Advice please - Drouin Superchargers

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Dan

hey mr. lepto....remember me? im still smarting from that scam and loosing that drouin to you twice it seems but keep us all posted on your progress...mr..blackbird...which type of drouin did you get....1st-uses amals on a rotary vane system-2nd,uses a single carb and one belt or 3rd -2 belts and controlled dribble fuel injection?...i think they came up with that fuel injection to keep people from actually using these things...if you have never had experience with a norton the last thing you want to do is put that thing on it[best to let me store it for a while of course]once you have the norton up and running perfectly and get some miles on it stock then it will be time to play but going whole hog could result in an estate sale[yours]of some norton stuff....be sure to check your frame to see if it has the lower top tube ...there were a bunch of 69s that the front of the frame broke off and they sometimes still show up so ya wanna be sure about that...if it doesnt have that tube[runs from the lower steering head bearing back to the headsteady area about 1 inch dia] dont use it even with the stock setup....good luck barry...................

I believe mine is with the injector setup (some door trap contraption) but it does look like the one on eBay fom somewhere in spain.
What really concerns me is the probabilities of this thing blowing up on the 810 kit these 2 engines have.
the frames seem to be OK (the extra tube is on) and the first one I'm trying to assemble is going to be on the chromed frame one was done in (heck he even called it Mrs.Robinson-inscribed on the crankcase cover and a neat paint job on the two side covers).
(this guy that sold me these said he was a real speed freak when he was 18 and did everything imaginable on the first engine to make it go faster)
well I'll see how she goes this weekend as I should have it mostly together by then.
PS> one little note... when he bought the first Drouin, on the very first start up the impeller blew up/desintegrated) so he got on the horn with Drouin and was sent 2 new impellers one aparently made out of ........titanium!!!!
Well let's see if this pics thing works
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carm_i ... .dir=/a2db

blow something up???you bet you are going to blow something up....the only hope you have is to delay the inevitable....get the rods done by somebody who really knows what they are doing because you can bet they are bent, twisted, dinged, out of round and the previous builder probably reused the nuts....they should have a flawless mirror finish and put some rubber socks on them during reassembly to keep them that way...check on the compression ratio and drop it with some thicker base or head gaskets...you will have to do some research to see what would be a good cr to work with cuz the 810 is likely around 10:1...7:1 static cr would translate to 12:1 under boost or something like that so you can see where this leads...an exhaust temp guage is a good idea for playing with the mixture cuz although it sounds simple you dont want to be betting your engine that you have it right....playing with it on a dyno would be best to set it up cuz you will melt down the engine before you can get your hand off the gas....you might be better off to experiment with a stock 750 top until you get some [bitter] experience with this...check that the slide moves freely,cant tell from the pix if it is micarta but mine is and after it soaked up some gas it swelled and stuck so soak it in gas and try it for size before you take it out...the starting drill is an exercise in something,you can master it if you can start a norton stock but remeber,if the gas is turned on the gas is flowing whether the engine is running or not...i worked on one of these once and could not find impellor bearings at all[and i am usually pretty good at this] the od and id were common but the width was some oddball...cant remeber if they were a double row or something but elsewhere in this forum i think i saw something about this....these units are hard on bearings....you might be able to use a newer design belt to keep the tension down and make them last longer ,check out an industrial bearing supply-they handle belts and there are a bunch of modern flat belts available that may help.....you will need a compound boost guage-that reads vacuum and pressure-check out aircraft manifold presure guages-they look really boss...when you are riding at normal speed[ha ha ha] the manifold will be operating in vacuum,it is only when you open the throttle to increase power that you are giving the compressor air to compress and thats when you get into boost....its really an experience to be cruising along and then snapping the throttle open and the guage goes from vacuum to boost and the front end comes up and all that traffic you were with seems to have stopped and you start laughing uncontrollably and this thing you are riding sounds just like the batmobile and and and......intake port work is not necessary but it would be a good idea to open up the exhaust to get rid of the heat,you will generate lots and i found that riding on a really hot day the gas would boil in the injector and the bike would missfire then stop s watch for this but if its that hot its too hot to ride anyway....what you are building may not last long but no matter how long it is absolutely worth all the scrap you are going to end up with cuz you will understand that there really is a god and shes got a sense of humour...good luck barry

Blkbird,
The Dunstall 810 alloy barrels are notorious for pulling the threads out of the aluminum with a normally aspirated engine. I find it amazing that you will be able to run any kind of boost with these. Check the threads carefully and I would suggest some kind of solid thread insert before you even bolt the head on.

