Diesel bike

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Hi people. Im new to this forum and thought i would make a post about a bike im building. Im also trying to find any information on anyone else who has had any luck with building a diesel bike. Ive never built a bike befor but have considerable engineering skills and experience with building cars. My bike will be powered by a Mitsubishi 2 liter turbo diesel engine. Im wanting to run car front and rear wheels with car disc brake/hub assemblies. Engine will be mounted north south in the frame. Im trying to find a suitable 90 degree tranfer box with a 1.1 ratio to transmit power to the rear wheel, so far ive had no luck and may have to make my own. I will also be mounting the wheels like a conventional car, bolted to wheel hubs which will be mounted on swing arms. Im still yet to decide exactly how to mount my front wheel and do the front suspension set up. Ive been looking at a system based on the Yamaha GTS1000, or maybe a springer type with a single arm going to front wheel. The rear will be reasonably straight forward with a single swing arm. Im mounting alot of the components such as rear swing arm etc to the engine and gearbox, similar to how a tractor is built. I will also run a Mitsubishi 5 speed car gearbox with the gearshifter mounted either in the middle between my legs or the left hand side. Im not familier with this type of set up so unsure where to mount the controls such as clutch, front and rear brakes.
Any help or ideas are appreciated. Will post up pics next week of my progress.

[Chooky]

Hmmmmm..... let us know how you get on.....:soon:

[Pussy]

Hmmmmm..... let us know how you get on.....:soon:

Look, Chooky, just keep that perfectly good CB1300....

[FJRider]

It has been done before... a guy in the Rusty Nuts MC built one a few years back. I recall the performance and handling wasn't spectacular...
Your plans seem different to his though...Good luck...

[Chooky]

Look, Chooky, just keep that perfectly good CB1300....

Yea...well I got the headlight out right now and some bike mates ring tonight want to go for ride tomorrow early...Guess I'll have to take the old one.:love:
Just as well I got two...

[Pussy]

You get the inition switch fixed on the CBX?

[Chooky]

You get the inition switch fixed on the CBX?

Yea new switch all go....I give ya a PM..Dont want to get off diesel bike subject... Hmm wonder if It"ll run on JetA1..?
:beer:

[Pussy]

Hmm wonder if It"ll run on JetA1..?
:beer:

I know where I can get some....

[flyingbrick]

sorry dude, but your plan sounds flawed for so many reasons its not quite funny.

Your actual best bet is to buy an old bike and use that as the donor- OR buy an old bike and convert that to diesel. Both paths will lead you to having a much more usefull machine.

[lostinflyz]

whats the max. lean angle you can get outta a car tyre????

[mctshirt]

Ladies and gentleman I give you the Rhino: http://www.ecorider.com/subcateg_details.php?subcat_id=10&catid=1

We had a guy trying to sell us these bring a demo bike to a paddock of our choice. A frightening thing after the Suzuki DR200's we were riding. It would chug up any smooth hill you poked it at but scary sitting on it like a Harley at unbelievably low revs waiting for the stall that never came. It came unstuck in a big way the moment a sheep track upset the suspension so got two big thumbs down for us. The rep left an angry man after I had flipped his demo then ridden up and down the same bumps over and over again on a DR on his insistence. Curiosity value was good fun though but too slow and unstable for any practical use off a dairy farm track.

[mctshirt]

Note the dog just about has to break out of a trot while Old McDonald tests the suspension to it's limit

[slopster]

Car tyre is not going to play the game in the corners. At least there wont be any chicken strips

[disenfranchised]

There's a few out there

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_bikes.html

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

sorry dude, but your plan sounds flawed for so many reasons its not quite funny.

Your actual best bet is to buy an old bike and use that as the donor- OR buy an old bike and convert that to diesel. Both paths will lead you to having a much more usefull machine.

Which things sound flawed? ive drawn some pictures of my idea and it looks real good on paper. Maybe the car tyres arnt the best idea, will have to see what motorcyle tyres are avalible in 15" to suit a 6 inch wide rim.
I could buy an old bike to use as a donor but it would have to be modified so much to fit a 2 liter turbo car engine that nothing would be left of it.

[flyingbrick]

Basically I generally see posts like these and think- If the guys gotta ask; he's on the wrong track already.
But I'll make a list.

*car wheels and tyres are heavy.

*6" wide is too wide.

*the motor has a cast iron block? the bikes going to end up weighing 300-400kg? lol

*The fact you even considered car tyres puts up warning sounds.

*you plan on using an automotive gearbox..................how long is this bike going to be? LOL.

*How do you plan on getting the output of the gearbox to line up with the 90 degree transfer drive? have the motor and box sitting way off to one side? or twisted on some queer angle?

*You are wanting a 1:1 ratio to transfer drive to the rear wheel. Have you worked out what gearing this equates to? Whats stock diff ratio for the donor car?


I personally see this as being a bit of a joke- but I'll be the first to own up and bow down if anything even remotely viable is shown in these progress pics.

You should consider building a trike. A trike platform will suit the build to a T.

