WEDNESDAY
APRIL 11,2018
9
STEPHANIE HAYS | ELON NEWS NETWORK
'IT’SA PASSION. IF IT WASNT,
I WOULDN’T BE DOING IT
STEPHANIE HAYS | ETON NEWS NETWORK
Top: Freshman Shan Roy stands with the latest
version of his electric motorcycle, “The 1.0,” in his
garage in Mooresvilie, North Carolina, March 31.
Above: Shan Roy rides his electric motorcycle on
Pinnacle Lane in Mooresvilie, North Carolina,
Feb. 25.
Right: The sketches from Shan Roy’s notebook
are turned digital with the help of computer-aided
design (CAD) software.
Tar Right: A stmctural analysis and buckle test
simulates forces for locations on the bike in CAD
to show when the frame will start to buckle.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAN ROY
PHOTO COURTESY OE SHAN ROY
ith his newfound
confidence,. Shan
began the process of
designing the next
version of his mo
torcycle — one he
could ride more than once.
To make his current project easier,
Shan used the best resources from his
first build.
“The best thing that came out of
my first build were my contacts be
cause now that I had my first bike out
of the way, I knew where to go for ev
erything,” Shan said.
After spending a summer sketch
ing new motorcycle designs, Shan
decided on the one he would use as
inspiration and transfer onto com
puter-aided design (CAD).
In order to get all the right mate
rials for his brand-new design, Shan
went to Dick Timmons, a foreman
and a designer at Nitro Manufac
turing whom he had met on his first
build.
“Working with Nitro and Dick
has always been a really good expe
rience,” Shan said. “Before any part
gets cut, Dick and I will sit down and
analyze it, make sure it’ll be the right
cut, and after, we’ll sit down again and
go over what I need to fix.”
Timmons specializes on working
with “off-the-wall” fabrications and
prototyping.
“The first time I met Shan, I was
thinking, ‘What in the world did I get
into?”’ Timmons said. “But I have a
a
THE FIRSTTIME I MET
SHAN, I WAS THINKING,
‘WHAT IN THE WORLD
DID I GET INTO?’
DICK TIMMONS
FOREMAN AT NITRO MANUFACTURING
lot of respect for him.... There are no
‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ with him. If he wants it,
he makes it. The world needs a lot of
engineers like him.”
Shan’s ability to learn from his
mistakes is a trait Timmons believes
will propel his success.
“He is a sponge” Timmons said.
“He is here to learn; he knows to
listen and he absorbs all of it. That’s
what makes him so good.”
Not only did Shan learn from
his electrical mistakes, but he also
learned from his structural ones.
While the original goal was to build
a motorcycle he could ride more than
once, Shan also wanted a vehicle that
would stand out.
“I wanted it to be unique — some
thing that everyone would look at
— but I also wanted to keep a simi
lar shape to a regular dirt bike,” Shan
said. “So, I just took the basic outline
of a bike and started from there.”
With Timmons helping him cut
parts and with Chinese and Califor
nian companies supplying him with
other materials, Shan built the latest
version of his motorcycle in just over
four months.
Shan’s first ride experience on his
new motorcycle was as special as he
remembers.
“The best moment after that build
was the initial ride. It’s a feeling you
can’t get anywhere else,” Shan said. “It
stuck with me for hours if not days
because I had built a bike through
passion, and you can’t just buy that
feeling anywhere.”
To this day, Shan can still ride that
version of his electric motorcycle.
Before his pride began to fade,
Shan started working on the next ver
sion. While his current version may
have been a success, Shan knew it
could still be improved.
“I didn’t take off enough weight,”
Shan said. “It is pretty heavy, and it’s
really big. For the next bike, I have it
designed smaller, which will save a lot
of weight.”
The weight of the motorcycle isn’t
the only major change.
“The next design is different. It
is more futuristic, and I am a fan of
that,” Shan said. “It will make the bike
production-ready, which helps me
get one step closer to starting a busi
ness. If the build goes well and the
design works out, it’ll validate me and
my company.”
Shan’s futuristic design includes a
smaller and lighter frame, which will
improve the motorcycle’s ability to
travel on paved roads and dirt trails,
as well as a new motor, which will
improve the vehicle’s acceleration
time.
According to his parents, Shan’s
need for improvement is just a part of
his personality.
“Shan has a restless soul,” Laila
said. “If he is on a project and even if
he hasn’t finished it yet, he is already
thinking about his next project and
how to improve.”
This restlessness is constantly at
the forefront of Shan’s mind.
“My mind is always running
about how I can improve stuff and fix
problems,” Shan said. “I don’t sleep a
lot at night. ... I’m just up working,
and even if I’m not working, I’m just
sitting and thinking.”
To Shan, sleeping is a luxury he is
happy to sacrifice for his motorcycles.
“It’s a passion. If it wasn’t, I
wouldn’t be doing it,” Shan said.