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Nitro Nostalgia

40K views 180 replies 32 participants last post by  frank spittle 
#1 ·
Right side of engine pod - built by Precision Metal Fab Racing (PMFR) - John Trutnau
 

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#28 ·
Bike is home at last and on the lift. Check out the infinitely adjustable handle bars. RVR built. The belts are reinforced Kevlar and I've been told they are unburstable. I hope the pictures show the detail that went into designing this bike. Thanks John Trutnau (PMF Racing - engine pod ) and RVR, you guys are class acts.
 

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#29 ·
Absolutely first class. What is the wheelbase? Guessing about 90-95 inches. Any time frame to startup? You coming to Plymouth?

On the wheelie bar length, Puppet is the guy that figured out that for T/F they worked best when they were the same length as the bike's wheelbase.
 
#34 ·
little d - Required HP will depend on the final weight. I'd like to run 7.80's and eventually 7.70's. This thing is getting heavy, so we'll see.

Frank - realistically probably 2016 will be the fire up year. I'm currently shopping to find a builder to help finish the project.
 
#35 ·
Update - the project was taken to Motorcycle Performance in March(Madison, WI). The very capable Bill Whisenant will complete the project. We are planning on having the bike running for the Fall 2016 ManCup race. Bill has a lot of experience with both drag racing and LSR. You can following the build on his Motorcycle Performance FB page. I'll continue to post updates on this thread as I get them from Bill. He's currently working on the heads, selecting cams and engine oiling. I had MTC put composite buttons on the JE pistons, including Teflon buttons covering the wrist pins.
 

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#37 ·
RichBob - I'm no expert on nitro engines, so If someone knows better please jump in. Supercharged nitro engines make a lot of power and heat. So the piston to wall clearances are set up kind of loose to make up for piston expansion. Mine are set at .002" and I may need to go to .003". The composite buttons are placed on the piston skirt to prevent "piston rocking" when the piston is cool (before expansion). I think the skirt buttons are PEEK plastic, while the wrist pin buttons are Teflon. Wrist pin buttons just cover the hole left by the pin and clips.
 
#39 ·
RichBob - I'm no expert on nitro engines, so If someone knows better please jump in. Supercharged nitro engines make a lot of power and heat. So the piston to wall clearances are set up kind of loose to make up for piston expansion. Mine are set at .002" and I may need to go to .003". The composite buttons are placed on the piston skirt to prevent "piston rocking" when the piston is cool (before expansion). I think the skirt buttons are PEEK plastic, while the wrist pin buttons are Teflon. Wrist pin buttons just cover the hole left by the pin and clips.
They were quite common in NA engines also, in the 80's
they were also known for reducing friction and reducing
skirt scuffing
 
#43 ·
richbob - attached is a picture I took off the internet showing PEEK piston skirt buttons. I didn't get a picture of mine before I sent them off to the builder. The other pictures are my engine components. Note that the cylinders have extra holes for better sealing and a raised edge (spigot) on the liners. The spigot passes up through the head gasket and barely touches the head when torqued. Trying to keep all the cylinder pressure inside.

Not vintage, but I did get to see John Alwine's new TF bike this weekend during testing. A very impressive machine with plenty of blower!
 

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#44 ·
Attached are pictures of the first completed head. The pictures also show the Ferrea valves that we're using. The valves have smaller dia stems to help with valve train weight. The valves are as large as the existing seats will allow. They also run stem seals. The head ports have been sculpted by Bill Whisenant. Additional center cylinder hold down holes, exhaust stubs and exhaust pipe spring holes are also shown. These pictures were taken at Valdosta, GA, where Bill crewed for Sam Wills.
 

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#49 ·
Long overdue update. Race engines are completed and being fitted back into the engine pod. The guy in the red shirt and dark hat is Bill Whisenant (Motorcycle Performance). Bill has done a lot of work on the engine pod frame mounts to allow for maintenance on the engines without having to remove the entire pod. He also strengthened the right plate to include bearing supports for the crankshaft and the parasitic loads. Slowly going back together.

I can't seem to get the last picture to upload correctly, no matter what I try. Can anyone help? Thanks.
 

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#53 ·
I am a lurker here, now you got my attention when you said NITRO, lol. Great build. I have a question for the nitro guys here. Is running a steel rod normal in a bike engine on fuel? And it was mentioned you will be running a 50% mix. My experience has been in a car engine from 30-50% you notice a difference, from 50 -80 not so much (it can't seem to tell if its an alky or a fuel engine) then 80 and up to 98 it definitely does. If my suspicions are correct, you will be at 80% shortly. LOL. You must return a lot of fuel with a 12 gal pump. Lippy
 
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