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Other Stuff

This page will give detailed information concerning all the other 'stuff' that did not have a better place for it to go...

Donor Vehicle

I would highly recommend having a donor vehicle available, it made my work significantly easier by being able to use pre-manufactured mechanical, electrical and lighting components. I used a 1996 Isuzu Trooper as mine which was donated by a good friend. So far parts used from it include: steering column, pedal assemblies, interior lighting, electrical switches and door mechanisms

Gearing

Let's talk a bit about gearing, it's a necessary evil - forewarning this gets confusing real fast! The completed Vortex should weigh approximately 1300lbs, while a typical motorcycle weighs between 600-700lbs. You have to figure out gearing on the Vortex taking into consideration 5 points: 1) drive sprocket on engine, 2) sprocket on jack shaft, 3) flat belt pulley on jack shaft, 4) final drive pulley and 5) rear tire diameter.

In the first place you need to be able to calculate final drive ratio, and you probably want to make it slightly numerically larger to help compensate for the additional weight, I have been advised that a 1 tooth drop on the primary drive pulley might be a good starting point. The worst performance will be from a dead stop, while once you are rolling things should get better, the more torque that your engine has the better performance from a dead stop. The other compromise to better low end torque is that the engine will rev higher when going at highway speeds. In addition you will do better if your engine choice also has a 6 speed transmission rather than 5 speed, giving you finer control over engine rpm's.

The Honda VFR750 initially had a front sprocket of 16T and rear sprocket of 42T, which would make the ratio 2.63:1 (42/16), so ideally I would like to end up with approximately 1 less tooth on the drive sprocket (15T) giving me a final drive ratio of about 2.80:1. It is a bit more complicated to compute the drive ratio on the Vortex since it uses an intermediate shaft. But the basic formula is (#2 / #1) * (#4 / #3) using the number of teeth for each component.

Initially I will be using 15T/18T sprockets along with 30T/70T pulleys for a ratio of 2.80:1 and will see how it performs first, I can always tweak it in the future.

Finally you really have to take into consideration the difference of diameters between the stock motorcycle tire and the one being used on the Vortex. A lot of motorcycles use an 18" rim and the Vortex calls for using a 15" rim with a low profile tire. Don't forget that that all of this also relates back to speedometer adjustment as well as engine rpm's. Maybe in the future I will come back here and address the issue with tire size relating to gearing, if you have any additional corrections / suggestions / information contact me and I can put the information up here...

Important Note: If you are building a Vortex and plan on using the default method (drilled hole) to locate the rear axle then you *MUST* know which flat belt pulleys that you are using so that you can calculate the distance between the rear axle and the intermediate shaft! By using rear axle adjusters and slots (common to most modern motorcycles) then this gives you ultimate flexibility. This allows you to change pulleys to fine tune the final gear ratio without having to modify the rear swing arm.

The following chart shows various combinations of sprockets and flat belt pulleys. As you can see there is many ways to obtain a desired final drive ratio.
Since some machining has to be done to mate the sprocket and pulley that goes onto the jack shaft, makes it more difficult to swap out these particular components, my recommendation would be to go with the combination that puts you in the middle range for your engine . By doing this you can simply change out the front drive sprocket and/or the rear drive pulley to fine tune your gear ratios either up or down.

Gear Ratio Chart

Jack Shaft Pulley Rear
Drive
Pulley		 Secondary Ratio
Final Drive Ratios using various sprocket combinations
15/16
1.067 ratio
15/17
1.133 ratio
15/18
1.200 ratio
15/19
1.267 ratio
15/20
1.333 ratio
16/16
1.00 ratio
16/17
1.063 ratio
16/18
1.125 ratio
16/19
1.188 ratio
16/20
1.250 ratio
26
70
2.692
2.87
3.05
3.23
3.41
3.58
2.69
2.86
3.03
3.20
3.36
29
70
2.414
2.57
2.72
2.89
3.06
3.21
2.41
2.55
2.72
2.87
3.01
30
70
2.333
2.48
2.63
2.80
2.96
3.10
2.33
2.47
2.63
2.77
2.87
31
70
2.258
2.41
2.55
2.71
2.87
3.01
2.26
2.40
2.55
2.69
2.82
32
70
2.188
2.33
2.47
2.63
2.78
2.92
2.19
2.32
2.47
2.61
2.73
26
68
2.615
2.78
2.96
3.14
3.31
3.48
2.61
2.78
2.94
3.10
3.26
29
68
2.345
2.50
2.66
2.82
2.98
3.13
2.35
2.49
2.66
2.80
2.94
30
68
2.267
2.42
2.57
2.72
2.88
3.02
2.27
2.41
2.57
2.70
2.84
31
68
2.194
2.33
2.47
2.63
2.78
2.92
2.19
2.32
2.47
2.61
2.73
32
68
2.125
2.27
2.41
2.56
2.71
2.84
2.13
2.26
2.41
2.53
2.66
26
65
2.500
2.65
2.82
3.00
3.17
3.32
2.50
2.65
2.82
2.97
3.13
29
65
2.241
2.38
2.53
2.69
2.84
2.98
2.24
2.37
2.53
2.67
2.80
30
65
2.167
2.31
2.45
2.60
2.76
2.89
2.17
2.30
2.45
2.58
2.71
31
65
2.097
2.23
2.37
2.52
2.67
2.78
2.10
2.23
2.37
2.50
2.62
32
65
2.031
2.16
2.29
2.44
2.58
2.70
2.03
2.15
2.29
2.42
2.53
26
61
2.346
2.49
2.66
2.81
2.97
3.12
2.34
2.49
2.64
2.78
2.92
29
61
2.103
2.23
2.37
2.52
2.67
2.80
2.10
2.23
2.37
2.50
2.62
30
61
2.033
2.16
2.29
2.44
2.58
2.70
2.03
2.15
2.29
2.42
2.54
31
61
1.968
2.10
2.23
2.36
2.50
2.62
1.97
2.09
2.23
2.34
2.46
32
61
1.906
2.04
2.16
2.29
2.43
2.54
1.91
2.02
2.16
2.27
2.39

