akumabito
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 posted on 1/6/07 at 05:53 PM |
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Recommend me an engine..
No, this is not another R1 vs Hayabusa question.. 
I just stumbled across this website:
http://www.theriotwheel.com/
And I just love the mad invention... of course the original with a 6Hp engine doesn't appear all that impressive... So I began imagining the big
"What If" alternative..
What if someone crazy enough would build a bike-engined version? What engine would you choose?
A superbike engine may be overkill.. gerbiling wouldn't be a very nice experience, I suppose.. though the design counters this to some extend..
another concern would be the width of the engine, as it would have to fit inside the wheel..
Single or dual cylinder engines would be much easier to fit. Harley engines would sound sexy, but unfortunately require a separate transmission,
complicating things unnecessary..
Aircooled motors would obviously be easier than liquid cooled. But they usually deliver less power as well. A small(-ish) radiator shouldn't be
too difficult to place, I guess..
Of course budget would also be an important factor. Yet another strike against the Hayabusa engine, and probably also the R1 or other superbike
engines..
Then I remembered the Yamaha V-Max... 4-cilinders, excellent power, decent torque.. not at all wanted by the kitcar guys, so the price isn't
artificially inflated.. it's water cooled, but I bet a solution could be made to accomodate that.. shaft drive could be converted to chain..
But anyways.. I am sure I am missing some rather more suitable engines. I guess 80+ horsepower should do nicely. Torque is somewhat important, as
these are not lightweight machines.. aircooled is preferable over liquid cooled. Width is also important, it needs to be less than 16 inches (roughly
40cm), ruing out pretty much all straight-4 designs... Of course the engine needs to be very reliable (bullet proof would be great), and it has to be
reasonably available at decent prices...
Any engine suggestions?
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Ivan
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| posted on 1/6/07 at 07:30 PM |
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Helicopter gas turbine - the sound would do it for me.
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goodall
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| posted on 2/6/07 at 09:41 AM |
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cant really give it much more power because anymore power and the seat would be flipped over backwards since the extended weight of the seat and
driver counter the force of the motor. you could add more power to get a better top speed but theres not much you can do with acceleration because of
how it works
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akumabito
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| posted on 3/6/07 at 03:38 PM |
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Not really... have a look at how the engine is mounted in his design. It's mounted in a movable cradle, which has additional weight added at the
bottom. This way, the torque of the engie is not used to catapult the driver out, but to shift the device's center of gravity so the whole thing
keeps balanced.
Of course if you're adding a lot more power and torque, you would probably also have to increase the weight of the ballast..
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