Battson
Moderator
Hi everyone,
I had a question about how I made my air intake and thought I would do a write-up.
I spent a long time looking at Bearhawks before we started on our build. I was torn between the masculine looks of machines with an airbox, and the clean lines of those without. We decided to do the clean lines thing, and hopefully gain some ram air in the process.
The design was inspired by James Aircraft, who offer a similar product for the Vans RV line. Sadly it wouldn't quite fit the Bearhawk by my estimate.
The first step was to rotate the throttle body by 95 degrees, using an elbow from Airflow Performance.
Then we fabricated an airbox from fibreglass to house a K and N conical filter. We used a simple paper plug to make this part. Note the conical part isn't centred on the throttle body, it sits higher up to clear the cowling.
This part was then assembled and attached to the throttle body with screws and wide area washers.
Next I adjusted the mouth to fit the desired inlet size - this could have been done earlier with a more complex plug. I also use a piece of pipe to determine where in the nose bowl to put the opening.
​​​​​
I then fibre glassed the intake section of the nose bowl.
I used a filler putty to form the curve on the outside. Of course you can use whatever shape or profile you like.
I then used a small amount of filler to smooth out the inside to help the air flow smoothly, and installed nut plates to hold the two halves of the assembly together. The final addition was an alternative air supply door, to allow air to bypass the filter should the filter block with ice, dirt, straw / grass, heck - a birds nest - whatever. Of course this was a prototype, and there is room to improve if you were doing to repeat this approach, both cosmetically and functionally.
Note that large pieces behind the filter are a risk to the engine if they become loose and make their way into the intake manifold or cylinders. You need to ensure that everything is attached to something securely. This includes the filler putty.
Here's how the finished product looks when both sides join up.
Many of you will have spotted that our nose / cowl is longer than normal. It is only about 2", but it makes a lot of visual difference. This length has the added advantage of creating extra room in the cowling for this intake / airbox assembly.
I had a question about how I made my air intake and thought I would do a write-up.
I spent a long time looking at Bearhawks before we started on our build. I was torn between the masculine looks of machines with an airbox, and the clean lines of those without. We decided to do the clean lines thing, and hopefully gain some ram air in the process.
The design was inspired by James Aircraft, who offer a similar product for the Vans RV line. Sadly it wouldn't quite fit the Bearhawk by my estimate.
The first step was to rotate the throttle body by 95 degrees, using an elbow from Airflow Performance.
Then we fabricated an airbox from fibreglass to house a K and N conical filter. We used a simple paper plug to make this part. Note the conical part isn't centred on the throttle body, it sits higher up to clear the cowling.
This part was then assembled and attached to the throttle body with screws and wide area washers.
Next I adjusted the mouth to fit the desired inlet size - this could have been done earlier with a more complex plug. I also use a piece of pipe to determine where in the nose bowl to put the opening.
​​​​​
I then fibre glassed the intake section of the nose bowl.
I used a filler putty to form the curve on the outside. Of course you can use whatever shape or profile you like.
I then used a small amount of filler to smooth out the inside to help the air flow smoothly, and installed nut plates to hold the two halves of the assembly together. The final addition was an alternative air supply door, to allow air to bypass the filter should the filter block with ice, dirt, straw / grass, heck - a birds nest - whatever. Of course this was a prototype, and there is room to improve if you were doing to repeat this approach, both cosmetically and functionally.
Note that large pieces behind the filter are a risk to the engine if they become loose and make their way into the intake manifold or cylinders. You need to ensure that everything is attached to something securely. This includes the filler putty.
Here's how the finished product looks when both sides join up.
Many of you will have spotted that our nose / cowl is longer than normal. It is only about 2", but it makes a lot of visual difference. This length has the added advantage of creating extra room in the cowling for this intake / airbox assembly.
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