Dual engine Triumph

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Oct 18, 2018
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So here it is. a land speed racer... Built in my home work shop using a 70 year old lathe and hand held tools...I had the frame made than modified it to suit the situation...All the rest is made from a pile mismatched parts...Basics are two 1956 650's, MAP steel rods and 10.5 forged pistons,nitrided unit cranks, stock heads with a good valve job, Web #330 grind cams, 34mm Mikuni flatslides and so on. Harley 5 speed and clutch and I retained the electric starter.Primary drive has an idler pulley .Pazon Smartfire ignition. 90's Suzuki wheels, forks and brakes...
This is me standing with the just completed bike about 4 years ago

Dual engine Triumph


This is the primary drive. he idler is supported on a Subaru wheel bearring and hub. Harley primary chains shortened to suit the situation. The first primary was T140 primary chain but the idler bearing set made from industrial high speed conveyor bearings faile quickly.

Dual engine Triumph


This video was taken when the engines had about 10 minutes running...Blipping the throttle to vary speed.

Dual Triumph

I shot this crappy video while the bike was on the dyno..My friend and rider is controlling throttle...Made about 5 runs like this in high gear to 7400 rpm for reliability testing.. The bike made 100 HP at the rear wheel.. I was expecting 110 based on my experience with the single engine 650 bike..Nothing broke during the brutal testing

Dyno

Shortly after this the bike went to the 1.5 mile standing start LSR track in Maine...I was not able to go so my rider, a novice mechanic ,was on his own...Off the trailer the bike ran an easy 142 MPH on a 158 mph record in the 1350 cc pushrod rod gas altered class. The rider felt the bikehad much more could get close to the record..On the next run the front engine lost oil pressure, lucky the rider spotted it. He messed around a bit but the pressure was only 30 psi..So he ran the 650 Triumph modified production bike and set a new record of 133 mph..
When he arrived back home the oil pressure issue was a blown out timing cover seal. I had machined the covers for seals rather than use the bushings. That was two years ago...Due to whatever, we just never seem to have time to get back to the track...Next year for sure
 
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Aligning the engines in the frame using simple tools.

Dual engine Triumph


Subaru wheel bearing idler..

Dual engine Triumph


More hillbilly engineering....You can just see the drive sprocket...A Triumph OIF sprocked is bolted to a modified Suzuki sprocket..It all worke out well on the track...

Dual engine Triumph
 
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Thanks for that. Impressive stuff. The sound on the dyno is spine tingling !

You GOTTA get this out on the track again...!
 
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Thanks for the info, it’s always a steep learning curve when you want to do something a little bit different. I managed to melt 3 sets of cylinder heads when I was running my 1400cc nitrous Hayabusa - at the time I was trying to sort out a constant pressure system to allow me to run nitrous through all the gears for the whole mile and a quarter. I ended up using a promod car trick of pressurising the nitrous to 1250psi with an additional bottle of nitrogen @3000 psi. Add a couple of pressure switches and a couple of solenoids and light the blue touch paper :cool: Sadly, my fuel pump couldn’t keep up with the needs of 265hp and so it kind of melted things.
keep at it, this world needs people who can improvise.
 
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, you've got to get it out again and give a report......
 
Time to think about this project again! Hillbilly has the right ideal but I want belt drive. That way I don't need center support. Been trying to get custom 8mm drives finally reconnected with an old street rod acquaintance, John McGee. He owns Bandit clutches theee heavy duty Harley clutch. He's willing to make reasonable billet drives.
 
I've always had a special interested in doubles. Eventually found one and
spent a lot of time restoring it. Look forward to more updates here.
 
Nothing new. The bike has not been started in a year or so. it’s on display In my rider’s pub in Rochester NY…He put up a lot of money for me to build it….
so he texts me to ask If I can start it…as in roll it outside ….Amazingly the lithium still cranked over the engine, the Harley 5 speed retains the starter…Why roll it outside..With old race fuel the the engines fired up instantly, a bit noisy and the bar maid came over all nervous about the roar and smell… I shut it down…
There’s talk of Bonneville
we shall she if it happens
 
Yes and no. You can run faster on tarmac than salt as you lose a lot of speed to tyre slip, which is why they’re taking such long runs. My pal took his nitrous Hayabusa across from the UK to run on the salt. Mine ran 213 mph at the measured mile here at Elvington, where it took him 5 miles I think to not quite do the same.
I accept there is a great deal of heritage to run at the salt flats, but for bikes it makes sense to run at the various 1 mile events across the USA and UK.
 
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