Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.



I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.



Any ideas.direction?



I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.



Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

On Sep 2, 8:19*pm, "James Newell" wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? *Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. *Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.

I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.

Any ideas.direction?

I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.

Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

The only thing I've seen is is a homemade steam powered bike.
Sounds interesting though.
Karl

Google Excelsior and Paul Brodie. Try this YouTube link.

http://video.google.ca/videosearch?q=board+tracker+replica+BC&hl=en&emb=0 &aq=f#q=youtube%20board%20tracker&hl=en&emb=0

Or his web page.

http://www.flashbackfab.com/pages/excel00.html

Pete

--
Pete Snell
Department of Physics
Royal Military College
Kingston, Ontario,
Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Just a guess, James. Anyone smart enough to have done it in the early 1900s is probably dead
already or not hanging around on the internet.

Bob Swinney
"James Newell" wrote in message
news Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.



I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.



Any ideas.direction?



I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.



Thoughts...cheers....jeers?




** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Jeeeze, Karl ! Are you behind, or what? Useta be a guy on RCM that had a steam-powered pickup
truck - a V8, no less.

Bob Swinney
wrote in message
...
On Sep 2, 8:19 pm, "James Newell" wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.

I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.

Any ideas.direction?

I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.

Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

The only thing I've seen is is a homemade steam powered bike.
Sounds interesting though.
Karl

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Sep 3, 12:19*am, "James Newell" wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? *Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. *Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.

I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.

Any ideas.direction?

I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.

Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

I haven't done it, but if you can find copies of "The Model Engineer"
magazine from the early 1900s, there were plenty of how-to articles on
building motorcycles and altering existing bicycles. Note that the
bicycles back then seemed to be a lot more heavy-duty that what's
currently available. Most conversions used a single cylinder engine
replacing the upright under the seat and a big leather belt to drive
the rear wheel. "The Model Engineer" was a staple of British
modelmaking for decades, sometimes it was a weekly, sometimes a
biweekly. A lot of big-city libraries have back issues, either as
bound volumes or on microfilm. The college library had all the issues
back to volume one, they covered just about everything you could think
of that you could make in a small shop and then some. In later years,
it was more oriented towards the live steamer folks, but in the early
years it had a lot of different projects in it. I've got reprints
from the first decade, they are worth having.

Stan

On Sep 3, 12:19*am, "James Newell" wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? *Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. *Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.

I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.

Any ideas.direction?

I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.

Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

I haven't done it, but if you can find copies of "The Model Engineer"
magazine from the early 1900s, there were plenty of how-to articles on
building motorcycles and altering existing bicycles. Note that the
bicycles back then seemed to be a lot more heavy-duty that what's
currently available. Most conversions used a single cylinder engine
replacing the upright under the seat and a big leather belt to drive
the rear wheel. "The Model Engineer" was a staple of British
modelmaking for decades, sometimes it was a weekly, sometimes a
biweekly. A lot of big-city libraries have back issues, either as
bound volumes or on microfilm. The college library had all the issues
back to volume one, they covered just about everything you could think
of that you could make in a small shop and then some. In later years,
it was more oriented towards the live steamer folks, but in the early
years it had a lot of different projects in it. I've got reprints
from the first decade, they are worth having.

Stan

In article ,
"Robert Swinney" wrote:

Jeeeze, Karl ! Are you behind, or what? Useta be a guy on RCM that had a
steam-powered pickup
truck - a V8, no less.

Bob Swinney
wrote in message
...
On Sep 2, 8:19 pm, "James Newell" wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.

I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.

Any ideas.direction?

I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.

Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

The only thing I've seen is is a homemade steam powered bike.
Sounds interesting though.
Karl

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **


Are you looking for a From-Scratch motor, or modifying something else to
make it work type of engine?

haven't tried it, but i've had this tickle in the back of my head for a
while:

I used to have a couple of Automotive air conditioning compressors from
the mid 1960's. they were either single piston or dual piston depending
on the model, and each cylinder was (guessing) about 200cc in size. the
cranks and cases looked relatively beefy. You would definitely need to
make a new cylinder head to get valves that could handle combustion, but
the rest of it was designed to spin at 3000RPM or so.

Maybe a good starting platform to figure some stuff out?

--J


--
remove "xxxnospamxxx" to reach me

James Newell wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a
single cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not
the fastest in the world, just viable.



I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem
to find anyone on the internet who has done it.



Any ideas.direction?



I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.



Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

Check out the castinghobby group at yahoo.com for starters . Lotsa good
info there for your cases . As far as internals , you might consider
modified Harley crank parts - or homemade parts of similar design .
Shortened crankpin , run modified Sportster cams . How ya gonna lube this
thing ? I presume you want overhead valves ? Gonna be some interesting core
work on that head !
--
Snag
'90 Ultra "Strider"
'39 WLDD "Popcycle"
Buncha cars and a truck

Well, it started as a "from scratch" IDEA. But.....

The starting point is function follows form...I know, wrong way to do it,
but the purpose is to have a vintage/antique style as an intended result.

I admit, the end result is to have a unique motorcycle with a unique engine.
I don't want a Harley engine, because ...well, because I keep getting told I
need to have a Harley engine. I don't want a Japanese engine...probably for
the same reason the Harley owners don't want a Japanese motorcycle/machine.
I thought about something as simple as a Briggs and Stratton engine,
but...well.....it tends to look like a Briggs and Stratton engine. But....

