Strokers Galore!
Legend has it that Jimmy Steadman (and Maryann) started bucket racing. They would enevitably meet on the road somewhere on their way to work. Jimmy had a RV Kawasaki 100, Maryann had a Honda 90, so he got beaten to work every time. Maryann goes to the camshaft shop and asks for a cam that 'spits and backfires under 5000 revs' , so next Jimmy is fitting an expansion chamber and off the whole sorry story of bucket racing begins.
The variable RV is in the ESE thread but I wouldn't know how to find it.
Haha nice legend and not too far from the truth. The thing I can't forget is Jimmy cutting all the fins off his Kawi 100 barrel leaving the top and bottom ones and gas welding a water jacket around it.
actually a few things come back to mind after all these years.
Being totally gobsmacked when the Air Force gave us permission to close the base roads and use virtually the whole base and tarmac to hold the first Woodbourne GP.
Somebody's bike dying in the first practice and being totally stripped to a skeleton by the end of the day.
Battler on a Vespa
Having to machine down the crank webs so the cam they made for the Honda 90 pushrod engine didn't hit it. Balance factor be damned ..
Steadman wearing a pair of paper overalls decorated with colored streamers dicing for the lead with Moston Wadsworth
The spirit of the event.
Great to see buckets still going strong and the fantastic stuff you guys are building
Greetings from Cambodia
JF
Thanks Flettner & Co,
Revelations come in waves! I asked who the Steadmans were and I get all this stuff which just highlights my ignorance in these matters and what a relative newcomer I am - sorry I don't know all this stuff and thanks for the info, but I'm sure I've still got a lot to learn!
One thing I do know however is that if something is missing somewhere, Husa (the archive maestro) will sniff it out - like the variable rv.
Strokers Galore!
Flettner,
Are you still using the same system today or have you moved on and improved it all since? (as you do).
I devised something vaguely similar (when I had a Kawasaki 100 many years ago) with a two piece sliding backplate - two (almost) semi circles opposing each other and a gap between them, ie at the opposite edge to the port with two cams on the actuating shaft, or possibly a two sided linear cam being pushed /pulled from the perimeter, (but whatever, one cam for each semicircle). therefore making independent operation of opening and closing and plenty of scope for experemintation with timing.
These, nowadays, of course would probably be operated independently by a stepper and a chip!
Did I do it? - no! of course not, I'm not a doer really! - I did do some drawings (sketches) but unlike Husa, I can't find the bloody things - probably went out in the rubbish - possibly were rubbish!
This Kawasaki turned out to be my last bike - I went over the handlebars when an dozey but ambitious dog attacked my front wheel and I ended up in hospital! and the wife said "enough"!, so I bought a very cheap (and ugly) Skoda instead, not going of course- good car, except that she wouldn't go in it - seemed to think that it was a bit of a step down from a Corolla! - I dunno
![]()
Strokers Galore!
Getting some design advice from a higher authority.
Better listen carefully. I see the "Why did you that in that way, while I told you otherwise?" in his eyes. And they are always right.
There are currently 43 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 43 guests)
Bookmarks