pictures of multiple engine bikes i saw
- Thread starter double trouble
- Start date
No, imagine a long shaft just behind the engines that is supported with three or more bearings and multiple small sprockets on the shaft perfectly lined up behind the engines so that a short chain from each engine could be connected to each of the small sprockets and the there is also one other sprocket on that shaft that is inline with the rear wheel drive sprocket with a chain that extends from the shaft sprocket all he way back and down to and around the sprocket that's on the rear wheel, so all the engines are linked to the shaft by chain to the small sprockets on the shaft and the shaft is then linked to the rear wheel sprocket by the long chain between 8th sprocket on shaft to the rear wheel sprocket.
Someone else may do better explaining this with fewer words but that is how it flowed through my fingers ......lol
Hope this explains it ok.
Map
That is interesting. Was thinking a master clutch on the driven shaft. But think the simplest way would be converting all seven engines to centrifugal clutches?
Ok you guys check this out....lol!
We all know... or well most of know that having 7 clutches and being able to operate them independently or from one or multiple clutch levers would be impossible, but if designed right the handlebars themself could be the master lever that operated the clutches, now remember Im being a little far fetched here for the sake of weird and crazy design......
The handlebars are allowed to pivot uip & down about 1-2 inches, welded on ech side of the pivot point, (center of bars) there are on each side a thrush plate, (something that would keep the bars from having side to side movement), also there is a 3-4" piece of thick wall tubing saddled and welded pointing straight down on each of the pivot point, on the end of the downward vertical pointing pieces of tubing there is a 3" piece of 3/8" flat strap steel that is securely welded on the lower end of the tubing and each piece of the flat strap has holes drilled through it, 3 on one on the left side and on the piece of flat strap on the right side there is 4 holes, thes 7 holes are for the ends of clutch cables to go through and then have the little barrel type cable locks attached, now this would be a cobbled up looking mess just a little but also there will need to be another pieace of flat strap welded across horizontal on the handlebar gooseneck, this will act as a place for the ends of the cable housings to sit where there have been holes drilled in perfect alignment with cable holes that are in flat strap thatis welded to the down tubes that are on the bars, on the steel plate that is weldex to gooseneck after small holes are drilled for the cables to run through, you take a larger bit just a tad larger than the cable housing and drill about 3/16" deep so the end of the cable housing has a recess area to sit in, there will also need to be two more pieces of flat strap welded to the vertcal pieces of tubing that is welded to bars, those extra pieces will need to be so that one is setup to be against front side of the flat strap that is welded to gooseneck and the other will need to be about 1 1/2-2" from touching back side of strap steel that is welded to gooseneck, these two pieces of steel strap are for limiting how much the handlebars can rotate down, the clutch spring pressure will hold the bars in the far up as they can go position and to disengage the clutches all you have to do is press down on the handlebars so they rotate and pull the cables about 1-1 1/2" the cables only need to be long enough for the handlebars to turn about 4-5" both ways since this bike is mainly designed to go in a straight line but it would still have an acceptable turning radius In an open area.
There you go Tom....lol! This same design could be accomplishe by using a large lever bar on handlebars simular to the brake lever bar on the old Asian bicycles..... has to be something that gives good leverage and I figure what is better for that than the acual handlebars on the bike and the use of the riders weight to bush down to disengage the 7 clutches on a bike that isn't a daily rider but designed for speed runs in a straight line in the wide open.
Replies please......lol! I know some of this may seem a little confusing but for those of us who build things and understand basic mechanics and making a big lever system with the bars being the lever, I dont think I made it to understandable or at least I hope not....lol!
Map
We all know... or well most of know that having 7 clutches and being able to operate them independently or from one or multiple clutch levers would be impossible, but if designed right the handlebars themself could be the master lever that operated the clutches, now remember Im being a little far fetched here for the sake of weird and crazy design......
