For the most part, there was little done to Backlash from his original design that appeared at BotBash 2000. I banged out a few dents, replaced the speed controller and some wiring. I wasn't happy with the way the armor was held to the baseplate, so I reconstructed the brackets.

I also had 3 extra pounds I could put on to meet BattleBots' 58 lb maximum for Lightweights....

Since the first version of Backlash had a tendency to want to topple backwards in a 'wheelie' when starting from a stopped position, I added on a rear wedge to take the place of the small bar.

This wedge served mostly as a 'wheelie bar', but had the added advantage of being able to turn around and attack with a scooping action if I needed to. It was also constructed to be somewhat sacrificial, since there were no essential components inside, it could be punctured, dented, even torn completely off, and Backlash would not be adversly affected.

The first version of Backlash also had tilted a lot while steering with the disc up to full speed. Sometimes in practice, I could actually get him to flip over by steering to one side too quickly, the gyroscopic forces of the disc were too powerful. So, I extended the stationary shaft from the wheels out several inches on each side. This meant that if Backlash tilted in a turn, the shaft would act as a stabilizer and keep him from going all the way over.

Well, I guess I must have done something right! This was definitely Backlash's shining moment! He WON first place in the Lightweight division! See how Backlash did at the show!