Dizzy Rider

About

For Burning Man 2015, I am building a three-seater chopper for Hardly camp. I am following the camp's standard practice of using a 110cc Honda All-Terrain-Cycle as the base vehicle. There are three choppers currently in the camp, which share several common design motifs:

large, prominent glowing eyeballs
metal canopy enclosing the rear and top of the vehicle
exposed metal components painted uniformly silver
smooth, organic curves dominate the chopper silhouettes
radical nighttime illumination

The Hardly camp's vision statement identifies the choppers as “triple levitated fusion powered glide cycles.”

Design sketches

Rear

Side

Front

Dizzy Rider design notes

Dizzy Rider will share the design motifs of the other Hardly choppers noted above. It will incorporate two new visual elements to provide a striking appearance on the playa and tie in to the 2015 Carnival of Mirrors theme.

“Vertigo” wheels - three foot diameter spinning wheels painted and illuminated with a red and silver spiral pattern. These wheels are cosmetic (for show, not for go). Their rotation is decoupled from the speed of the vehicle contributing to the illusion of levitation. Their movement is intended to evoke memories of a wheel of chance on a carnival midway, and the design also recalls the unabashed carny hucksterism of “X-ray specs”. The fluorescent red spirals are chosen to provide visually appeal in daylight as well under nighttime illumination.
The “fusion core” effect visible from the rear of the chopper is created by LEDs sandwiched between a full and partially silvered mirror.