Rick Wianecki builds the frank-n-liner recumbent hpv streamliner bicycle

Rick Wianecki builds
the Frank-n-liner

By Rick Wianecki

1-Design and mold 2-Fairing 3-Subframe 4-Tub 5-Drivetrain 6-Attach Top 7-Bodywork 8-PreRace

Finishing and Attaching the Top

October 29, 2006
Frank finished up sanding on the top part of the bike and brought the top over for refitting to the tub. The tub was removed from the work stand and the pads were adjusted to hold the top.

The foam skeleton needs to be removed from the inside of the top so it can be fitted to the tub. The foam is broken and removed in small pieces.

5 minutes later the inside of the top is vacuumed to remove the smaller foam pieces. There is still a lot of hot glue left on the onside of foam that will have to be removed before the inside pieces of Kevlar are applied.

We placed the tub back in the work stand and put the top on for the first time since it was cut apart.

We picked the entire vehicle up and placed it in the ground to see how the complete bike looks. It looks Great!!

Next we needed to put Frank in the shell to see if there were any clearance issues. We made a foam stand to place the tub in, and then we lowered the top over Frank. I gave Frank a Sharpe to mark the inside foam where there were any clearance problems. Frank also spun the pedals and scuffed the foam in the pedal box area. The foam on the inside of the top will be carved away to create the required clearances.

The last thing we did was discuss where the top should be cut to provide clearance for Frank to put his hand down to start and stop. We also discussed ways to open and close the front section of the top.

Next I need to sand the inside of the top smooth and relief cut the foam in certain areas provide additional clearance, add a Kevlar carbon layer to the inside of the top, add lips to the tub and top to index the top in place, fabricate and install a window so we can test the bike fully faired.

November 5th, 2006
To get the top ready for the inner layer of Kevlar the foam is sanded, thinned and shaped were additional clearance is required. Pieces of hot glue remaining from the ribs are removed.

A layer of 5 oz Kevlar is applied to the inside surface of the top. The template used to keep the shape when the carbon was placed on the tub is used to keep the shape of the top while the epoxy cures.

I cut some left over foam strips to ľ” wide on the band saw. These strips will be used as a form to form a lip around the edge of the tub.

The ˝” thick X ľ” wide foam strips are sprayed glued around the front edge of the tub about ľ of the way back. This lip will keep the front half of the top aligned.

After the foam lip is glued on the tub the inner surface is covered with a stretch film/ food wrap to prevent the carbon from sticking to the foam. Care was taken to only cover the foam and not the inner surface of the tub where the lip will be bonded.

I next cut some 2" wide strips of carbon cloth. To prevent the cloth from unraveling, I sprayed glued some wax paper on to the carbon before I cut it. This holds the fabric together and is removed before I paint on the epoxy.

The carbon strips are placed around the inside of the tub. Two layers of strips were used with the seams alternating.

Once the epoxy cured, the foam forms were removed with a putty and utility knife. The plastic wrap did a nice job of keeping the epoxy from sticking to the foam. The edge were sanded to remove any sharp corners.

The top was placed on the tub and the location for the window and the rear cut line were outlined with a marker.

November 12th, 2006
Frank mentioned at the test fitting that he had 2” of clearance over his head in the fairing. So before I cut the top in two I decided to cut a 1 ˝” wedge off the bottom of the top. I will remove 1 ˝” at the back and taper the cut to 0” at the nose. This will reduce the clearance at top by about 1”. I used a straight edge and laid out the cut lines.

A jig saw with a fine metal cutting blade was used to cut the wedge off the fairing.

Paper patterns were created for the cut line and the window area so both sides of the top will be the same.

Here is a picture looking at the inside of the top before it is cut. This shows the general shape of the vehicle.

Here is a picture of the Top before it is cut.

The top was cut with a jigsaw and then placed on the tub to determine the location for supports and brackets. Here the top is slid forward in the starting position.

This picture shows the back view with the seat.

Frank wanted some turned downed handlebars. I brazed up the bars out of some 7/8” OD X .028 wall chrome-moly tubing with 30 degree bends