For the life of me i cannot see why anyone in their right mind would want to abuse such a wonderful machine . If you want to go out and be silly , get yourself an old Kawasaki 500 or 750 and no one will give a shit when you blow it up.

Barry no one intends to blow this thing up (at least not me anyways) but since I have this supercharger I am just feeling out what exactly I should consider doing with it (to bolt or not to bolt) especially with the fact I have 2 dunstall 810 kit engines to play with!!!!! Like I said I have never had the pleasure of owning a 750 Commando let alone 2. Right now I am just seeking advice as to what to do. I'm probably the only guy in Canada with a Drouin and would hate to just have it sit there in a box.
My initial plan was to rebuild one of these bikes as stock as possible except for the 810 Dunstall and the chrome frame or black original one (not sure which to use first) roll it down to my basement (the ol' boys room) and keep it as a conversation piece. the other would be my pleasure sunny day rider for once in a while rides. My daily rider is a CBR1100xx.
Now I understand what you are saying and the risk involved but surely something can be done here so the supercharger can be used with an increased reliability than in the past. Slightly larger impeller pulley (reduced boost),stock 750 head with thicker gasket to reduce compression,etc.,etc.. I dunno, but whatever it is I plan on digging for info til every avenue is exhausted. Right now I'm just picking the brain of the more knowledgeable Norton owners (I CERTAINLY DON'T CLASSIFY :wink: ) and this board certainly has plenty from all of the posts I'm reading. I just wish they'd be a little closer to where I live
regards
Blkbird

Drouin Supercharger

Hi, I read these Drouin post and I have to laugh, I've been driving around on my850 Norton with a great running Drouin for almost 2 years, Its the late model drouin , flat belts, all the fuel injector crap is removed, and replaced with a 1/4" alum. flat plate to cover the original air intake plate, same outline, its fitted with a tube 6-61 t-6 al.1.75 od. .083 wall cryo shrunk & machined for a pressed fit into plate, , The inside extend about .500" into the the compressor intake, opening, machined to fit.
The other end extends out 4.5" and has a late model harley 40 mm.CV carb running 185 mains, 48 slow jet & 4 thin washers under the needle to raise it. Stock 850 with boyer ign. During normal driving engine acts as stock, twist the throttle and depending on belt tightness, I normally run from 5 to 11 psi of boost depending on load. Drouin bearings changed to Barden C101fftx1k3 with G-18 hi temp , hi speed lube . Balanced by Lindskog
Drive belts were a problem but not any more, I use #400 panther belt, 29 " long by 3/4" from Bill @beltcorp.com
Just the basics to a happy Drouin, P.S. Yes its fast!
Bruce

Hi bruce have you taken a look at my Drouin supercharger pics? does it look anything like this one I have? also is it on a stock engine or do you you have any mods?
I'd appreciate the info. TIA

Blackbirds Drouin

Hi Blackbird, Looks the same, The small impeller is not right, Do you have one flat belt running on 2 pulleys ( large one slightly crowned) with an idler pulley for adjustment? I would not run that as is with out a positive way to close the fuel injector slide ( two cable twist throttle from a honda, but then how to attach the cable to the bottom of the slide for positive closing is the problem? My engine is stock 850.
Also I used to run a Dunstall 810, with Dunstall big valve head , 2 into 1 into 2 exhaust, 11.2 1/4 mile times back in late 70's
Bruce :

