Private Diesel Motorcycle Conversions (A-H) by Engine
BLAINE'S ACME DIESEL YAMAHA
Blaine's bike is made from a 1982 Yamaha 185. He has fitted an Acme diesel generator engine ADX 300 (300cc) that puts out 8hp. A TAV 20 Torque convertor has been used for the drive. The machine is I guess finished by now, Blaine having last told me he was looking to fit the exhaust and fuel filter lines. More details if and when they come.
ARIEL Diesel Motorcycle
I am again grateful to the guys at R.M.C.S for sending me this article (amongst others) on a diesel powered Ariel produced by Gordon Glover, aged 24, in the late 1950's. The bike started life as a 350cc O.H.V. twin port machine. The cylinder barrel was re-sleeved to a bore of 67mm to give the bottom end an easier time of it. An old aluminium piston was strengthened and reshaped to a degree and machined down to fit the barrel. The air inlet is extended beyond the cylinder head thus giving a turbo effect when moving and to help cold weather starting, an ether pipe has been positioned to drip spirit into this intake.
Gordon Glover astride his 300cc diesel Ariel.
The bike had a top speed of 70mph and fuel consumption was between 120 and 130 mpg
On the timing side one can see the home-made air filter fitted to the inlet flange and the end of the arc welded cam box of the injection pump fitted in place of the original Magdyno.
Visible on the drive side are the cylindrical fuel filter and injector in place of the sparking plug.
Suzuki Changfa Diesel Motorcycle
Many thanks to Jerry James who recently let me know of his Suzuki based machine. The GS550L now sports an 8.8HP 6.5kw Air cooled Changfa Generator motor and uses a torque converter to drive the rear wheel. Engine is a CF186F unit. You can view more images and video of this Jerry thrashing about on his bike here.Great stuff!
A nice shot of the bike just showing the rear of that torque coverter in there.
Jan Vegter's Changfa Royal Enfield.
This machine started out it's life fitted with a Greaves engine but Jan tells me it was in poor condition and the 296cc Chanfa (6hp) was fitted instead. Apparently this bike dates from 1975 and was originally owned by MZ. Some frame alterations were made in this time before it belonged to the present owner. Jan can be contacted via the Brons Website. These guys supplied me with info regarding the very first diesel bike built in 1904 and seen elsewhere on this site.
A Diesel Royal Enfield with an MZ connection somewhere in its past.
The HSC 1360cc
This machine made its first appearance at the 2004 Rally. The engine is a Citroen 1360cc diesel lump whilst I believe the Gearbox and frame maybe Honda.
The HCS. A contender for best bike at the 2004 Rally.
BMW K100 Diesel Motorcycle
A stunning BMW K100 fitted with a Daihatsu 1000cc turbo engine. Shaft driven, surely this machine is a bluprint for how diesel motorcycles of the future should be presented. This bike is a regular at the rally and comes from Holland.
Dave Hubbards 1986 Daihatsu/Briggs BMW Diesel Motorcycle
Dave Hubbards Finished machine.
David Hubbard from Wellsburg WV started with a 1986 R80RTand installed a 26.8 HP Daihatsu/Briggs D950 Industrial engine. Bellhousing is made from a propane cylinder top ,transmission top gear -1.35:1 from Wolfgang Kayser in germany. Bike does 70 MPH + with two riders burning used fryer grease (homemade Biodiesel).It has three radiators for cooling and the frame separates in half to service the engine. Thanks for the updated details Dave.
I have re-posted a picture of this bike under construction to help those of you considering a build.
Terry Martin's Diesel Harley
Below we see Terry Martin's 1977 Harley Davidson Diesel Softail FXRS. The engine is a 950cc Briggs & Stratton/Daihatsu. Many thanks to Terry for supplying the details below.
I'm a diesel mechanic and have wanted to build a diesel bike for several years, but the diesels with enough power to be road worthy were to heavy. After Yanmar, Kubota etc. started building minidiesels I started checking the horsepower and torque of the engines and planning on how to attach it to a bike. My first engine was Kubota, but I was disappointed with the performance. Top speed was about 60mph with no passing power. I then found the Briggs and Stratton engine(Diahatsu). This engine performs great. It will carry me(270lbs) and my wife at 65mph with plenty of power to pass. Top speed 82 . The gearing in the bike is the same as a Harley Davidson softail as a matter of fact the primary belt drive, transmission and frame is Harley Davidson aftermarket parts.
Daihatsu Guzzi
This machine, formerly of the Carabineri made it's first showing at the Rally in 2004. Not sure what gearbox is used.
The Cortenbach Diesel
I am indebted to Jurgen Schuster for supplying me with details of his Turbocharged Cortenbach motorcycle. This machine is powered by a 1000cc turbocharged Daihatsu engine that developes up to 45 hp. It consumes 3.4 ltr per 100km, runs equally well on jet-fuel or plant oil and has so far superceeded all expectations.The frame is pure Moto Guzzi.