-Nathan

[Pedrostt500]

There is a company in the states that convert KLR650s to Diesle for the US army, it is for their one Fuel policy, not sure where Ive Seen the article, also I belive that Enfeild in India have a production Diesle Bike.

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Basically I generally see posts like these and think- If the guys gotta ask; he's on the wrong track already.
But I'll make a list.

*car wheels and tyres are heavy.

*6" wide is too wide.

*the motor has a cast iron block? the bikes going to end up weighing 300-400kg? lol

*The fact you even considered car tyres puts up warning sounds.

*you plan on using an automotive gearbox..................how long is this bike going to be? LOL.

*How do you plan on getting the output of the gearbox to line up with the 90 degree transfer drive? have the motor and box sitting way off to one side? or twisted on some queer angle?

*You are wanting a 1:1 ratio to transfer drive to the rear wheel. Have you worked out what gearing this equates to? Whats stock diff ratio for the donor car?


I personally see this as being a bit of a joke- but I'll be the first to own up and bow down if anything even remotely viable is shown in these progress pics.

You should consider building a trike. A trike platform will suit the build to a T.

-Nathan

Thanks for your answers, you have some goos points there.

The car wheels are reasonably heavy as i had planned on running pressed steel rims, im not sure if the weight will cause any dissadvantages tho ? Can you think of any problems that mite arise from heavy (heavier than an average motorcyle wheel) car wheels ?

Is the width of a rim much of a problem ? It looks as tho some big bikes run quite wide rear rims (choppers etc). But i see pretty much all bikes run a thin front tyre, can you see any problems with a wide front tyre ?

The engine is a cast block, it is very heavy. The bike once finished could easily weigh up to 400kgs. What sort of effects would this have on a bike ? What sort of weight is a harley or large 1000cc plus jap bike ?

Im guessing car tyres are not ideal as they dont have any tread on the side when it comes to cornering. Im hoping to find a more suitable tyre, something with a more rounded look.

I plan on using a front wheel drive gearbox with a locked diff head. this way the drive to the rear is offset and will line up with a transfer box.
The bike will be no more than 2.2 meters long.

1.1 ratio transfer box will give me the exact gearing as what was in the donor car.

Thanks for taking time to read and answer my posts. Im genuinely going to attempt building the bike and appreciate anyones input into my ideas, wether constructive or unconstuctive.

Its been very hard finding much info on the internet or anywhere else and i think thers going to be alot of trial and error in building it.

I admit i dont know heaps and heaps about bikes except they have 2 wheels lol

cheers

[CookMySock]

Block the knockers right away so you dont have to deal with them.

What about hydrostatic drive? It will be completely different to drive, but you bike is going to be completely different anyway. Theres a lot on the net about hydrostatic choppers. Google is your friend here.

You will need a bloody substantial front suspension - I doubt that any motorcyle forks will be up for that level of punishment. Build your own girder suspension from here http://www.chopperhandbook.com/neatstuff/index.html and use a rear shock in it.

I think you will need to use motorcycle tyres on it, maybe use a rear tyre on the front, and a FAT rear tyre on the rear. ;)

Do keep us informed. Would love to build something similar myself.

Steve

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Block the knockers right away so you dont have to deal with them.

What about hydrostatic drive? It will be completely different to drive, but you bike is going to be completely different anyway. Theres a lot on the net about hydrostatic choppers. Google is your friend here.

You will need a bloody substantial front suspension - I doubt that any motorcyle forks will be up for that level of punishment. Build your own girder suspension from here http://www.chopperhandbook.com/neatstuff/index.html and use a rear shock in it.

I think you will need to use motorcycle tyres on it, maybe use a rear tyre on the front, and a FAT rear tyre on the rear. ;)

Do keep us informed. Would love to build something similar myself.

Steve

What a brilliant website ! Heaps of usefull information. cheers.
I will have some pics up by the end of the week, im off parts shopping today.

[thehollowmen]

There are a number of people, usually cruiser riders who ride on car tyres:
http://lifeisaroad.com/stories/2004/10/27/theDarkSide.html

The front would best be a bike tyre though, because otherwise you won't get good lean & countersteering.

Have fun and let us know how you go.

[CookMySock]

There are a number of people, usually cruiser riders who ride on car tyres:
http://lifeisaroad.com/stories/2004/10/27/theDarkSide.html

The front would best be a bike tyre though, because otherwise you won't get good lean & countersteering.So it seems. Bizarre.

Yep, a fat bike tyre on the front and a tough front suspension and you're in. Yeah chopperbuilders is great reading on bike suspension theory and practice, even if you are not building a chopper.

If you went hydrostatic, you should talk to an hydraulic system designer, as there are many many options that can make your life simpler. Hydrostatic system do weird things.

Steve

[road king]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lxLTplRG0Q


like this only bigger???

[flyingbrick]

:-D using a FWD gearbox with locked diff is a great idea.

Problem with the hydro drive is cost.

Make it look like batmans bike :2guns: