Linky goodness from NEDoD

[unixronin]

First, the radial-engined motorcycle built by Jesse James.  What's even cooler-but-crazier, if you read the comments on this article about an alternate take on the radial-engine concept, some guy (see the second comment) is thinking about building a motorcycle with a rotary¹ engine.  Not rotary as in Wankel; rotary as in WW1 rotary aircraft engines, where the entire cylinder array spins around a fixed crankshaft.

And, for a different kind of cool just because it's such outrageous snake oil, check out the miracle hydrogen-power solution to the world's energy needs from the guy who's invented the "very unique¹ elecrolysis process" that turns H2O into the magic wonder-gas HHO.  Just think, if he used his wonder-gas to run a generator to drive his electrolysis machine, he could have a perpetual motion machine!

(....Not.)

[1]  Dammit!  I used the word 'rotary' three times in this post.  And each time, I consistently typo'd it as "rotaty".  And somehow I only spotted ONE of the three typos each time I checked it........ each time I fixed one and glanced at the others to make sure I'd got them right, the others looked OK.

[2]  Last I knew, the formal definition of "unique" was something like "there exists precisely one such".  Does something that's "very unique" use a smaller than usual value of "one"?

Comments

Old-style rotary engines

[radarrider.livejournal.com]

There are some new rotary designs where the piston stroke is very short so that the engine rather compact. The engine is also encased in a cylindrical housing so you don't have to worry about contacting the rotating engine casing.

Interestingly, a single-crankpin can be considered a two-cylinder slice of a radial engine. A few years back a guy by the name of Jim Fueling took one of the then-new Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 88 engines and modified it to accept a third cylinder. The resulting engine was called a W3 and could also be considered a 3-cylinder slice of a radial. He used to have a website (can't find it now) that had audio samples. It sure sounded interesting. The firing order was 2-1-3 where the middle cylinder would fire on the first rotation, then cylinders 1 and 3 would fire in relatively rapid succession on the second rotation.

Re: Old-style rotary engines

[nuclearbiker.livejournal.com]

Radarrider,

Jim Fueling was an engineering genius who passed away in 2002 (which is why you can't find his website anymore). The W3 was just one of his accomplishments, and was initially developed with HD. When HD decided not to market it, Jim began producing his own W3 engine, different enough from the TC-88 to avoid any patent infringement. The one I got to test drive was very smooth, and it's 150 Hp effortlessly launched my 300 lbs body faster than my hopped-up old V65 Magna.

Last I heard, the company was being sold in pieces. I would buy a W3 if I could find one, but not much chance of that now...