2014 Chap 77-rebuilding-Terry Hershner's Streamlined Zero part 3

Rebuilding Terry's Zero Pt. 3

updated Sep. 20, 2014

August 6, 2014: The 170 mile Bonneville Challenge was coming up in three weeks. Terry was ready. We had made a lot of changes which meant a lot of test riding was needed. On a particularly fast test ride, Terry hit a bad pothole. The rear wheel bounced higher than expected into the new aluminum structure. The tire snagged the aluminum plate Terry sat on and stopped immediately. Terry had to call a tow truck.

This could have been a disaster for Terry. Imagine the rear wheel locking up at 70 mph. The force twisted the aluminum structure we had just made.

In truing things up, we discovered that the sudden stop also bent his swing arm.

There was another issue: With all the batteries in place and Terry sitting, the rear of the bike was lower than we wanted. This was the time to make everything right. Fortunately, we have made the bike easy to work on.

The entire rear structure comes off by removing three bolts

In previous chapters, I explained how I like to attach major components by just three bolts: Since the rear structure for Terry's Zero is held on by only three bolts, It was easy to remove it and replace the swing arm.

This simplicity also allowed us to drill two new holes at the bottom to rotate the rear structure up into its new position.

In the picture above, you can see the plates we "scabbed" onto the rear structure to provide metal for the new holes. You can also see how Terrry packed his heavy chargers and batteries up front.

The more weight up front, the more stable the bike was, Terry said.

In this period, Terry packed everything he could up front. It was all streamlined by the nose of the "Last Vetter Fairing". Why do I call this the Last Vetter Fairing? Because I will never be able to design a better one.

August 25: Ready for The Bonneville Challenge