Full steam ahead!

[Wired1]

I came across this story the other day while I was searching for information on diesel motorbikes (that's another story).


Steam motorcycles are rare enough, but steam motorcycles on a Wall of Death are unheard of - until now. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the West of England Steam Engine Society has commissioned a competition to design and build a motorcycle capable of steaming around Ken Fox's Wall of Death at a St Agnes rally in Cornwall on August 5 (2005).

"When I first heard of the competition, I listened with only half an ear because I thought they were all mad," says Ken. "I've never heard of a steam motorcycle going round a Wall of Death. Then I realised they were serious and that I was going to have to ride the winners. I'm trying not to think about that part."

Entrants for the competition had to be based on a motorcycle frame with wheels capable of accepting 325x19in tyres. "A proper steam engineer will look at the bikes first," says Ken. "Then I'll cast my eye over their basic engineering integrity and check they are oil-, water- and fire-proof." Machines will also need to be capable of reaching at least 50mph to keep them on the vertical wall.

By August of that year the bike below was built by Gerry Stoneman, a retired engineer from Devon, using a Field engine in a 1920 Sunbeam frame.
Apparently it was ridden on the wall of death by "balls-o-steel" Ken at the South West Motorcycle Show at the Westpoint Centre in Exeter.

[paturoa]

do u have a higher res pic or a link - can hardly see it

[Wired1]

Yes it is tiny sorry, here is a bigger one from another site, same bike.

And here's a different steam bike, this one is much better sized! http://www.steamcar.net/field.html

And another one: http://lindsaybks.com/gallery/Jorg/index.html
It would be exciting if the boiler blew up!

[MattRSK]

"The LeJay Manual reminds me of an electric bike I built in the 1930's. Got the sprockets on backward. When I threw the switch all I could do is try and hold on. Went across some street car tracks at about 113 miles per hour! The chain flew off and saved old Bob!"

[Skyryder]

I wonder what it sounds like.

Skyryder

[Steam]

Steam bikes rock! That's why I chose my username, steam, 'cos once the oil runs out, that's all we'll have.

[Wired1]

I have wondered wether it would be practical to build an electric bike, the battery storage capacity would be the limiting factor. What did you do in the 30's for batteries? there would have been bugger all around apart from lead-acid cells I'm guessing.

[Motu]

10,000rpm!!!!!!

[Ixion]

1600 psi. 1000 degrees celsius. WHOO HOO.

[Motu]

A steam whistle and steam siren - you could eject those lycra clad pushies from their suits like toothpaste from a tube! Not that I'd ever do such a thing....but the thought is satisfying.....

[DougB]

If Doble had invented the flash steam boiler before Dodge?
invented the self starter we would be driving steam cars today. The flash boiler could get up steam in under two minutes, the older Stanleys took twenty minutes. Back then the main reason for not buying a petrol car was to avoid having your wrist broken by the crank handle during a back fire.

I was going to build a steam motorscooter a few years back using already tried and tested plans, but never got around to it.

Some steam bikes on this site also about Doble.
http://www.stanleysteamers.com/gagan.htm

Did you know that the first known motorcycle fatality tool place on a steam bike!!!

[Motu]

It was Kettering who invented the electric starter...he worked for GM division Delco and they fitted it to Cadillac's at first.Steam vehicles in the last 30 years have held back by emissions - which has always puzzled me,we can make the internal combustion engine have clean emissions,but the external combustion engine where there is far greater control over the process has problems? Not enough effort...and money being applied.William Lear who invented the car radio and Lear Jet tried to reinvent the steam vehical - even his brain and money failed the attempt.

[Ixion]

Steam emissions - they always want to take large steam practice and use cruddy fuels. Which is OK for big steam engines, especially fixed ones, they run the waste gases through scrubbers and washers and such. Not practical to do that in a car. And using petrol for external combustion is onsidered dangerous (not sure why it's more dangerous externally inginted than internally, though)

[Wired1]

Well I'm going off this idea already, the whol plan was to avoid buying petrol and it's integral road tax, if I have to run the boiler on petrol it's all the same thing.

[Steam]

How about using a gasifier, so you can run a car or truck on wood, leaves, whatever. The gas generator unit is a couple of cubic meters big though, it will fill a whole car boot, or be a box on the back of a truck. But it's possible to compress the gas for a motorbike, and fill a bottle from your home gasifier unit. Gasifiers aren't used much in the first world (since ww2), but in the developing world they're quite widespread, especially for making cooking gas out of farm waste.

Or we can distill ethanol out of straw, etc, and run on Ethanol. Some engines can take up to 50% ethanol, or so I read.