It's hard to argue with the success of Harley, Honda, B&S, etc....so I guess
my happy medium is the parts from one of these within the case/cylinder/head
of my own making. Harley parts are just sooooooooo expensive, the Japanese
new stuff probably isn't much cheaper....and so I thought of perhaps
settling on B&S internals.

Remember this thing does not have to win races, or travel to the ends of the
Earth...Just your basic engine that runs, doesn't blow up, gets 50-60 MPG,
last 10K to 15K miles. (lasting longer is fine, but I kind of felt that with
the splash lubrication of a B&S limited my expected life). It would power
something like a Simplex (http://www.servi-cycle.com/history.htm).

I realize everything I want to do can be purchased...but only at a price.
I'm a little tired of living a life in which I go to work, die slow, repeat
the next....all because I don't have a million dollars.

My shop is moderately equipped. MIG, Lathe (9x12), Mill, etc....not the
best of everything, but AT LEAST as good as most early makers had at their
disposal. I realize that some aspects will need to be sent out (i.e.
Bore/hone/etc).


"joel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Robert Swinney" wrote:

Jeeeze, Karl ! Are you behind, or what? Useta be a guy on RCM that had
a
steam-powered pickup
truck - a V8, no less.

Bob Swinney
wrote in message
...
On Sep 2, 8:19 pm, "James Newell" wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest
in
the world, just viable.

I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem
to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.

Any ideas.direction?

I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.

Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

The only thing I've seen is is a homemade steam powered bike.
Sounds interesting though.
Karl

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **


Are you looking for a From-Scratch motor, or modifying something else to
make it work type of engine?

haven't tried it, but i've had this tickle in the back of my head for a
while:

I used to have a couple of Automotive air conditioning compressors from
the mid 1960's. they were either single piston or dual piston depending
on the model, and each cylinder was (guessing) about 200cc in size. the
cranks and cases looked relatively beefy. You would definitely need to
make a new cylinder head to get valves that could handle combustion, but
the rest of it was designed to spin at 3000RPM or so.

Maybe a good starting platform to figure some stuff out?

--J


--
remove "xxxnospamxxx" to reach me

On Sep 3, 3:52*am, "Robert Swinney" wrote:
Jeeeze, Karl ! *Are you behind, or what? *Useta be a guy on RCM that had a steam-powered pickup
truck - a V8, no less.

Bob wrote in message

...
On Sep 2, 8:19 pm, "James Newell" wrote:

Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.

I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.

Any ideas.direction?

I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.

Thoughts...cheers....jeers?

The only thing I've seen is is a homemade steam powered bike.
Sounds interesting though.
Karl

** Posted fromhttp://www.teranews.com**


I only ride motorcycles. I thought those four wheeled things were for
people who couldn't balance on two.
Nothing wrong with V8 motorcycles though.
http://www.bosshoss.com/products.asp
Karl

On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 22:05:52 -0500, "James Newell"
wrote:

snip
Remember this thing does not have to win races, or travel to the ends of the
Earth...Just your basic engine that runs, doesn't blow up, gets 50-60 MPG,
last 10K to 15K miles. (lasting longer is fine, but I kind of felt that with
the splash lubrication of a B&S limited my expected life). It would power
something like a Simplex (http://www.servi-cycle.com/history.htm).
snip

I have owned two Honda 550 4 cylinder motorcycles. A 1976
and a 1978. The 76 would get ~35 mpg and the 78 ~38 mpg.
They were pretty simple designs, air cooled, chain drive.

And ya, I know how to check the mileage. My current Honda
Magna VF700C gets ~45 mpg. Maybe 48 mpg if I stay under 50
mph and really try hard for mpg.

Watch your motor size, cooling and such if you really want
50-60 mpg...

I would keep my eyes open for old Honda's (mid 70's) in need
of repair and then use your equipment to create your own
Frankenstein from them

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

James Newell wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.
The guys who exhibit at the NAMES show certainly could build a
power plant for a bike. There have been a couple articles in
Home Shop Machinist about an engine with electronically
controlled valves, but the engine is quite a bit bigger than the
typical home shop engine, and ought to be powerful enough to
move a bike. Then, of course, there are the guys with WAYYYY
too much time on their hands who build 1/4-scale Offenhausers,
V-8 boat engines, 18-cyl radials and other exotica. One guy
with a V-8 boat had some videos of his boat doing what had to be
100+ MPH on a lake, but it was all a blur! You could pick up
the entire boat in one hand, I think. 2 years ago, the Sherline
award winner from France had his 1/4-scale Ferrari car there.
The engine sounded quite awesome.

Jon

James Newell wrote:
Has anyone seen a home built, viable, IC engine? Specifically a single
cylinder motorcycle engine typical of the early 1900s. Not the fastest in
the world, just viable.



I know it can be done, because it has been done.but I just can't seem to
find anyone on the internet who has done it.



Any ideas.direction?



I was thinking cast cases, with more common/modern/avaiable internals.



Thoughts...cheers....jeers?




Try googling for John Britten. Staggering what one guy can achieve!