There comes a time in many riders’ lives, when Kick starting a pedigree speed machine becomes impractical.
My Father and I have both reached this stage at the same time. (The only difference is it has taken him over 50 something years to work this out, and me only 4 years. However the motive is very different for the two of us.)
So we looked at buying a Solo Starter, but they are out of my budget.
http://www.solodynasystems.biz/d2/solo_pg2_assembly_instructions.pdf
It happens that I am doing an evening course in welding at the moment, so I have decided to make one using surplus material lying around the house. I have come up with an prototype design (see attachment; 'Roller assembly' and 'assembly1')
Materials I have found:
8 feet of 2 inch 'L' section angle iron
1 single phase 230Volt electric motor with 3 pin plug
4 foot long aluminium tube 3.25 inch OD approx. 3 inch ID.
A selection of bearings (Ball type) approx. 60mm ID 80mm OD
At least 2 x small blocks of Ally. Diameter 70mm height 50mm
Process so far:
Cut the angle iron into 8 ft lengths
Weld angle iron into box 1ft x 1ft x 4 inches (Attached Photo 2)
Cut Ally Tube into 2 x 1 ft lengths
Cover with adhesive grip tape.
Next step:
I then intend on using the electric motor to drive the rollers using a V-belt and two pulleys (A big pulley on the roller and small on the motor in order to gear the motor down as much as possible.)
The next step will be to turn down the small ally to make bearing carriers.
Orrignally I was going to purchase the bearings with square carriers with 4 bolt holes, which could be bolted straight in. However these are £20 for small or £76 each for large ones and I already have lots of new bearings laying around so can’t justify £300 on bearings.
http://www.cromwell.co.uk/INA6737435P
they also sell belts and pulleys, so will order them once I know dimensions. (Estimated cost £30)
However, this is the stage at which I have to ask for help, due to lack of experience, I have some questions which I am unable to answer:
Will an electric motor have enough torque to turn the engine over? (my father would be using it for 1000cc twins, I for 500cc singles.)
Will a V-belt and pulley slip setup?
Are there any rules of thumb as to how small, my small pulley can be? (My large pulley will be restricted by floor clearance.)
What is the optimum rpm of the rollers and therefore the motor?
Is there a simple way of transmitting the drive from pulleys to the rollers?
Is there anything else of importance which I have overlooked?
Alex
My Father and I have both reached this stage at the same time. (The only difference is it has taken him over 50 something years to work this out, and me only 4 years. However the motive is very different for the two of us.)
So we looked at buying a Solo Starter, but they are out of my budget.
http://www.solodynasystems.biz/d2/solo_pg2_assembly_instructions.pdf
It happens that I am doing an evening course in welding at the moment, so I have decided to make one using surplus material lying around the house. I have come up with an prototype design (see attachment; 'Roller assembly' and 'assembly1')
Materials I have found:
8 feet of 2 inch 'L' section angle iron
1 single phase 230Volt electric motor with 3 pin plug
4 foot long aluminium tube 3.25 inch OD approx. 3 inch ID.
A selection of bearings (Ball type) approx. 60mm ID 80mm OD
At least 2 x small blocks of Ally. Diameter 70mm height 50mm
Process so far:
Cut the angle iron into 8 ft lengths
Weld angle iron into box 1ft x 1ft x 4 inches (Attached Photo 2)
Cut Ally Tube into 2 x 1 ft lengths
Cover with adhesive grip tape.
Next step:
I then intend on using the electric motor to drive the rollers using a V-belt and two pulleys (A big pulley on the roller and small on the motor in order to gear the motor down as much as possible.)
The next step will be to turn down the small ally to make bearing carriers.
Orrignally I was going to purchase the bearings with square carriers with 4 bolt holes, which could be bolted straight in. However these are £20 for small or £76 each for large ones and I already have lots of new bearings laying around so can’t justify £300 on bearings.
http://www.cromwell.co.uk/INA6737435P
they also sell belts and pulleys, so will order them once I know dimensions. (Estimated cost £30)
However, this is the stage at which I have to ask for help, due to lack of experience, I have some questions which I am unable to answer:
Will an electric motor have enough torque to turn the engine over? (my father would be using it for 1000cc twins, I for 500cc singles.)
Will a V-belt and pulley slip setup?
Are there any rules of thumb as to how small, my small pulley can be? (My large pulley will be restricted by floor clearance.)
What is the optimum rpm of the rollers and therefore the motor?
Is there a simple way of transmitting the drive from pulleys to the rollers?
Is there anything else of importance which I have overlooked?
Alex