On 26 Aug 2005 09:36:10 -0700, "John Martin"
wrote:


Eric R Snow wrote:

Tha Norton weighs 385 lbs. A car would weigh about 1200 lbs. I think
that the Norton tranny might fail pulling that much weight. And it's
such a cool tranny.
Eric

Sure, it might fail, but it might fail on the bike too. I don't think
the weight of the car has a thing to do with it.

Think about it in terms of the "weakest link". If the Norton spins the
wheel on dry pavement now, then a heavier car will put more force on
the transmission. If it doesn't, though, it's limited by the torque of
the engine and not the weight of the car. The gearbox can take
anything the engine can throw at it, and that won't be any more with
the car than it would be with the bike or a bike with sidecar. Oh, it
might wear a bit quicker because you'll always be running at more
throttle due to the heavier and less streamlined car, but that will
wear the engine as well.

The clutch will wear out quicker, because you'll have to slip it more
to get the thing rolling.

You may also want to gear it a bit lower in the final drive than with
the bike, which would help the clutch. I'm not sure that you'll want
the top speed of the bike with a 1200 pound homemade car.

John Martin
The Norton would bring the front end up in first with throttle only.
Second too. But maybe you're right. A lower gear to the final drive
would limlit top speed and be less torque load under acceleration on
the tranny.
Eric