Parts is parts
Just posting a few shots of the various parts that are accumulating. It’s nice to start a project like this and have spare parts available to experiment with. Previous bike and [...]
Flip-Flopping the Crankshaft
We’ve made good progress on the crank so far, one aluminum test part and 3 final steel parts all have the first lathe operation complete with no crashes, broken tools, or other mishaps. Now [...]
I Love CNC
The wonders of modern technology. From: To this: In a couple of hours. All the parts are accurate to within a few ten thousandths of an inch. The switch from the 2024 aluminum test material [...]
Machining Step 1 on the Lathe
After a couple of long days and late nights machining non-motorcycle parts the lathe is open and I can run a test part of the first crankshaft program! I’m making the first part from [...]
Programming Setup 1 on the Lathe
The first step in converting CAD to chips is to plan ahead, and it should happen very early in the design stages, otherwise you run the risk of having an unmachinable or hard to machine [...]
Starting on the Crankshaft
Now that the engine case patterns are approved and the production order placed I can move on to the crankshaft. It will be a 180 crank to exploit the reduced variations in reflected crankshaft [...]
Long Block Assembly Shots
Now that we have a girdle, top, and a couple of heads the time is ripe for some assembly shots. I’ll let the images speak for themselves… Short Block:Long block: The overall engine [...]
Finishing the Girdle Machining
This blog post is dedicated to Chris Hodgson from San Jose BMW. I saw Chris and his crew at the BUB Bonneville motorcycle speed trial event last week while helping wrench for Scott Kolb on his [...]