The Cortenbach on the open road.
Recent modifications mean the front drum brake has been replaced with two disk units. I am told that if more funds were available then we could possibly see more of these bikes being made. The more modern machines would be likely to generate between 60-90 hp and consume 2-2.5 litres per 100 km.
Jurgen pictured with his Cortenbach Diesel Machine. Pictures from Motorrad.
Johnny's Daihatsu Diesel Motorcycle
To find out more about Johnny's bike you can vist a website which gives details of all the German Daihatsu conversions. Johhny tells me he decided to get his bike registered in England (see the plate) so as to simplify the matter. It is about 9 years old and the 1000cc engine is housed in a Dnepr frame.
For more information on all three German Daihatsu bikes go vist here, ExtremeDieselbiking.de
Andreas Daihatsu Ural Diesel Motorcycle
Andreas Werle's Ural based machine develops 34bhp from its 1000 cc Daihatsu engine. Andreas, like his German friends, does not fear travelling on his machine and has attended the Diesel Bike Rally in Hamm these last 2 years.
Wolfgangs Daihatsu Ural Diesel Motorcycle
Like Andreas, Wolfgang has developed a Ural based machine. I saw it at the 2002 Rally and the wiring has since been improved :-)
Wolfgangs Daihatsu complete with sidecar.
Daihatsu Diesel Motorcycle and Sidecar
This machine made its first appearance at the 2003 Rally. It has a 3 cylinder Daihatsu 1000cc turbo'd motor which is fitted into a Honda Bol'd'Or frame.
Detroit Diesel Motorcycle
Apparently this American motorcycle has a Detriot Diesel in it. I'm not sure about the frame though.
Eisenherz Diesel-AWO
Like Ola's Ratbike, elswhere on this site, this machine also uses a Farymann Diesel engine. This one is 242cc with a power output of 4.3kw. The frame is AWO 425 T.
You can contact the builder, Lars, here 0171-7154371.
Matchless Diesel Motorcycles
After Building his Petter Ambassador machine Ernie Dorsett went on to put a Robin DY30 engine (kindly lent by Roger Kimbell & Paul Holdsworth, Directors of Robin Redbreast Industries) into a Matchless frame. This particular engine has a capacity of 299cc and produces 5.5 BHP. Max RPM is 3600 while bore and stroke are 76mm x 66mm respectively. Compression is 21:1. Frame used was from a 1952 model.Wheels,forks and gearbox are all from 1960 while tank is 62/63. The Robin silencer was retained and can clearly be seen behind and to the side of the engine.
Here is Ernie Dorsett with his second Matchless machine. This machine was fitted with the larger DY41 engine, 412cc which produces 8.5 BHP at 3600RPM. This unit was used on the Later Royal Enfield models. Again this engine was donated by Robin for the project. The frame is a G3.
The 2nd Matchless/AJS framed Diesel Motorcycle from Ernie Dorsett.
Indian Diesel Trike
I'm told the three-wheeler is a Harley-Davidson Servicar. Originally powered by a 750 side valve motor, same as used in the WLA. This one has clearly been fitted with some sort of Diesel engine. The Picture is from India.
The EGLI Diesel Motorcycle
I've put this machine in the Private section because it appears to be a 'one off' even though it has been build by the Swiss Motorcycle dealers Egli. The engine is a Hatz 2g40 997cc lump but I'm not sure about the frame which I think is of Russian origin.
A rare Swiss build Diesel Motorcycle.
BMW Diesel Motorcycle
Alois Lorenz has produced a Diesel Powered machine by using an old Hatz E673 type engine. It produces 6hp having a capacity of 28cc. The frame is BMW S R 25/3 and was made in 1955.
An elegant looking BMW Diesel Bike with an Old Hatz engine.
HATZ AWO
We saw this machine for the first time at the 2004 Rally in Hamm. The frame, drive and gearbox are AWO whilst the front is Hatz. The Cyclinder is Homemade. I do not know the CC of this machine but it is very attractive looking machine.
The Hatz AWO at 2004 Rally.
HATZ 1000cc
Here we see a Hatz 1000cc machine which looks like a private build similar to the LOEW machine.
A Hatz 1000cc machine. A machine with huge amounts of pulling power.
The Hatz 'Diesel Max' Motorcycle and Sidecar
A regular at the Hamm rally now, Thomas Weis from Kirchdaun comes on his wonderful blue NSU 'Diesel Max' machine. The bike has an old Hatz engine at its core and a pretty unusual one at that. I was particularly taken with trying to work out the route the air took over the cyclinder. It has no fins, just an outer sleeve with many internal holes. I thought the air was blown over it but I'm told it may be sucked.
The ZuendHatz Diesel Motorcycle
I think there are two of this motorcycle. It consists of a Hatz single cylinder engine which has been fitted into a Zündapp DB 200 frame from 1948. Transmission is from a DKW.
A very nice looking 'Vintage' Diesel Motorcycle.
