Kinetic Sculpture Racer (for the Glory!) Transphibian Bicycle

How to convert a bicycle and inflatable boat into an effective kinetic sculpture racer, amphibious human powered craft, or general burn or parade vehicle.

In addition there will be bonus parts consisting of retractable flapping wings made from table lamps, a nsfw pneumatic tail, and a helmet with rotating portal to other dimensions.

The sculpture demonstrated here won the PEL(pelican= completed all challenges) and Roadrunner (first to finish) in the 2010 Klamath Kinetic, and the PoohBah prize ($100 cash) in the DaVinci Days KSR.   My first 2 events netted 3 prizes.

The point really is the fun and joy of sharing your art with everyone.
Kinetic Sculpture Racing was founded in Arcata CA years ago, to enable adults to have fun, and thus to demonstrate to children that growing up is safe.
Kinetic Sculpture Racers must ride on road, dirt tracks, through a mud and sand pit, and into, through the water and out of the water, without pushing.  Not Easy.

A little intro about the bike and kinetic sculpture racing.

Disclaimers:  Bike and Boat really float, not good for bearings or steel. Wear a life jacket.  Tie the bike to the boat when on the water.
Wings: won't really hold you up, don't jump expecting to be caught
Tail: Use at your own risk
Inter-dimensional Helmet:  Where was I?

Step 1: Ingredients and Tools

Main Ingredients: 
Racer:

Bicycle, I have used my cargo bike which is about 20" longer than a normal bike, but I think a regular mountain bike would do just fine.  Low gears are needed for sand and mud. needs a rear rack.  and front mounting bracket for flotation.
Flotation, I used a Syvelor  Tahiti two person kayak, though other similar inflatables should work
2 6'x 1"od  aluminum tubes
2 handlebars from an old bike
4 bar end handle grips
20' of 1" webbing for lashing the floats to the tubing
2 1" x 2" x 28" hardwood boards
1 BMX handle bar stem.
1 Paddle

 
Wingset:
A bunch (6 maybe) articulated bench lamps
1 Photo development projector base
1 Back pack
1 Bellows pump
3 yards of wing covering. I used mesh but that's your call

Monkey Tail:
1 Bicycle inner tube
1 1/16" brass welding wire
1 tuft of fur (optional)
1 small fanny pack
1 detergent bottle neck
1 plastic cylinder to conjoin the tube ends

Inter-dimensional Headgear:
1 Helmet (Probably the older the better as it needs solid fiberglass shell to mount to.
1 Washing machine impeller
1 1" x 3" 1/8" aluminum mounting plate
1 12" x 3/8" all thread and 4 nuts
1 scooter wheel
1 transmission oil funnel

Tools:  
(I have a full prototype shop, but I am going to try to set this up for minimal tools and skills.)
A drill motor is needed along with assorted bits
Hacksaw
Razor Knife
Pliers, wrenches and various drivers to match your bike and hardware
Tubing bender to bend the aluminum tube.

Step 2: Wings

Building the wings will be challenging and I have not provided a lot of details. Basically it uses the springs in the bellows to hold the wings out with a string attached to the wing knuckle. this allows the wings to flap. Later I will attempt to describe this in more detail. Enjoy the video.

Wingset:
A bunch (6 maybe) articulated bench lamps
1 Photo development projector base
1 Back pack
1 Bellows pump
3 yards of wing covering. I used mesh but that's your call

Step 3: Tail

This is created by turning a bicycle inner tube inside out, or pulling the tube through itself.
This creates a mobius effect, where the inner and outer surfaces are one. 
Getting the tube to do this is difficult,  get a bicycle tube, it can have a leak, but any leaks must be cut out before proceeding.  that is cut out a small ring where the leak is and put the wire through the inside of the tube.  Now fasten the wire to the tube by making a small hole in the tube and twisting the wire or tying it.  Now comes the tricky part.  The longer the tube you use, the harder this is.   You might try a short, say 18" length at first to get the hang of it.  This will produce a very unsatisfactory tail.   Larger tube cross section, say a 2" tire will be easier, but will make a fat tail.   after you get the tube to show the inner inner tube, you need to seal the ends together.  The first tails I made, I put sealing glue between the inner and outer tubes and just tied them in a knot.  This almost worked, but a little air always seemed to leak out.  A leaky tail is no fun.   
The current version has a  small plastic cylinder about 1 inch long and round, with a 1/8" groove in the middle.   This is inserted between the tube ends and secured with a tie wrap. Be sure to cut off the excess tie wrap and smooth the end, or you may find that hobby wire double wrapped and twisted works,  use some glue to seal it up.  Fasten a wire to the plastic cylinder to control the tail.  I also fastened the fur the the cylinder,  this is done with screws in the ends.  one end has the wire the other the fur.   Now inflate the tail to the desired stiffness. Pray you don't have leaks.  This can be tested by dunking it in water.   Now pull the wire and the cylinder and fur will disappear into the center of the tail.   Fastening the tail to the fanny pack involves tape and patience, carve the soap bottle to fit into the fanny pack snugly with the spout facing the rear center of the pack, cut a hole in  the pack, insert the tail/tube and tape,   route the wire where you can get ahold of it.  Let the fun begin.
Making this is not easy and be prepared for some issues that will require patience and rework,  once done the item is really nice.  The video lacks clarity, I will set up another soon with more of the inner workings when time allows.

Step 4: Inter Dimensional Helmet

This was built from an old helmet, a washing machine impeller, a transmission oil funnel, megaphone horn and a scooter wheel. 
I cut the top out of the helmet for cooling, then placed metal bracket to provide a center anchor point.  There is a vertical 5/16" threaded rod, this passes through the scooter wheel, and is nutted on both ends to provide the height adjustment.   three sheet rock screws fasten the impeller to the scooter wheel. I added a lite wire for night effect.

Step 5: Bonus Feature: Pedal Power Prop Drive

This project isn't quite done, but I think it will work really well for both boats and for other purposes that need a power take off from a bike. the crucial part is a right angle drive from a Milwaukee drill. This project requires a little bit of welding.

I found mine on a dead drill, harbor freight may make a similar drill.

Step 6: