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Part 5.
“A Change in Direction”
The new direction Durrani has taken is to thixomold the entire core and rim as a single piece, with the hubs threading on the same way as in the initial design. This evolution will add only a quarter pound of new material to the volumetric ‘shot’ of magnesium, as he is removing material he has determined is not necessary in other areas, mainly around the hub housing. Unlike the earlier version, this development will necessitate a separate mold for the front rim, and another for each size rear, based on rim width.
Sheryar Durrani (SD): “It took about a month, almost two, to re-engineer the wheel as a one-piece, and to do all the intellectual heavy lifting to find the geometry of a one-piece wheel that would work. It was a byproduct of everything we’ve learned. There are certain challenges with the one-piece wheel that we don’t know yet, but those are much more understood by me, firsthand, and this team here, because of what we’ve gone through.”
If Durrani is successful, this change eliminates the most problematic elements of the former design: •Having to rely on outside production of components,
•Ring rolling tough strips of heated magnesium,
•Welding,
•Buffing out the welds,
•Bonding, and
•Firefighting.
MotorcycleAddicts Magazine (MCADX): I remember asking you last year why you didn’t do this in the first place. Part of your reasoning was that the magnesium you had specified for the wheel core was chosen for its ductility, while the extruded strips would have provided much more strength where it would be needed. Are you now going to have more ductility everywhere?
SD: “Voila!” (Pulls a sample of magnesium rod out of his pocket.) “This is a specialty alloy I had formulated to address that problem. It is a proprietary alloy specifically developed for our wheels. This is much stronger, and much more ductile, and it is not available to anyone else. Hey, don’t bend that!”
MCADX: Sorry. So how do you get there from here?
SD: “By continuing down the same path we have. We have secured the funding we need for the next couple months. We’re about 45 days from testing solid shots of the one piece wheel..."
MCADX: (into recorder) It’s January 24th.
SD: “…by mid- March we expect to be shooting wheels, unless something unexpected comes up." |
