Finding my lost horsepower and other stuff

[grbrown]

Originally Posted by MisterB

Thanks for the link to the Dyna, just read it all the way through, I can relate to the problems of getting the power down on the drag strip, had similar issue with my Merch 120 race bike. As I read the thread, I was saying to myself, you dont need more HP, you need less weight and more grip... thats the problem with racing... its very addictive

This is another project... all made in a shed..

Some shed! When do you sleep?

[MisterB]

This is a project I'm doing with my mate Jeff, he does all the real work, while I drink all the tea..

[grbrown]

Originally Posted by MisterB

This is a project I'm doing with my mate Jeff, he does all the real work, while I drink all the tea..

Sounds an equitable arrangement! What does the rest of that vehicle look like?

[MisterB]

Started out as a piece of billet like this.. no CNC machines here, just an old miller and a lot of care...


Homemade cutter to scoop out the cases..


Made the yokes, wheels (rims from a scrapped Astralite) and discs... cant afford to buy much new

[MisterB]

Made the frame, rear wheel too


Have to see if I can find a pic of the whole bike, there's not much room in the shed to take a decent pic. The engine is in line four, dry sumped, reversed head, supercharged (we'll run it on Nitro), like a Harley it has a seperate gearbox (2 speed B&J), multi stage clutch (still making that, using clutch plates from an old Escort Rally car) and belt primary drive, which we also made. Ignition is by twin Magnetos, for the 8 plug head, that way if one fails, we still get a spark... otherwise the Nitro can caused hydraulic lock in the engine, followed by a very big bang..

[grbrown]

Fascinating! Deserves a thread all of its own.

[MisterB]

But its an inline four, if it ever gets finished, then intend to build a 'Harley' drag bike, if it happens I'll post about that..

[MisterB]

BTW, This is my current project.. got a El Bruto 127 engine, rigid frame and decent brakes.. not sure if the tank and bars etc will stay, still a lot to do..should end up with one off exhaust, oil tank, forwards etc.

[MisterB]

This one isnt mine, it belongs to Frank and is being built at my mate Saf's custom shop.. 1200 XL motor in a Kraftech frame, raked and lowered (a lot), R1 forks in one off yokes, pretty much everything else is one off too, its been ridden like this for a couple of months to sort out any bugs, and now its about to be stripped for paint etc..

[MisterB]

Originally Posted by MisterB

The sun was shining, bike's running great, nearly home when I went to pass a line of cars, pull out, open it up, got half way past when I lost all drive, engine was reving its nuts off, clutch felt ok, somehow got to the curb without being run over.. here we go again, the rear drive belt had gone awol, for the third time. Should I push it home or sit and wait for hours the AA? Didnt seem that far, so started pushing.. 2 miles and two hours later I made it home. Should've called the AA .. after a well earned cuppa and a rest, I went back to the scene of the crime, to look for the belt, just to see if it gave any clues as to why it had snapped. I found it no problem, looks like this, a clean break with no sign of stone damage anywhere, cant cope with all that torque I guess. Now I have to decide if I want to fit another belt and risk it going yet again, or convert to chain ? I think its time for a chain, at least if they fail, I wont have to dismantle half the bike to fit a new one..

I've got the front sprocket now and the chain, looks like a new rear sprocket will be here this week from B&C express, then I can get on and do the change to chain drive..