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At wide open, bet it is a handful
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See, that just looks impractical.
Should have taken a few notes from the Michigan Madman, Mr. E.J. Potter...
LOL
E.J. Potter was from the "eyeball engineering" school of builders. You take metal, a welder, a selection of parts at hand and start building. If you have an engine first, you build something around it. His Chevy V8 motorcycles were a constantly evolving project. His first bike used an old Harley Davidson frame but he quickly progressed into custom frames built just for the purpose. There was an amazing amount of ingenuity involved in the building which was a constant, "find the problem, fix the problem" process. His homebuilt centrifugal clutch didn't work so well which led to a direct drive system and his well known starting procedure where the engine was started while the motorcycle was on the rear stand and at the right tire speed, the stand was kicked out and off he went in a cloud of smoke.
It should surprise no one to know E.J. had some rather nasty accidents and when you read the details, the fact he's around to tell the story means he had more than his share of good luck.
E.J.'s fascination with engines wasn't confined to Chevy V8s. He built a trike powered by a Fairchild J-44 jet engine which was not the most successful of his projects. Beyond a near disaster while building it, the trike put E.J. in the hospital for a little while. But he did survive, ... amazing.
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Originally posted by Strychnine View PostSee, that just looks impractical.
Should have taken a few notes from the Michigan Madman, Mr. E.J. Potter...
My favorite part is that there is no clutch. The engine is coupled directly to the transmission. He would put the bike on its stand, start the engine and get the revs high.... and have his assistant push the bike off the stand.
The Allison V-12 powered Mopars were pretty cool too.
When the government pays, the government controls.
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