As you can see from the table above there are many ways to skin a cat. There might be some sprockets that you just can't get, but you can work around them with the various flat belt pulleys that are available. This way you can fine tune your gear ratio to what ever you need.

I also think that when working out gearing the best place to put the highest gear reduction is closest to the engine. This means the primary (front) sprocket, next the secondary sprocket, next the primary flat belt pulley, and finally the drive pulley. Of course one of the problem areas is finding suitable/compatible sprockets for the engine that you are using. Put as much gear reduction into the sprockets to keep the intermediate shaft from rotating too fast rather than trying to fix the gearing in the flat belt pulleys. This should keep the drive-line vibrations and harmonics down to a minimum!

After doing some more research I have found that earlier Triumph 650cc motorcycles used 18-20 tooth sprockets with a #530 chain, as well as older Harley Davidsons use sprockets with 21-24 teeth, so a good variety of workable solutions exist. For the #630 chain there are far fewer choices, mid 70's Honda CB750 and some earlier Kawasaki 1000-1100's also drive sprockets but teeth selection is pretty much limited to 13-16 teeth.

In doing more research I have was pointed to a good chain and sprocket reference from Staniforths, it helps to find alternate sprockets that fit your engine.

UPDATE: I ended up using a 15T/18T sprocket with 30T/70T pulley and the gearing is far too tall, so on 5/14/07 I ended up getting a 26T pulley for the intermediate shaft which should make my final gearing 3.23:1. I had a problem getting the vehicle to move from a dead stop on an incline, this gearing should help.

Chain

The original Vortex plans called for using a #630 chain. After doing much research I have discovered that when the Vortex was designed the #630 chain was the strongest available, however today a good quality #530 chain actually is better. The bottom line is the tensile strength, not to mention that the rotational mass of the #630 chain is actually a detriment and that most racing motorcycles are using the #530.

What do the numbers mean in a chain you ask? Good question! The first two numbers in a chain size are the length and width of the link in increments of 1/8. So a 530 chain is 5/8 long and 3/8 wide, and 520 chain is 5/8 long and 2/8 (1/4) wide. It only gets a little complicated with say a 525 chain. This chain is 5/8 long and 2.5/8 (two and a half 1/8's) wide----which figures out to 5/16.

A good X-ring or O-ring chain with high tensile strength will work just fine in a Vortex and provide minimal maintenance.

There is an excellent discussion about General Chain & Sprockets FAQ that you might want to check out.

Brakes

You will need a suitable dual-outlet master brake cylinder with a separate outlet; one for the front brakes and one for the rear. Do not use a single-outlet master cylinder or simply tie the front/rear brakes off from one line. Safety concerns require separate lines in case of a failure!

I ended up using stainless steel braided lines with AN 3 fittings and coupled them to 3/16"hard lines and it worked out well.

An associated note is - do not implement an emergency brake on the jack shaft! If the drive belt brakes or something on the jack shaft brakes you have lost it! Put it on either the rear rotor or the front. I have also researched used a electrically operated hydraulic brake line lock, these should be avoided as they are designed to be used for only short periods of time and are NOT adequate. The emergency brake should be mechanical!

Here is a quick primer as to how I do fiberglassing:

First thing to do is to lay out the fiberglass mat onto the area that you are doing and make any cut lines in it to allow for awkward bends etc, make some marks on the skin so that later you know how to roughly position it and then fold it up so that when ready you can put it down close to original position. Lay out the cloth and cut to size so that it extends an inch or two beyond the mat, fold it up and put aside.

Next mix up some resin/catalyst and wet out the plywood with resin and then lay down the fiberglass mat and get it positioned properly then wet out the entire mat with more resin being sure to completely saturate the material. The most important step however is next, then using a roller (no not like a paint roller, but made specifically for this purpose) to make sure that the mat comes into COMPLETE contact with the surface, forcing out any air bubbles.

