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Topics - Tinworm

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1
Tech Forum / 420 chain - ok with 200cc?
« on: 01 Jan 23, 10:27 pm »
Gemini supplied me with a 420 / 60T plate wheel and carrier, and I have recently been studying the link Stefan provided, which explains chain pitch etc.

But now I am a bit concerned because I have been looking at 420 chain on ebay and it never specifies it for anything bigger than a 160cc engine.

It makes me wonder if it is designed only for smaller engines and wonder whether our 200cc's will be too much for it?


2
Where to get stuff / Profile Publications index
« on: 10 Dec 22, 06:03 pm »
You may have this here already, but just in case, here's a link to an index of the Profiles which have inspired so many early cyclekarts

http://www.daimlercars.lu/uploads/7/8/7/9/7879273/profileindex.pdf

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Tech Forum / ref bearings: what do you call these....?
« on: 19 Nov 22, 11:26 am »
Most of the bearings we use are for working around a shaft. But what do you call those bearings which are loaded from above, as for instance in a swivelling caster or the headset of a motorcycle? And can you buy them in their own circular channels (like chopping the top of a motorcycle headset off), not just as balls in a cage?

4
I haven't fitted my brake caliper. I am just fiddling with it, but the pads have closed the gap but not released! How do you get them to release?


5
Tech Forum / spoke ripped out of rim on pit bike wheel
« on: 16 Aug 22, 08:31 pm »
I dropped a pit bike wheel. I had a propped things up to see what they'd look like and everything fell off the table, when I knocked it. A spoke on one wheel buckled and pulled out of the rim.

see picture

Bit discouraged by how easily that rim opened up, but can anything be done? Hoping that I don't have to replace the whole wheel, but how would a replacement spoke be retained? Anyone ever been able to do a repair?

6
Tech Forum / engine access
« on: 13 Aug 22, 10:39 pm »
I am wondering if I can get away with access from above (leaning into the rear access, rather than removing a side of the rear of the car).

When you are fiddling with bits of your car at meets etc, what are you fiddling with? What do you need to be able to access?

It seems to me that the fiddly bits are all on the top of the engine or around the axle.

7
Tech Forum / steel axel spec
« on: 13 Aug 22, 10:06 am »
for a front axle, can I use ERW instead of seamless mechanical tube? I know it is less strong (though how much so, I do not know)
Is the extend to which it is less strong very important for us in the way we are using the tube?

One additional factor is that the Bedelia has central sliding pillar suspension, so all the action will be at the centre of the length rather than distributed.

8
Tech Forum / building a heavy car!
« on: 02 Jul 22, 03:01 pm »
Oh crikey, I have started weighing parts of my kart because I have been worrying about the fact that I have made my structural stuff in steel, and wondering how extra heavy I have ended up making everything.

My chassis, wheels, engine, TAV and rear axle come to 61.5Kg. Apart from my front axle tube, that is my heaviest stuff out of the way, but I still have my aluminium to go and loads of bits.

And I am not a lightweight driver! My car is going to struggle to get off its marks!

What does your kart weigh and if you have run if, how did it cope with the weight, especially if it was the heavier end of the range?

9
I have been experimenting with steering lock, trying to work out what size sprocket to use, as my car has a cable steering system.

How far do you have to turn your steering wheel to get full lock?

I ask because I want to know what is normal and what I should be trying to achieve.

10
Build journals / Bédélia
« on: 14 May 22, 07:14 am »
I am building a Bédélia, a French cyclecar (the first cyclecar ever), which was designed in 1910, initially as a one-off, with public demand leading to production.

Interestingly, it was quite a successful racer in its time, despite its very odd setup. It had wire and bobbin steering which pivots at the centre of the front axle like a plank go-kart. I was going to change it to Ackerman to benefit from current wisdom but then thought I ought to keep faith with the original design. But it does worry me.

Stefan has suggested I could lean the central pivot to create caster, which could be an exciting compromise

11
I have a very tight space inside the back of my kart, so I wondered if the caliper has to be in a particular position, relative to the disc? I mean, for instance, could I mount it behind the disc instead of in front of it or on top of it?

Are they directional, or is it irrelevant where the disc is grabbed and whether the wheel is going up-hill or down?

12
Tech Forum / Reverse
« on: 06 May 22, 06:39 pm »
Does anyone have any thoughts about how to get a cyclekart to reverse? My long wheelbase means that I won't be able to operate my back wheels with my arms (and anyway, if I could, that action is tricky for me, following a flying accident, though physio has improved it).

I wondered, for instance about using an electric motor

13
I have been playing with my torque converter and to get it hard up against my engine I think I may have to grind away some metal on the back of the mounting plate, as it interferes with some of the engine, near the rear oil filler. I have seen people doing this in videos, so I presume it is ok? Would you do it?

In the picture, my pencil is pointing to the web (for want of a better word)

14
I don't know if others have had this issue, but my Comet TAV2-30 Torq-A-Verter has arrived with a bag of fixings but the bolts do not fit the mounting holes on my clone engine.

I am assuming this is because my engine is metric and the TAV imperial? That said, my engine (Lifan Q Eco) has a 3/4" shaft, but I guess that is about compatibility with other hardware rather than an indication that the engine is itself imperial?

So, that was a bit irritating, but I have just looked up Adrian's guide and it looks like I should be using M8s instead of the 5/16ths. But then, isn't 8mm the equivalent of a 5/16th?

I am inclined to say almost that you shouldn't try to explain, because this is the sort of thing I never fully understand! But presumably the threads are different?

To avoid me having to take my engine to Suffolk Fasteners, can anyone confirm that I need M8s? Don't clones for sale in the USA have the same size holes - and if so, why would Comet supply TAVs with 5/8-25x1" bolts?

15
Tech Forum / straight axles - what size tube?
« on: 29 Apr 22, 12:55 am »
My Bédélia will have a straight tube for the front axle. Would anyone happen to know what sort of steel in what dimensions I should be looking to get?

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