Kimini 2.2 – Future Project?

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Update: September 2004:
I'm seriously considering building a one-off super-kart next with a 750-1200cc sportbike drivetrain. There is a lot to like about it, mostly the maximum "fun/$" ratio. Get a used sportbike engine, a used kart chassis (or start from scratch,) and presto, a 2lb/hp (F1 equivalent!) rocket to light your hair on fire. Very, very simple, and about as cheap as you can get (relatively speaking.) Tires are cheap and the thing can be put in the back of a pickup truck. Using a stock bike engine means it'll last forever since it's be pushing less weight then the bike it came out of. Since it's a kart there's no suspension, no shocks, no differential, making it very inexpensive (relatively speaking again.) To get an idea of what I'm thinking of, check out the 1100cc kart on my video page. This really may be the next thing, but it'll be several years off.

The only issue I can think of right now is that since the kart doesn't lean, oil control may be a problem. Dry-sumps exist but are very expensive. The trick would be to find a drivetrain where either oiling isn't a problem or one where a dry-sump is either built in or not too expensive.
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At the "Just thinking about it" stage, and definitely a couple of years away.

A three-wheeler.
Hayabusa drivetrain.
Sequential shifter.
Push-rod suspension.
Slide-back one-piece canopy, like an airplane.
Single seat (maybe two).
700lbs, 170hp.

Many advantages here in California. Smog legal and it can be driven in carpool lane. Something along these lines:




Or maybe a sport bike powered Super-7 type car.

Or…

Something like what this guy is working on. Click on the picture below, then on the same car in the left margin to see his latest progress. He’s designing a 4WD single seater, with the Hayabusa drivetrain where the passenger would be. This just blows me away. Kind of like what I'm doing X 10. Cool…


Or maybe a two-wheel drive version for simplicity and to keep cost down. Still, it’s really hard to beat the low weight of a 3-wheeler. The big issue is how to get the power to the ground through a single rear tire. If a huge tire is used, how is the tire kept upright? One way would be to make the 3-wheeler front wheel drive, but then the problem becomes one of styling. I just can’t picture how a FWD sport-bike motor in a three wheeler is going to look right…

I saw an interesting simple line drawing of an extremely aerodynamic shape in the Milliken book. It had a drag coefficient of something silly like 0.09…. The shape lent itself well to having a small engine in the front… like a sport bike motor.