Next position the cloth over the mat and position it properly and spread it out over the mat, then again wet it out with more resin. It also is also sometimes handy to roll it again, pressing it into all the inside bends and outside bends as well as the flat surfaces, you might find that when you press it into one area that you pulled it out from another - leaving an air gap. On vertical surfaces you will probably need more resin as it tends to bleed out from the cloth as it is absorbed, if at all possible you want all the spaces between the fibers filled with resin.

Finally make any cuts in the cloth so that it wraps any corners and lays as flat as possible I typically leave cutting the cloth till this point, it is too difficult to cut it before hand, and get it positioned perfectly so that the cuts are in the correct position. Then double check the surface area for any more air bubbles, if the cloth is not saturated enough add more resin. I typically will again roll it to ensure that there are no air bubbles.

Unless you are working on a small area, you probably will find that you need to mix up multiple batches of resin to get the area covered, be sure to measure both resin and catalyst to get repeatable results. Follow the mixing instructions, you rarely have to add less catalyst (unless it is 0% humidity and 80 degrees!) and typically you have to add more, in colder periods I typically use 3-4x the recommended amount. If the resin starts to gel throw it out and do not use it! If you did not add enough catalyst and the resin is not going off in a reasonable amount of time then mix up a hot batch and apply it over the existing resin, this will typically correct the situation.

It typically is a mad race to get it all done before the resin goes off!!!

This is a picture of what a fiberglass mat/cloth roller looks like, you use it to press the mat/cloth and eliminate any air bubbles that may be under the surface. You want maximum contact area and eliminate any/all air bubbles. This is a specialty item and can be gotten from any fiberglass supplier.

When working with fiberglass materials be sure to wear suitable clothing, gloves as well as a proper respirator - NOT A DUST MASK!. This means long legged pants and long sleeved shirts and shoes, even better yet buy a tyvek jump suit, they are pretty cheap. This goes for sanding OR laying up material, if you get the glass material into your pores it will itch like crazy, not to mention that the resin and acetone can be rough on bare skin.

I have also heard that polyurethane foam dust is extremely small and you do not want this stuff in your lungs, for working with the foam a dust mask should suffice.

One last comment about working with fiberglass mat/cloth, you really want to have a work table setup that you can unroll the mat/cloth and cut out the pieces. If you try to do this on top of the vehicle, your table saw, or any other small/cramped space you will have your hands full. Set aside a clean area to perform cutting the material and blow off any glass fibers that might be left behind.

Electrical Wiring

So you want to do your own electrical wiring?

You may want to look at this article "The Basics of Wiring Your Street Rod"

Here is a sample Painless Performance Installation manuals in PDF format for:
12 Circuit Pickup Harness Non GM Keyed Column
18 Circuit Universal/Street Rod Harness Non GM Keyed Column

A quick primer to TIG welding

The typical beginners usually have a couple problems in TIG welding: 1) a hard time starting the arc 2) not putting enough heat into the weld.

To overcome the hard starting I put the tungsten and filler rod down onto the piece where I want to start the weld, and then lift the torch up a hair and then start the arc using high frequency. You can typically set the high frequence for start only or continous, unless I am welding aluminum I use start only. Your tungsten should be about 1/4" or less from the work piece.

Think of the heat coming off the tungsten as a cone of heat, the farther away the tungsten is from the work the larger diameter the cone and the larger diameter the heat affects the weld and the less heat that you will be putting into the core of the weld. Of course you have to keep the tungsten far enough away from the weld that you don't contaminate the tungsten. If you put too much heat into the work the puddle will not be able to support itself and it will fall, leaving a hole. You can fill the hole by working around the outside of it with less heat until it is filled in, definately practice this as it is a fine line between putting just the right amount of heat and too much into the work piece.

If you get some steel on the tip there is no need to stop you can still continue welding. At some point you will need to resharpen the tungsten, just remove it and bring it over to the grinder for repointing, nothing special here just taper the tip.

When using filler rod 'dip' it into the leading edge of the molten pool, do it at consistent intervals and your torch hand should be rock steady and move at a consistent speed.

Another hint is to not use your hands for lowering your welding helmet, use a head nod. If you use your hand you loose your starting position on the work piece.

A final piece of advice is to butt two pieces of steel together and weld them, when done you can flip the piece over to see how well you penetrated the piece, you should have near full penetration. Weld short 1" long sections so that you can vary your technique and inspect it. Do this until you can consistantly produce a quality weld.

Personally, I feel that a better option for the average consumer is to use a small MIG welding machine. When the sound of the weld is like hearing the crackling of frying bacon then (assuming that you have enough amperage) the weld should be good. It doesn't hurt to have a little 'coffee shake' in your torch hand, unlike TIG (which requires rock steady hands) a slight zig-zag is good for MIG welding... I use CO2 gas, it's cheap and gives you better penetration. The down side of CO2 is that it causes a bit more spatter. You can also use cored wire with the shielding flux on the inside of the wire as well, just be sure to chip off the flux when done.

Penetration is penetration, no matter if it is TIG, MIG or stick!



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