| Author | Message | ||
     Skifastbadly |
Which of my assumptions above are incorrect? | ||
| Reepicheep |
Dang. Getting late for a cashiers check. Will you take a personal check for $3000? After all, it's an awful aircooled machine with it's motor stuck in a little metal box. I'm having fun with this, but I am serious about the offer... I already have a 2007 Uly, but for $3k, I'll take yours and fix it as a backup / loan to a buddy bike. | ||
| Buewulf |
I need a theoretical radiatorologist to 'splain this one. I am no radiatorologist, but I would guess that the airflow funnels its way across the engine and through the frame to pass through the radiator, the fan only needed when airflow is low. The dotted lines suggest that the duct arcs down and low behind the engine (perhaps taking in air from a scoop of some sort). I can't imagine they would draw air from the back of the bike (though I could be wrong). It would work fine to cool the bike, but you would be pouring all of that heat under the rider which would really suck in stop-and-go. Plus your fan would be working all the time. | ||
| Uly_man |
I have no idea AT ALL what a "theoretical radiatorologist" is or care for that matter. I am with "the man in black". | ||
| Hughlysses |
I don't get it. It looks like the fan is either drawing air back wards, pushing it through the radiator, and then onto the rear cylinder, which would make today's hot leg seem mild, or it's pulling the air off the cylinder which is already hot, to cool the coolant. I need a theoretical radiatorologist to 'splain this one. Well, I'm not a theoretical radiotorologist, but I have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express. There are a couple of arrows in the drawing that are confusing you; the air flow is definitely intended to be towards the rear. Speaking of which- there's a VERY recent thread on Badweb by a guy that is (seriously) converting his air-cooled XB to water cooling. I think the thread is on the XB board. He's already welded complete aluminum water jackets around the cylinders and heads and has figured out how to mount a radiator horizontally under the seat. He's using an electric water pump. He's apparently thought it all out. This guy takes the prize for home shop work. If I can find the thread I'll post a link later. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Actually, the arrows didn't confuse me in the least. I'm not a mechanical engineer but worked my way through college as an NC programmer and have been in the Mechanical CAD business ever since. That's a nice drawing. I was trying to determine what would work, sucking the air from the back and pushing it toward the cylinder, or sucking the hot air off the cylinder and cooling the fluid with that. Maybe I need a solid model with a full CFD analysis to really get it. | ||
| Froggy |
If I read the document correctly, it uses an air scoop that sucks up air from down near the muffler, up behind the rear cylinder, then through the radiator and out the rear. | ||
| Etennuly |
I am a bodyman/painter/business owner/mechanical fiddler, in qualifying my self I don't know shit about engineering but I like looking at pictures. I believe the Frogster is correct. It ducts air, probably from both sides, up the ducts, through the radiator, pulled by a fan, and out an outlet under the seat that would confuse a lot of folks into believing it would be an exhaust pipe. I too have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express but lay no particular  belief in their magical knowledge increasing powers. You would probably gain more from a Readers Digest. | ||
| Court |
>>>If I read the document correctly Read more, look closer, think. You've turned the first pebble in pile that could give you a most interesting glimpse at things you can't possibly imagine. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
"Read more, look closer, think. You've turned the first pebble in pile that could give you a most interesting glimpse at things you can't possibly imagine." Hey, isn't that from 'Lord of The Rings'? ... | ||
| Griffmeister |
Nah, 'The Matrix'. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
"Nah, 'The Matrix'." My bad, I knew it sounded familiar...is that the scene where he takes that big ass pill? ... | ||
| Griffmeister |
Sheesh, I was just kidding, everyone is just too serious here. Besides, if you look just above the number 58 in the diagram you'll see that Jesus is in control of the air flow. | ||
| Froggy |
I love you guys.  | ||
| Ourdee |
I liked the muffler in the swing arm one myself. | ||
| Blake |
I live in Texas. I ride year round. It gets hot here. The Ulysses performs exceptionally well. Heat has never ever been an issue. The fan noise can be mildly annoying. Al speaks truth. Johnny just sounds grumpy. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Here's a better drawing from the patent that shows the whole air path:  Complete patent here: http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20120012414.PGNR. More on the water-cooled XB I mentioned above. Barker first spotted it on Facebook a couple of weeks ago: "Oh wow, quite the project. I started mine wanting to address 2 issues- the heat which the engine throws at me when riding in town (Orlando FL) and also to even out the temps between the front and rear cylinders. Quite the Frankenstein- 1125...R thermostat, VW Passat electric water pump, Aprilia RSV1000 radiator cap, Kawasaki 1200 radiator, Nissan Quest brake reservoir (coolant overflow tank), 9" pusher fan." Pictures here: http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/coolflames/Firebolt/?start=all I can't really say if I think it's a GOOD project or not, but this is one of the most amazing pieces of garage engineering I've ever seen. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
