BYRinc.com :: Racing :: 2004 Construction Details

Without question the 2004 AIPP saw the debut of the most advanced vehicle to come out of the BYR garage to date. Here, Chief Engineer Daryl King discusses the construction side of the 2004 campaign. Construction of the vehicle has been underway since the beginning of the year with a completion date expected by the end of July. Planning for BYR's 2004 vehicle (aka BY-04) began in the latter stages of 2003. After analysing our 2003 vehicle, many areas were earmarked for improvement with three key aims: - increasing reliability; - improving the aerodynamics; and - reducing the overall weight of the vehicle.	Back to AIPP Wrap
Once the To satisfy these criteria, it became quickly clear that constructing a new vehicle would be inevitable. Careful research and material testing was undertaken to determine the exact design and construction details. plans were set in concrete, construction began. In 2004, in an effort to reduce time, the frame, steering and canopy have all been constructed simultaneously and was eventually brought together at the end of the project.
The frame is of similar design to that of O-Three, but the main difference is that the tubing, which had previously been purchased, was constructed in-house. The main mandrill is shown to the right. This allows greater flexibility to the specifications of the tubing. The end product is a frame which is lighter, stronger and more ridged than the previous model.
The steering assembly fitted to BY-04 has undergone drastic modifications. For the first time BY-04 saw the use of carbon fibre and aluminium used in the construction of its kingpins, almost halving the weight of this component. BYR again used carbon fibre steering arms and linkages to complete the steering package (similar to O-Three).
Without question the most noticeable change to BY-04 was the new canopy design. In the year before, the front section of the canopy was constructed from carbon and kevlar fibres and the rear from corflute. In 2004, the whole canopy was constructed from Carbon Kevlar. To achieve this, BYR had to construct four separate moulds and this alone has taken nearly half a year to complete.
'BY-04' made its formal debut at the 2004 Australian International Pedal Prix, where we again used our proven technique for success: "those who build the vehicle - race the vehicle". [ Read Report ] The vehicle was re-raced and finished second overall (with the combined Race and Design & Construction scores) at the 2006 Wonthaggi HPVGP.