Turbo rotary scooter

**IkeKrull** · 27th January 2006, 20:30

In a moment of impulsive madness, I bought a 150cc Sachs rotary engine, that has been peripheral-ported and turbocharged, off trademe.

Trademe description:

sachs rotry engine been rebuilt inside and out except for the external load bearing ( prob be about 9$ to get 1 of them easy to install )
this is a high performance machine!!! used to have 8 hp standard since then has had port enlargement ( perefrial port!! gives it the brap at idle) has a racing motorcycle minkuni FLATSLIDE caburetor on it has electronic ignition from a toyota celica ( ignitor coil lead etc ) has everything to put back to standerd cond. also has a $400 FMF motorcross streight through muffler and stailess exhaust piping fresh paint job with polished housing can show running if keen ask me for more pics........

Ihave just finished building a TURBO kit for it using a TCO3( all intake pipeing exhaust pipeing oil lines for turbo oil pump etc and is on it atm runs awsome about 5000 rpm the turbo spools up nicley this thing revs to like 10000 rpm iv run nothing but the best synthetic 2stroke oil at 23 to 1 ratio to prolong its life i am selling the whole lot with it tco3 turbo, carby, intkes, oil pump and lines, fuel pump and lines, will sell with some oil, and show buyer how to start if they want, EVERYTHING HAS TO GO ... NEED SPACE!!!!! and money

awsome for gokart!!!!!-was my intention i mean who has a turbo rotory powerd gokart.....be a first!!!

I am now wondering about the possibility of fitting this in a scooter - the engine is estimated to have around 14HP, and it revs to 10,000 rpm or so.

I have my PGO PMX-50, but i'm not sure on the feasibilty of hacking this engine into it - I wouldn't mind putting it in a vespa.

Unfortunately, I am not much of a mechanic, or a fabricator, so I'm wondering if anyone out there is interested in helping me out with this project - it might be completely infeasible, but it would likely be one-of-a-kind in New Zealand, and would make a big splash at the 4 and rotary nats and drags etc. if it was done up as a show-scooter.

Is it a stupid idea to find an old vespa with a blown engine, gut it and mount the rotary engine with the vespa drivetrain? Or would I be better to use chain drive and a motorbike gearbox?

I'm not sure how i'm going to explain this to my wife, but you only live once I guess.

Any comments, help or other input requested.

Thanks

-Pete

**marty** · 27th January 2006, 20:35

14hp? a factory rs125 aprilia puts out 34hp.

**skidMark** · 27th January 2006, 20:42

you are living my dream....lol....how much you pay for it...and do you err wanna sell it LOL that would be so badass a vespa rolling mission bay on a sunday pulsing it's arse off

**skidMark** · 27th January 2006, 20:44

hmmm i think build a big trike out of it then you can use a car box and diff prob hook on easier...hang on ugh i think i'm thinking about a much bigger rotary motor....errr go kart centrifugal clutch ? LOL good luck man itll be badass

**IkeKrull** · 27th January 2006, 20:50

True, an RS125 engine will have a lot more power.

I mean, a factory Hayabusa puts out about 5 times more power than a an old school Harley Davidson, but that doesnt seem to bother the Harley fans.

You could beat the pants off my proposed rotary scooter round the track or down the dragstrip all you like on all manner of road/racing motorcycles, but so what? I want to build it because i think it's will be a genuinely unique project, and one that is all the better since I am a bit of a rotor-head myself.

If you can't understand the attraction of such a project, it's probably better if you just go post on a thread thats more interesting to you.

**Jantar** · 27th January 2006, 20:53

Originally Posted by marty

14hp? a factory rs125 aprilia puts out 34hp.

From the data given it sounds like a Sachs KM-3 engine. Now lets just put this in perspective. It is actually only a 50 cc engine, but because of the crazy way that rotary engines are rated it is called a 150 cc, and yes 8 hp in standard form is about right, so 14 hp turbo'd would be possible. But the same result could be obtained by using a Sachs KMS-3. This engine was origionally designed for small outboard engines, and for small snowmobiles and would probably work well in a scooter.