As I recall, the Britten bikes had a radiator back there too. There is a very low pressure area around there and Britten ran a duct from the front to a radiator set up almost the same as the patent drawings.  Beats me how it would work in traffic but at speed, it made sense. | ||
| Etennuly |
Why does it look like a section of the large intestine that my doctor showed me cat scans of a few years back?(of course minus the radiator and fan)   | ||
| Court |
>>>Why does it look like a section of the large intestine that my doctor showed me cat scans of a few years back? Because some of the very same physics principles apply to both. | ||
| Etennuly |
Makes sense I guess. You have gas(air) and you need to move it through the tube via muscle(fan) to exhaust out the rear exit port. Let's hope solid waste is not a part of the bike's venting process!  What is this bike gonna sound like?!? | ||
| Hughlysses |
I can't believe nobody commented on the home-built water cooled XB:     | ||
| Motorbike |
Okay, I'll comment on it. Just my $.02 worth. The guy that is doing this project must have a lot of time on his hands. He must really enjoy a challenge. Personally, I would never trust it after doing all that. I bet he will be chasing water leaks from now to eternity. To each his own. I think he is ruining a good engine. Okay, go ahead and flame me. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Grumpy? | ||
| Uly_man |
"The guy that is doing this project must have a lot of time on his hands. He must really enjoy a challenge." I wish I did and can not think of anything better I would like to do. Maybe some of you would like to donate funds/sponser my new design/build Eco friendly bike? | ||
| Buewulf |
I live in Texas. I ride year round. It gets hot here. The Ulysses performs exceptionally well. Heat has never ever been an issue I also live in Texas. It does get hot here. I used to ride year round before I moved here. The summer is brutal, and I frankly don't ride much between June and the end of September anymore, but I am going to try to man up and change that this year! My Uly does have heat issues (pinging), but only in slow, bumper-to-bumper traffic when ambient temps are above 80-degrees. Which is most of my commute most of the year. Which is why I can't commute on the Uly. :-( I can't believe no one commented on the water-cooled XB That is one hell of a project. It is interesting in that he won't gain anything by doing so. Any component reliability he may gain will surely be offset by issues he'll have with the fabrication? There no no significant power gains to be had unless he had engine mods that air just couldn't keep up with. I guess he did just to see if he could? In any case, it is pretty amazing. | ||
| Crusty |
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the Harley Nova Project. It had a radiator under the seat with ducted air flow, as well. | ||
| Hughlysses |
That is one hell of a project. It is interesting in that he won't gain anything by doing so. Any component reliability he may gain will surely be offset by issues he'll have with the fabrication? There no no significant power gains to be had unless he had engine mods that air just couldn't keep up with. I guess he did just to see if he could? In any case, it is pretty amazing. From what he said the driver behind the project was heat management- he just wants the bike to be more comfortable to ride in Florida summer heat. I'd be really interested to know if he cut/ground most of the fins off the cylinders and heads. I'm sure a big question is whether the water flows where it really needs to as well. Just surrounding a head with a "tub" of slow-moving coolant may not work well at all if the flow is not "sweeping" the hot spots. More power to him though- I'd love to get the chance to see this thing at a Buell meet some day. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Johnboy, I always thought that the fuel in frame design could have used a few angled air ducting holes to let the heat out. Other than that I love the design. Should of went for 5 or more gallons also from the gitgo I suppose. Buell has pretty much ruined me when I look at other brand bikes, for now I see them all as lacking in comparison to Buell. I'd love to see what the Buell boys could do for an electric or hybrid motored bike. I'd be all over that. | ||
| Buewulf |
I'd love to get the chance to see this thing I would, too. I'm guessing he would leave the fins on, or at least not grind them away completely. Since the fins were designed with the hot spots in mind, it seems leaving them on would help insure that the coolant is effectively moving heat away from the parts it needs to. This guy must really love the XB platform. If I just could't live without an XB, and the heat bothered me that bad, I would just have bought second bike to ride when the weather is hot. But I have to applaud the guy for even attempting to pull this off. Do you know how it is working out for him? |
