Diesel motorcycles. Me want, me shall have.

[mechman600]

Harleys too.

[bennelson]

PeterS: Great link - exactly what I was looking for!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by mechman600

Harleys too.

When I saw one of those Chinese 800cc V-Twin Diesels, my 1st thought was that it would be nice into a Sportster 883

[Curtis in Texas]

Hi Folks, let me put this out for your consideration!

I have a plated, legal and insured converted 10 HP Diesel KLR that I ride here in Texas and I can tell you that 10 HP is not enough engine, unless you don't plan on ever getting on the Highway The best I can do is 55 mph with mine on flat ground Small hills are a challenge I've thought about turboing it, but it has a CV transmission and just doesn't hook up well enough for highway use, so the turbo would be a waste of money with the CV Tranny like it is!

I bought it off a friend and it's been a fun bike to ride out here in the Country, kinda like riding an overgrown mini bike! I've have taken off and ridden it into the city where it did ok, but it really need a manual transmission to be a great ride! I'm building a Diesel Tiger this Spring, which should make for a great commuter bike!

If you'd like to see it my KLR it's on You Tube under Diesel KLR if you're curious enough to look for it It's the green and silver one This vid was made by the original builder and I haven't made many changes to it since I got it other than clean up some parts the original builder didn't have the tooling to make! I run a fabrication company, so I have tubing benders and wire welders and such! It now has a nice header on it

Been thinking about selling it to finance the Tiger build, but I really don't need to I originally bought it so I could get some experience and exposure to living with a diesel motorcycle! And it's been a great teaching tool!

The Diesel Tiger should be a barn burner since it's getting an 850 cc 18 HP 3 cyl Diahatsu engine and a 6 speed transmission!

So forget a 10 HP engine unless you have a turbo and manual tranny for it
BTY, I have a friend near here that also has a 10 HP Kubota diesel powered engine in a Suzuki 850 and it's underpowered too!

Curtis

Forgive the typos, my keyborad is messed up and several keys don't function and I have no period key! Hard to type fast like this!

[bennelson]

Hi Curtis, thanks for posting!

I always love to hear from people with real-world experience, instead of folks just theorizing at a keyboard!

[mechman600]

This one is good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73T6ZRBnEcQ

You can see the details of the jackshaft where the front sprocket is mounted on the opposite end.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Curtis in Texas

I have a plated, legal and insured converted 10 HP Diesel KLR that I ride here in Texas and I can tell you that 10 HP is not enough engine, unless you don't plan on ever getting on the Highway The best I can do is 55 mph with mine on flat ground Small hills are a challenge I've thought about turboing it, but it has a CV transmission and just doesn't hook up well enough for highway use, so the turbo would be a waste of money with the CV Tranny like it is!

I'd rather not consider anything below 13hp for road use, altough the power-to-weight ratio would still be worse than an average 125cc gasser bike such as the Honda CG 125 which had been the most popular motorcycle back here in Brazil, altough it's currently offered with a 150cc engine. But the torque-to-weight ratio of those 400 to 450cc small Diesels still sound favorable...

BTW one thing I have been lurking about would be planetary hub-gears.

[Christ]

The 10hp rating is 'as shipped' you can get as much as 13 from then pre turbo ,, plus shave a bunch of rising mass and remove the blades from the flywheel for road use. The factory intakes and exhausts are extremely restrictive as-is and choke it down on the top end by plenty. Just a few ideas. Ben, if you need any measurements from my engine or pics of any part of it as shipped and as it would be installed, lmk and ill take some. If amt of my projects intending to use this engine comes to fruition, ill be buying another to start another project with. I dont think ill use it in a bike though... Maybe a reverse trike commuter or something.

[Christ]

And I had a dealer lead on the 800cc twins, but not enough interest to get anything started. I had pricing in the $1200 to $1500 ea range direct to the purchaser by the time I finished and called the deal off.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Christ

The 10hp rating is 'as shipped' you can get as much as 13 from then pre turbo ,, plus shave a bunch of rising mass and remove the blades from the flywheel for road use. The factory intakes and exhausts are extremely restrictive as-is and choke it down on the top end by plenty.

Those "blades", from what I remember, are from a forced-cooling fan. Then, why not to work around an electric fan???