ourselves)!

Underneath the new body, which was presented to you in the previous newsletter, a new air box and fuel tank are present. The airbox causes the air to compress which results in extra power. This part is again homemade and completely out of carbon fiber.

The fuel tank is formed by Polymess, for which many thanks. The position is now underneath the seat. It was essential to have this new tank since the old one was in fact too small. This extra fuel capacity permits us to install a big bore kit, which should certainly increase the power.

The new body itself is completely assembled on the bike. It all looks great and should give some more comfort to the driver. As mentioned before the seat is again entirely produced out of carbon fiber and is also self-supporting. To obtain this better comfort, it became a lot wider and longer than the previous one.

The next step would be to finetune the engine, this before our next race. We keep you posted!

Progress NovaBike

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» Chicken Hawk Racing, located in the Hudson Valley of NY, is specialized in designing, building and servicing the most rugged Tire Warmers in the Business.

The company is very proud of the diversity it is able to provide. Chicken Hawk Racing is represented in almost all forms of motorsport; this being karting, motorcycle road racing, top fuel drag racing, circle track and auto road racing.

The high quality that the company provides is emerged from the full understanding of the tires and how to manage them. This sets their Tire Warmers apart from the less sophisticated imitation products.

Many top Tire companies such as Michelin, Dunlop and Bridgestone choose the Tire Warmers of Chicken Hawk Racing to put their name on.

NovaBike was very fortunate to receive these Tire Warmers. We use them every race and every time they prove themselves to be the magnificent!

» MSC Software is one of the ten original software companies and the worldwide leader in multidiscipline simulation. The goal of their products is to improve the quality, to save time and to reduce costs associated with the design and testing of manufactured products.

MSC Software is used by academics, institutions, researchers and students all over the world, this to expand their individual knowledge as well as the horizon of simulation.

Leading manufacturers use MSC Software for linear and nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA), acoustics, CFD, multi-physics, optimization, fatigue and durability, multi-body dynamics and control systems simulation.

The programs predict how products will behave in the real world, this enables the engineer to design more quickly and much more cost effectively.

To give you a picture how popular MSC Software is in the “real world”; their products, services and people are used by 900 of the top 1000 manufacturers in almost every industry branch. This ranging from the Aerospace and Defense industry to the agricultural equipment branch.

NovaBike is very pleased to receive this kind of support. This software helps us to achieve the accuracy we need. We hope that in the future we can make even more use of these magnificent programs.

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10 - NovaBike Newsletter: July 2012

Writers: Stefan BroneEditor: Stefan BroneStyle Formatting: Stefan Brone

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