Diesel/Veggie oil motorcycle

[PeterS]

Originally Posted by dcb

to me the scooter transmission IS the belt-pully variator, like in the changzuki.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post244431 , I believe that is the "comet" transmission there.

The appeal of the variator with a diesel motorcycle conversion is clear, they are readily available and not too expensive and there are plenty of working examples. But I have been researching suitable gearboxes as well, and personally would rather go through the effort to have a clutch and gears. I can get over 100mpg on my 250 without the conversion (and with plenty of available acceleration and top speed), I have to aim a lot higher than 104MPG to make it worth the effort for me, and I think gears would help, but it is a notably more challenging path at current and not for everyone.

The appeal of diesel for me is being able to make my own biodiesel ,it's not only cheap ...which is always appealing ! but as I'm also very interested in low carbon emission transport .I have an excellent source of good clean used veg oil and 2400 litres stockpiled .My two 4 wheel vehicles are diesel and I'd like to replace my horribly inefficient R80 BMW with a diesel bike !

[Chromedome]

Originally Posted by dcb

Some of the conversions have transmissions, and obviously that would be preferable if it fits your budget and bike. But the torque curves on these is very flat once you are rolling, so you can "get away" without one, by making the same compromises as the no-transmission electric vehicles do.

I would love to see some transmission options, I know the old BSA and any divorced transmissions route, ,,, doesn't work on a diesel, some folks have converted 2 and 4 stroke bike transmissions (would love to see a build thread on that) by sawing off the cylinders,etc, others have made custom gearboxes...

Some 15 years ago, I tore apart a stuck Honda 360 engine, took it to work and using rod stock, make a shaft to replace the crank.

I cut splines in one end for the clutch gear and on the flywheel side, I single splined it and made it long enough to pass through the side cover. Used two locking rings on the inside of the crank bearings and cut a hole in the side cover with an oil seal.

Added a pulley to the shaft and made a cover for the cylinder holes. All in all it was very easy and took less than 8 hours of spare time. I filled it half way up with oil and it made a very nice go-cart transmission with working clutch, and I'm no machinist. A real one could have done it in maybe two hours.

I know this would be a bit long for a diesel motorcycle, but it's an inexpensive option. Sorry, I don't have any pics of it.

[PeterS]

A diesel Enfield , using the standard Enfield gearbox ,a fairly simple setup .