Bully 2 Exodus

[rmdesignworks]

I-Beam Bully 2

I ordered my axles yesterday and they should arrive around the middle of the week...Ill get started building as soon as they and some materials show up.

I also ordered some UHMW plate and some Carbon Fiber plate to make a new lighter version of my original GX2 chassis design. The idea is very light weight, no links in the way and a lot of GC.

Parts on hand:
55T handwounds
16 tooth pinions
Dual Novak Rooster Crawlers (decased-rewired)
Novak The Dig
Castle BEC
850 lipos
JR DS8711
RMDW Paradox I/O wheels
SLW hubs
Shaved Rovers
RMDW Dual Disk foams
Spektrum Tx/Rx

All wiring will be cut and hard wired as short as possible...and I'll add sleeve anywhere the wires are in jeopardy.

More soon...

[Rckcrwlr]

Welcome to the REVOLUTION!!!

[rmdesignworks]

Originally Posted by Rckcrwlr

Welcome to the REVOLUTION!!!

Thanks man...this is actually my continuing membership in the revolution. These axles are a huge deal for me since the Bully axle line has been a big part of my crawling from day one...Ive been waiting a long time for this new design. I just wish I had known the Worminator Competition axles were going to be discontinued a month after I bought them...the worm drive build was put aside since ongoing parts wont be available. Oh well.....

In other news....
I sat down with the cad program and have started a design for a cab add-on to the I-Beam chassis...should have a similar side profile to a Zuk...but have a pinched front and rear where it attaches to the I-Beam side rails. Im thinkin 1.5 or 2mm lexan or abs sheet. Either or these two materials can be easily and more inexpensively replaced or repaired than cf...thats the only reason I was thinkin of them.

[rmdesignworks]

Got the axles in on Wednesday...Thanks TGN!
These truly are sexy axles...lightweight...well designed by appearance. Gear cases are so much better from the V1's. I do like the single design tubes too...it'll help when carrying spares to only need one set for both axles. Steering is nuts for stock...it's nice to not need to shave and massage everything to get what actually comes right out of the box....Nice work RC4WD.

I also received the carbon fiber plates that I ordered...2-1" x 12" pieces for the chassis rails...a 3" x 12" piece to make the axle plates and a 1" x 1/2" x 12" piece of Black UHWM for the cross members and steel 3/16"ID x 10/32 threaded rod ends to make the height adjustable pivot points...now I've got some cutting and shaping to do and will hopefully have some progress pics by the end of the weekend. Ill post some today of the parts etc.

[Master Basher]

show me the i-beam already?! Can't wait for a picture or two.

[rmdesignworks]

Heres a couple of pics of the plates...the front plate is being made to mount the servo as well...all cut by hand with a dremel...(safety glasses, respirator, gloves used). With the size of the gear cases and the diameter of the motors the plates need to be raised 1/8" to clear the motor cases...smaller or flat side motors probably wouldnt need spacers under the plates. The chassis should be a roller tomorrow.

[Master Basher]

^you've been on this forum longer than I have, so you should know that I beam (pimp cane chassis) and stick chassis are not regarded highly. Why do you choose this path?

[rmdesignworks]

Originally Posted by Master Basher

^you've been on this forum longer than I have, so you should know that I beam (pimp cane chassis) and stick chassis are not regarded highly. Why do you choose this path?

My original GX2 chassis design was based upon dual shocks (one forward one rear) and gimbals that worked with custom gear case links and worked incredibly well and had 5" of GC with White Dot Rovers on Bully cast axles...my design kept the shocks under the body instead of having them protrude through the top of the body like "The Stick chassis" did...and mine didnt rely on the flexibility of the back bone like the "Pimp Cane" chassis did...furthermore it didnt rely on full length lower links mounted from the chassis to the outer ends of the axles which caused axle steer.

And...in the day...the "stick" chassis' were highly regarded as they had their place and time like all designs do for those who try them.

Regarding the choice of path...well my GX2 only suffered a mechanical failure a couple of times from cheap rod ends on the gear case links, it was more adjustable unlike previous stick designs and it placed well and did win competitions even with the heavy Bully cast axles...it had ZERO axle steer due to the gimbal design and the gear cases could be clocked. Now the axles are lighter then before...the electronics are smaller and lighter...and the I-Beam chassis will be lighter then the GX2 was. The I-beam will again have two shocks only on one side of the chassis and all of the electronics including the lipo will be mounted on the axles. Also, the I-Beam chassis rails will have high GC but only be about even with the tops of the tires and whether I use a body or my bodiless chassis add-on the height will remain close to the bare chassis dimensions due to design or trimming.

[Master Basher]

^awesome, it sounds like you have a plan. Can I see some teaser pics or something? Maybe your older design? I'm a mechanical guy and this kind of stuff really interests me, I'm trying to wrap my head around all these chassis mechanics and I don't understand as much as I'd like to.

[rmdesignworks]

Progress pics....its coming together.

[rmdesignworks]

A few more...




3" of GC without tires/wheels on.

[rmdesignworks]

With 5" tall set up tires on it has 4.5" of GC behind the front gear case...4.625" of GC in front of the rear gear case....

[Master Basher]

sweet stuff man. I'd like to keep up with how this turns out. Very unique. subscribed.

[rmdesignworks]

Its a roller....coming in at 3.8 pounds...pics uploading now.

[rmdesignworks]

Gotta change the tires to the shaved Rovers...the tires on the rig are stiff and make it easier to set the rig up...plus the shoulders are rough and help gauge areas where rubbing may be an issue...still have the drill the servo mount holes...then its time to start wiring this thing up...soldering everything together, no connectors except for the battery wires which will have 3.5mm bullets. The wheels will go on a bit of a diet to shed an ounce or so. With the Rovers on it should have right at 4.25" of GC at the center area of the chassis.

[josh6575]

This is a good idea. I like how it eliminates a lot of excess junk. I want to try this too. I was thinking of getting the pivot points closer to the center of the axle vertically and bellying up the chassis. Also want to try one shock front and rear with an internal and external spring. Its cool to see someone making less seen ideas work.

[rmdesignworks]

Parma X-Citer body in the works too...

[rmdesignworks]

I decided to change the shock geometry to make the shocks a little easier to tune. I changed out the Big Bores for some 70mm AE buggy shocks I had...Ill upgrade them a little later but they do a much better job due to the more direct angle.
I also reset the c-hubs and knuckles for more castor. I got the Rovers mounted on my I/O wheels too. The tires dont even come close to rubbing at full lock under full flex. The new shock geo also limited the flex to the amount that I wanted.

[rmdesignworks]

I decided to take a break from workin in the rig...and was cruizin the rift...just went through the picture thread...funny thing is, I remember when each of the build threads popped up and the progress of each build...
A lot of nice rigs with the heaviest axles you could build...some were real contenders.

[Whiplashdjs]

Wouldn't you want the shocks on opposite sides so they counter each other while sidehilling and keep the beam more centered for stability?