But it still wouldn't be the only motorcycle with a rotary engine.

**IkeKrull** · 27th January 2006, 20:54

I got the engine/turbo/ignition setup etc. for $600.

Which is a fair chunk of change for me at the moment, but shit, i couldnt resist

And yeah, a pulsing rota in a scooter cruising courtney place (I'm in welly) will certainly turn some heads

**marty** · 27th January 2006, 21:16

put it in a honda step thru

**Jantar** · 27th January 2006, 21:18

But remember that a Sachs is going to burn fuel at around 5 litres per hour. Turbo'd will be even more. So chose a scoot with a large fuel tank.

**zooter** · 28th January 2006, 14:36

Got some pics? You would be lucky to get a seperate motor mated up to the vespa crankcase/clutch/transmission/swingarm system. It would mean some major engineering and a very bulky and heavy unit. It would be a miracle if the crank on your rotary would mate to a vespa clutch.
A custom swingarm and off the shelf cv belt drive bits and bobs would hide away in the existing cowls and not require you to dismember the donor bike.

A dropped modern vespa is your most likely donor. A vintage "project" is a whole lot more work. If you got a messed up belladonna you could sell the motor out of it for good money and the rotary bike could be certified as it's got a decent front brake, plenty of 200cc vespas with 15 hp.

You need to make friends with a certifier if you want to get it streetlegal. Best to do that before chopping anything up. There was a thread on hotrodding a gn250 a few months ago, it's all in there.

**retep130** · 10th February 2006, 22:08

I think you should give Andrew Smith a call or email, he runs the import-x tv program and the summerdrags, he does heaps of rotary conversions and other conversions and is a general car maniac/lover, he has also put a 250cc engine into one of those mini choppers, im sure he would be keen to help you or offer you advice

Email ontrack@woosh.co.nz
Phone 021 253 4846

**2much** · 10th February 2006, 22:29

You're a legend Pete, good on ya.

Would lend you a hand but I'm a little far away. However, if you want to pay someone to do it, I've got a good mate up here who runs a rotary workshop that specialises in conversions. I'm sure I could talk him into doing it for a good price and I garantee the quality of his work is very high.

Either way, good luck to ya.

**The_Dover** · 10th February 2006, 22:33

It's still a scooter and you'd still look like a poof.

**texmo** · 11th February 2006, 08:15

Originally Posted by The_Dover

It's still a scooter and you'd still look like a poof.

He may look like a poof but you are one.

**IkeKrull** · 12th February 2006, 08:48

I took delivery of the engine last week - it is currently in pieces on my desk at work (which as drawn much interest from co-workers).

I'll be bringing it home today, and getting it to run (normally aspirated) in my garage.

Its a little bit larger than I had imagined, but pretty lightweight.

I am now thinking of putting it in a minichopper first since I can get a minichopper frame much easier than a vespa. Vespa will be stage 2 of the project - a barebones frame with a motorbike clutch and gearbox will be stage 1. I can also make a mess of the welding etc without worrying about ruining expensive and hard to find vespa parts.

If anyone has a gearbox from a small motorcycle sitting round they want to part with for some beers and/or cash, PM me.

I'll also need a starter motor - currently, the engine is started with a v-belt and a drill - This shouldnt be a major to sort out.

Once i get a proof-of-concept together and running I will embark on the second phase of the project

I'll post up some pics soon as well.

Thanks for the suggestions re. who to contact, the ImportX guy might be keen, i have vaguely followed his car buildups on the tv show.

As for the poof comments, well, thanks for voicing your opinion with such insight and wit. Its good to know theres plenty of insecure retards trolling this forum.

Cheers for all your interest, and I will try to post frequently with my progress.

-Pete