The handlebars are allowed to pivot uip & down about 1-2 inches, welded on ech side of the pivot point, (center of bars) there are on each side a thrush plate, (something that would keep the bars from having side to side movement), also there is a 3-4" piece of thick wall tubing saddled and welded pointing straight down on each of the pivot point, on the end of the downward vertical pointing pieces of tubing there is a 3" piece of 3/8" flat strap steel that is securely welded on the lower end of the tubing and each piece of the flat strap has holes drilled through it, 3 on one on the left side and on the piece of flat strap on the right side there is 4 holes, thes 7 holes are for the ends of clutch cables to go through and then have the little barrel type cable locks attached, now this would be a cobbled up looking mess just a little but also there will need to be another pieace of flat strap welded across horizontal on the handlebar gooseneck, this will act as a place for the ends of the cable housings to sit where there have been holes drilled in perfect alignment with cable holes that are in flat strap thatis welded to the down tubes that are on the bars, on the steel plate that is weldex to gooseneck after small holes are drilled for the cables to run through, you take a larger bit just a tad larger than the cable housing and drill about 3/16" deep so the end of the cable housing has a recess area to sit in, there will also need to be two more pieces of flat strap welded to the vertcal pieces of tubing that is welded to bars, those extra pieces will need to be so that one is setup to be against front side of the flat strap that is welded to gooseneck and the other will need to be about 1 1/2-2" from touching back side of strap steel that is welded to gooseneck, these two pieces of steel strap are for limiting how much the handlebars can rotate down, the clutch spring pressure will hold the bars in the far up as they can go position and to disengage the clutches all you have to do is press down on the handlebars so they rotate and pull the cables about 1-1 1/2" the cables only need to be long enough for the handlebars to turn about 4-5" both ways since this bike is mainly designed to go in a straight line but it would still have an acceptable turning radius In an open area.
There you go Tom....lol! This same design could be accomplishe by using a large lever bar on handlebars simular to the brake lever bar on the old Asian bicycles..... has to be something that gives good leverage and I figure what is better for that than the acual handlebars on the bike and the use of the riders weight to bush down to disengage the 7 clutches on a bike that isn't a daily rider but designed for speed runs in a straight line in the wide open.
Replies please......lol! I know some of this may seem a little confusing but for those of us who build things and understand basic mechanics and making a big lever system with the bars being the lever, I dont think I made it to understandable or at least I hope not....lol!
Map
double trouble mentioned that the bikes are towed up to speed.
Maybe the clutches aren't used. I believe that's how the board track racers worked. Who cares about reliability when you expect to burn up the engines after one run?
Maybe the clutches aren't used. I believe that's how the board track racers worked. Who cares about reliability when you expect to burn up the engines after one run?
Well, Shan, if you're going to go that route, why have engines? Just make the handlebars work like the old railroad handcars used to work. Move the handlebars up and down and they would move a lever attached to a flywheel that would in turn be geared or chained to the rear wheel. Start pedaling then go to pumping the handlebars up and down. Wheeeee! Transportaion plus a good cardiovascular workout combined. 
Tom
Tom
Oh yeah..... im with you on this.... would make a heck of a lot more sense.....lol!Well, Shan, if you're going to go that route, why have engines? Just make the handlebars work like the old railroad handcars used to work. Move the handlebars up and down and they would move a lever attached to a flywheel that would in turn be geared or chained to the rear wheel. Start pedaling then go to pumping the handlebars up and down. Wheeeee! Transportaion plus a good cardiovascular workout combined.
Tom
I hope evryone understands my other post was just a fun thing but it would work, problem is when the clutch was released the back tire would just slide and no engines would ever be started....
After a 2nd look, I see no clutch cable or armature on the outboard motor. It's just a showcase item, nonfunctional, for display only. For all we know, there may not be any pistons or cranks in these motors, just empty cases. I'm disappointed. But from a 'bench racing' standpoint, it does serve as an engineering example for us to discuss how such a contraption MIGHT be made to work.
Map has proposed a possible clutch assembly that could theoretically work. His approach is simple, doable, and not overly complicated. I like it. It would require a custom headstem clamp that wouldn't bind or restrict the pivot action of the handlebars, maybe even incorporate bearings to eliminate binding. The only thing I might add would be a locking mechanism to lock the pivot in place to prevent the clutch from engaging or disengaging from the rider hitting a bump or leaning too far forward. Use a clutch handle to unlock a spring loaded set pin on the armature that grabs the cable ends, with the pin sliding in on one side of the plate locking the handlebars up for fully engaged, and the same pin sliding in the backside of the plate when the bars are pushed down to completely disengage the clutch, kinda like the 'Neutral' button on our kit clutch handle.