hey mister blackbird....you aint the only canuk with a drouin...im in brooklin ontario...where you at? if you wanna keep your location off the forum you can email me at [email='thebear@interlinks.net]'thebear@interlinks.net[/email]' let me know if you are local...you are going about this project in good way by getting info beforehand....i would suggest that you should ride a stock norton before you try a hotrod just to see what a norton is like to ride cuz its a whole lot different than a cbr....enjoy the ride of the norton and get used to the subtulties and discover why us freeks ride these at all.... there is no other bike that is so nice to ride.....thats 'nice'....not fastest or most powerful or quickest...nicest....even with a blower you may still not have the blistering performance you are used to with the cbr and you may be disappointed [make no mistake tho-a blown norton is something]...in the grand scheme of things-and this is going to cause a lot of controversay-an 810 kit will give you little more than a boss looking set of cylinders...the bike will run the same as stock and be less reliable and may be more of a pain in the ass than they are worth-threads already mentioned....dunstall parts seem to be made with the best intentions but be prepared to do a lot of work to make them durable...however if its what ya got then use it...note to mr hulton....i will blow up my norton if i bloody well feel like it....when i ride my norton normally aspirated which is most of the time i shift at redline at every available opportunity cuz thats when i enjoy the ride the most...every 5000 or so miles the engine gets pulled down and gone through and i can whail it for another 5000...reliably...blow it up? if it happens it can be repaired...parts are available...these bikes were only built to sell and make money for the norton company and the only real value in any of them is what we put into them...norton did not sell these things for any other reason than to turn a profit and in a lot of cases they were selling garbage...i think the higher purpose with the norton owners is to show that we can make these things work even when the factory couldnt...that they work at all now has little to do with the factory and everything to do with us.....i will get into the kawi thing when i have more time...good luck barry

Actually Barry I'm in the Mississauga area over by the airport. I tried to update my profile but somehow I can't find how.
Nice to hear I have a close neighbour with a Drouin
Actually I'm really in no rush to place this blower in and certainly do plan to ride it a little in stock form, well sorta stock, let's not forget the 810 Dunstall kit.
I will keep you in mind if a need for parts arises since I am quite sure you must have a good number of sources in the Ontario area for these old beasts 8)
Regards,

well in the big internet world that makes us practically next door neighbours....have you checked out the ontario norton owners gang? i dont have the e-address handy but it comes up on goooogle and i think its something like www.ono.something or other....we have a really great bunch and you can get all the contacts for local support...it would be a real hoot to get together at a rally and have not one but 2 blown nortons present....the guys are still talking about the time i took mine to the great white and that was like 20 years ago....if you are ever in the brookli[oshawa] area let me and we can get together and tell some lies and see who has the fastest bench and solve a few of the worlds problems....best regards barry

well in the big internet world that makes us practically next door neighbours....have you checked out the ontario norton owners gang? i dont have the e-address handy but it comes up on goooogle and i think its something like www.ono.something or other....we have a really great bunch and you can get all the contacts for local support...it would be a real hoot to get together at a rally and have not one but 2 blown nortons present....the guys are still talking about the time i took mine to the great white and that was like 20 years ago....if you are ever in the brooklin[oshawa] area let me and we can get together and tell some lies and see who has the fastest bench and solve a few of the worlds problems....best regards barry

Blkbird, the url for the ONO is:

http://www.ontarionortonowners.org/

Well Gentlemen,
it has certainly been a pleasure discussing the pros and cons of this Drouin contraption that is the supercharger.
Barry yes most certainly it would be a pleasure discussing the phenoms of our Nortons at a meet however I will first have to gain some experiences on it so I could lie a little about my endeavours (wink.wink)
Either way you could be sure I will be calling upon this group to assist me when the need will arise.
I am sure glad I have fallen upon this forum and the endless knowledge available from it
Cheers to all

ther is one brand nywe on e-bay rigt now i got one my self

this is the second design of the second design....controlled dribble fuel injection on a single drive belt setup....wish i could afford this right now but you guys better jump on it....these units were known to have bearing troubles...too much load at too much rpm on the impeller and the bearings that were used are now made of unobtainium althogh i believe other bearings could be used with suitable spacers to make up the width you would end up with something even less reliable than originally so....does anybody in the group have one of these units apart that could send me the bearing numbers and dimentions that i could research this?

valtrex - http://www.bestrxpills.com

hey mr blackbird!!
you still around? i just wanted to let you know ive got the drouin on my norton and it is just the most awesomest fantastical ride!! not for the mechanically faint of heart....cranky in the hot weather....when it runs right it is magical.