Home Builds Racers Pilots Crew Contributors Max Racer Friends Links Credits



1988-1989 Beginning 1989-1990 Mock Ups & Test Beds 1990-1992 First Streamliner
1992-1994 Second Streamliner 1994-1996 Third Streamliner 1996-1997 Fourth Streamliner
1997-1998 Fifth Streamliner 1999-2000 Fifth Streamliner 2000-2001 Fifth Streamliner
2000-2001 Fifth Streamliner 2000-2001 Fifth Streamliner 2002-2003 Fifth Streamliner
2003-2004 Sixth Streamliner 2004-2005 Sixth Streamliner 2005-2006 Seventh Streamliner
2006-2007 Eighth Streamliner 2007-2008 Eighth Streamliner 2007-2008 Visit to Thunderdome



1989-1990 Mock Ups & Test Beds

Click the photo above to view a photo album

I thought it might be a good idea to put the power units in a drag bike chassis, where testing could be done at the drags on a weekly basis, testing all of the components for that ever so elusive reliability that would be required to do the job. So the engines were mocked up and installed with blower in a drag frame I built. After a couple of months I realized that this would take the better part of a year and a lot of money, so I shelved the project. I wanted to get on with the quest, however, and I felt a quickie could be built, testing only the problems of two engines coupling together. Having built several racing Vincents, I felt I could manage the engines without a problem. The blower and the fuel injection was again no problem. The only gray area in my bank of knowledge was in coupling them together. From my racing at the local drag strips I had observed that virtually all of the double engine machines, particularly the Harleys, had a problem in the coupling. More often than not they were spinning the chains off. I built the quickie using a couple of Mustang motor scooter engines. My principle concern was to better understand harmonic vibrations that occur, and find out what effect they have on coupling components, i.e. chain, sprockets, shaft and chain adjusters, all important and subject to failure. It's best time at the drags was 103 mph. I can't remember the ET. Not bad, huh, for a motor scooter.