Having 3 wheels with 3 individual drive chains is overkill IMHO, that's too much friction. Not to mention the funky handling it would have. Why not just a single wheel riding on a fat 3" or even 4" tire? Or even a dedicated motorcycle rim? Or how about this: A 1000 watt electric hub motor setup for a disc brake from the factory, with the drive sprocket mounted where the disc would go, laced with 12 gauge spokes to a heavy duty dbl wall steel rim? That could serve as a starter for the engines, negating having to pedal or tow the bike up to speed just to start it. If a rear mount A frame or M wave kick stand were used (or even a axle stand rack) you could start it while stationary. We've all heard stories of ragjoints ripping spokes out just from the torque of a single motor, why gamble with that? I also propose a single common output shaft. A custom jackshaft would be the easiest & most simple to craft, using off the shelf componants & requiring the least amount of fabrication or tooling.
But the biggest hurdle I think would be tuning and syncronizing all seven motors to work in concert together. With each motor having its own crankshaft and carburator, uncoupled and in neutral, the disharmonous vibrations of all seven motors running independantly but mounted together on a common frame, would occasionally overlap one another, creating a vicious vibration that will shake like a titty dancer on meth! That could lead to bubbles or foamed fuel in the gas lines, carb bowls & tanks, further adding to the difficulty. To say nothing about rattling loose nuts & bolts, breaking welds & revealing weak stress points in the frame in the form of cracks & fractures.
Map has proposed a possible clutch assembly that could theoretically work. His approach is simple, doable, and not overly complicated. I like it. It would require a custom headstem clamp that wouldn't bind or restrict the pivot action of the handlebars, maybe even incorporate bearings to eliminate binding. The only thing I might add would be a locking mechanism to lock the pivot in place to prevent the clutch from engaging or disengaging from the rider hitting a bump or leaning too far forward. Use a clutch handle to unlock a spring loaded set pin on the armature that grabs the cable ends, with the pin sliding in on one side of the plate locking the handlebars up for fully engaged, and the same pin sliding in the backside of the plate when the bars are pushed down to completely disengage the clutch, kinda like the 'Neutral' button on our kit clutch handle.
Having 3 wheels with 3 individual drive chains is overkill IMHO, that's too much friction. Not to mention the funky handling it would have. Why not just a single wheel riding on a fat 3" or even 4" tire? Or even a dedicated motorcycle rim? Or how about this: A 1000 watt electric hub motor setup for a disc brake from the factory, with the drive sprocket mounted where the disc would go, laced with 12 gauge spokes to a heavy duty dbl wall steel rim? That could serve as a starter for the engines, negating having to pedal or tow the bike up to speed just to start it. If a rear mount A frame or M wave kick stand were used (or even a axle stand rack) you could start it while stationary. We've all heard stories of ragjoints ripping spokes out just from the torque of a single motor, why gamble with that? I also propose a single common output shaft. A custom jackshaft would be the easiest & most simple to craft, using off the shelf componants & requiring the least amount of fabrication or tooling.
But the biggest hurdle I think would be tuning and syncronizing all seven motors to work in concert together. With each motor having its own crankshaft and carburator, uncoupled and in neutral, the disharmonous vibrations of all seven motors running independantly but mounted together on a common frame, would occasionally overlap one another, creating a vicious vibration that will shake like a titty dancer on meth! That could lead to bubbles or foamed fuel in the gas lines, carb bowls & tanks, further adding to the difficulty. To say nothing about rattling loose nuts & bolts, breaking welds & revealing weak stress points in the frame in the form of cracks & fractures.
Since i was the only person from this board so far to see the bikes and talk to the owner , I thought I should I should chine in.
My understanding was that all the motors were direct drive to a jackshaft with one lockable hub. That hub has a sprocket which drives the rear wheel. When the hub was engaged , while being towed at about 25 mph, all motors(hopefully) fired up and have one throttle that controls all the carburetors. There are no clutches needed.
I hope that clears up some confusion
My understanding was that all the motors were direct drive to a jackshaft with one lockable hub. That hub has a sprocket which drives the rear wheel. When the hub was engaged , while being towed at about 25 mph, all motors(hopefully) fired up and have one throttle that controls all the carburetors. There are no clutches needed.
I hope that clears up some confusion
