Extended tunnel and Rotopax project

[TLKD]

Hey you fella hawkers,
sure ain't much happening around here ! I guess everybody is enjoying their motorcycles, quad and wetbikes, TRYING not to think about Hawking too much ! Well, I personnally can't help it, nothing comes close to riding my Hawk in 30'' of fresh powder.

So in order to get ready to rip when september comes I said to myslef "ya better get at her" So today, I just received my order of what I think is one of the best ideas in a while after sliced bread and the invention of Snow-Hawks of course : Rotopax modular jerry cans. You can go see their website at www.rotopax.com it's just so smart and fits so many application.

I ordered one 2 gallon fuel container and one 2 gallon storage suitcase:




The storage unit will allow me to get rid of my backpack and thus, reduce back pain by at least 75%. All of what I was carrying in my backpack will fit in there : Tools, spare parts, spare set of googles, lunch, camelback water bladder you name it, i've got 2 gallons of storage available as a trunk now !




I see you coming here with your question : how the heel are you gonna mount these things to your Hawk you crazy canadian ? Well, let's have a look at my current setup :





What I'll do is I'll get rid of the flat tunnel section you see in the above pictures and do an extended tunnel, 19.5" longer. Here's a sneek peak CAD screeshot of what it'll look like, I even drew the Rotopaxes stacked on top of each other:



I'm getting to my point here : the whole idea behind that is the following : Getting rid of the stock 12 Gallon tank and build a smaller and lower center of gravity tank (i'm thinking 5 to 6 Gallons) for better handling qualities but still have the capacity to carry as much as 12 or more Gallons if needed in somehow, SIMPLE and reliable containers that's safe to carry, doesn't need to be tightened down using an array of bungees and a rack. Then I came across Rotopax containers and that was it, that was exactly what I needed, I only had to find a way to mount them on my machine ! Their mounting hardware is simple, strong, light and looks awesome. Plus they've got a storage one like you can see, you can stack as much as you want on top of each other, you can mount them back to back too, they're great quality rotomoldoing parts. And Yes they're expensive but I don't mind investing in something smart that will last.

I didn't build or drew the new tank yet, the tunnel will be water jetted next week, i'll install the tunnel and position the XR50 seat I bought on e-bay and build the tank underneath it out of aluminum.

Some more "thumbs up" about the use of a tunnel over the stock back cowling :
-It allows to have a bumper/grab bar/tow hook ! Will that ever be handy to tow stuff like the girlfriend snowboarding or a Polaris sleds.
-It allows to install a Snowboard holding device, so I can bring the gf with me and i'll shuttle her up and I will ride my hawk down the slope with her.
-3rd, that's only a supposition but I think the "snow accumulation behind our helmets" problem when we take our stock snow flap off will be cut down quite a bit. It doesn't go all the way over the rear idler wheels and I didn't want to either, I don't want all that quantity of snow (We get quite a bit of powder in Revy...) ending up in my tunnel, adding resistance and slowing my track speed. That being said, it should prevent a good part of the dusty snow from getting in my back and helmet.

Weight : this 19.5" extended tunnel will add about 3.6 pounds to my current tunnel setup according to my CAD calculations. That's with the bumper and tow hook. It should be interesting to see if the setup ends up being lighter or heavier than the stock setup when carrying 12 Gallons. Of course 6 of these 12 will be removeable so I don't really care, since I'll only have a maximum of 6 gallons to deal with when I'm up in the playing area. And besides, these 6 gallons will be lower and closer to the bulkhead than what the stock tank is.

Well, that's about it for today, gotta go lunch !

I'll add pics as the project comes along.

Oh and to finish it off, there is still some good riding in BC ! Just forgot to being my Hawk so I tried to have fun as much as I could with what I had up there. That's the ski hill up Smithers,BC LAST MONDAY !!!



CHEERS and LET HER SNOOOOOOW !!!
Thierry

[off road rider]

Gret Idea.. I saw a few of those tanks last week on the back of an adv bike.. intant thought was.. "I need those for my hawk"
Your taking it to a whole different level.. sounds good..

[2006sigouin]

You have some good idea Thierry.That said ,it will reduce the gas slushing from front to back and side to side cause you will probably put some good baffle in the aluminium gas tank.You are giving us some good idea for summer project.

Still need to buy my self another hawk but all do that soon.

Can't wait to see some new picture !

[steve samps]

Allright! Looks like a nice project.

Those baby's are made right here in Cache Valley.

[007_Hawk]

Keep us up to date on the progress!

Thanks Thierry!

[dirtbag]

looks like a good project ,one thing that comes to mind is going from a sled to hawk I was amazed at how in deep stuff the hawk will dig but keep going as there is no tunnel or running boards to hold it up,I think the way the rear is designed is very specific to the hawks capabilities,to not provide resistance when the track digs deep,with your other mods it might not be a factor ,just my thoughts,I am interested to see how it goes for you

[TLKD]

No running boards to "jack your machine" and no tunnel that extends over the rear idlers and no snow flap that scoops 95% of the snow through the heat exchanger, tunnel and elbow section of the tunnel sure helps the hawk A LOT ! That's one reason why I didn't want to extend the tunnel over the rear idlers, not to scoop all the snow IN the tunnel, even though I've got tons of clearance, the less snow in the tunnel, the better your track speed is gonna be. Pushing air through your tunnel is easier than pushing snow !!!

And running boards... Well, I think these things are great on scooters and Quad ! But I never understood why on a sled... maybe because I've been a motocross racer first over anything else. And probably because that's the easiest way to make a tunnel... plus these freakin things just gets PACKED with snow all the freakin time in the powder, whatever people say their design is snow-free, they're carrying at their best, 7 times the amount of snow we'd be carrying with our footpegs. It's just a matter of finding the right locations for them and maybe widen them (just like the ones I did for Rude) and away you go.

My suspension design teamed up with the 14" x 150" track just doesn't dig like a 136er will, it lifts the whole machine up on top of the snow. We'll have to set up a trip next winter so you can take it out for a spin Dirtbag. Too bad I couldn't go up PG last winter, it's just been too busy... I think you should come down to Revy !

[TLKD]

Just got my Seat... shimmed it to where I want it, it feels VERY good and I REALLY LIKE how thin it is, finally I don't feel like I'm on the back of a clydesdale horse, legs/knees spread wide opened (standard width track or 14", felt the same).

Then I got off, sat back, looked at it... something is very wrong and it has to be the size of it... too small. What do you guys think ?

Or maybe it's because i'm not use to see a seat "all alone" in the air like that. But that doesn't stop me from thinking that this could be an awesome concept...

Here's what just came up my mind : design a plate that fits the under side of the seat to hold it and either weld a seatpost or seat rails to it and make it like a bicycle seat, adjustable in height and something that could be slid or bolted further forward or back... Just an idea right now but I think i'm going that way... It would be awesome just to see a seat like that in the air held by just a tube going down to the tunnel or gas tank.

It also remembers me of the older Bombardier Quads that had this clearance area for your foot to go in between the front of the seat and the engine compartment too.

Also, it is ridiculously light, like, less than a pound...

[J&L Snowhawk]

You are on the right track in my mind. Light is right as long as it don't break to easily when used. I wish i had your computer skills cause I have all kinds of ideas floating around in my melon.

[TLKD]

Here's a little progress, might not look like it but this is the extended tunnel before being bent !
The blue cover is what aluminum sheets are covered of when delivered.



Bending to happen in the next few days !