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Froggy
| | Posted on Monday, November 28, 2011 - 05:01 pm: | 
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quote:You'll never get fuel in frame on a Triumph.
Why not? Buell isn't the only one using fuel in frame on a production bike. |
Electraglider_1997
| | Posted on Monday, November 28, 2011 - 05:14 pm: |
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I was speaking from a position that if you currently looked at any Triumph that they don't offer fuel in frame. Certainly any manufacturer can design a fuel in frame bike if that is what they want to do. That being said, I doubt that Triumph would want to be a copy cat. They have mostly done their own thing just like Ducati, Guzzi, Harley, and Buell. |
Whisperstealth
| | Posted on Monday, November 28, 2011 - 06:35 pm: |
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>>>I'm curious about the new Triumph Explorer. Wonder how it's going to behave when the going gets tight and slow. You can just about bet its going to go like a strapped ass ape on the open road.
Good question. But I'm thinking the Explorer will be more of a fire road "off road", bike and the XC the grittier of the two.
Man I'm loving Triumph's line up! |
Court
| | Posted on Monday, November 28, 2011 - 07:31 pm: |
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>>>>Man I'm loving Triumph's line up!
I'd digging having Greg, an ex-Bueller, in charge of Triumph . . .
Very cool ! |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 07:47 am: |
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Court...I'm thinking somehow being an 'ex-Bueller' is like being an 'ex-Marine'....but you're right, it is great seeing where all the Elves have landed. |
Uly_dude
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 09:22 am: |
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Knowing Erik has a penchant for electric motorcycles, especially in an off road setting, what are the chances he comes out with some kind of high performance ICE coupled with an electric motor assist, for that slow going, tedious work, type hybrid? All that in a small light weight package. Talk about an engineering nightmare. But those are the type of projects he seems to like to take on. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 06:48 pm: |
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I would love to see a hybrid type motorcycle. Indeed if anyone can make it work, its Erik. |
Conchop
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 11:37 pm: |
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Polaris has bought big into the electric vehicle market. Look for Vic and Indian to make a splash soon.
Clarion Labs has taken a Wankel Engine and made into a generator - no output shafts. Just a rotor and stator. This solves a batteries shortcomings and it will run on the cheapest fuel you can buy. This would make for one hell of an electric bike |
Electraglider_1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 10:30 am: |
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http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2011/0 6/clarianlabs_rotary_piston_generator_datasheet.pd f |
Uly_dude
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 11:39 am: |
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that is a very cool and simple design. With something like this, I can see the day when a small powerful electric motor is in the hub of our motorcycle's rear wheel with just a couple of wires running to it. No belt/chain required! |
Electraglider_1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 12:03 pm: |
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at the end of that pdf it specs a 5kw rotary piston generator as equivalent to a 125cc engine. 5kw equals 6.7hp (look it up). What isn't explained is how much fuel this thing uses. Seems like you still would need an ultracapacitor or battery to store the juice that in turn would power the electric motor. Sounds like a train locomotive setup to me. If it somehow gives an equivalent of 100mpg then it would be very nice indeed. But they don't make any mpg claims. If one of those things was sized to run straight to the electric motor without a battery in between then that would be something else entirely. |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 12:12 pm: |
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>>>>Court...I'm thinking somehow being an 'ex-Bueller' is like being an 'ex-Marine'....but you're right, it is great seeing where all the Elves have landed.
That's accurate.
The Elves, going back to Day 1, stay very close and maintain a Buell Alumni Group to keep in touch.
I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the finest and most innovative engineers I've ever known as well as some of the most amazing people.
I spend most my days working in an environment where thinking of something someone else missed, maybe didn't see, or finding a way you can improve on their idea is viewed as "making them look bad". Shame.
There is nothing as powerful as seeing a table surrounded by "Erik Buell Level" minds all intent finding not the smartest person in the room but rather having the absolute best the collective minds can do . . . be the ONE thing that passes through the door when their work is complete.
I go back, from time to time, and reread that piece that Erik wrote for Forbes magazine.
Shame that folks can't get past some of the things we allow to constrain us, learn to do our best, leverage the ability of collective minds to produce results greater than the sum of the parts and make the words "Made in America" mean something again.
(Message edited by court on November 30, 2011) |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 01:02 pm: |
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Amen Court.
Interesting design on the wankel generator. It is effectively using an electromagnetic transmission.
How does:
mechanical -> generator -> electric motor -> mechanical
efficiency compare to
mechanical -> hydraulic -> hydraulic motor -> mechanical
efficiency? I wonder if you could also work out a hydraulic shaftless setup similar to that electrical one.
And if we can just run at one precise RPM, why not a two stroke? |
Froggy
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 01:33 pm: |
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quote:why not a two stroke?
2 strokes are noisy, smell, make annoying noises, probably can't meet emissions, and require you to carry special oil around with you. At least with the wankel you wouldn't need to add a specific amount of oil with each fillup. |
Buewulf
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 02:28 pm: |
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At least with the wankel you wouldn't need to add a specific amount of oil with each fillup.
I guess you've never driven a Wankel very far. 
Perhaps the combustion chamber improvements they talk about in the brief mitigate that issue as well. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 03:25 pm: |
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You just keep the oil bucket from getting empty, not X ounces per gallon, and hoping you add enough into the fuel. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 05:45 pm: |
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I was thinking more along the lines of a direct injection two stroke Froggy. Which doesn't have to be noisy, doesn't have to smell, doesn't have to make annoying noises, and most certainly could meet emissions. |
Wolfridgerider
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 06:40 pm: |
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can we get a carrot.... |
Djohnk
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 07:14 pm: |
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You guys probably already know this, but Suzuki made a cool Wankel motorcycle in the mid 70's called the RE5, it almost made them go bankrupt because they didn't sell well. It was 497cc's and made 62hp at 16,500 rpm and 54.9 ft-lbs and 13,500 rpm. You can still buy them once in awhile on ebay. |
Harleywern
| | Posted on Thursday, December 01, 2011 - 02:58 am: |
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German brand "Hercules" had a Wankel as well. It was the W2000, nick named the vacuum cleaner. Not a big seller, but if you have one, you for sure have a collectors item, just as our Buell's will be in the near future.
Ride safe
Werner
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Conchop
| | Posted on Thursday, December 01, 2011 - 08:17 am: |
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I envision a wankel generator bike maintaining a series of generators. That way, with a capacitor bank for instant power, most of the generators are "off" until the computer controlled power distribution unit calls for more power. A series of "brushless" motors fall under the same concept.
In a cruise mode, you can have only one wankel and one electric motor runs. Twist the throttle, all wankels start, the capacitor bank shoots power to all the motors and you hang on for dear life.
Theoretically, this could allow far more efficiency. Only use what gas you need. Parasitic losses are minimized. As it is with the most efficient gasoline engines, heat loss, parasitic drag, etc. only allows a very low percentage of the energy available in gasoline to make it to the drive wheels. 11 to 30% ???
The really neat thing about this is the technology is on the shelf. All it needs is the money, engineering, and the RACE TEAM! Isle of Man - here we come.
PS - as with all dynamos, the faster they spin, the more juice you get. Wankels rev like the devil is after them. |
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