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Here's a short clip of running at Loring this past summer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXcTbgL ... e=youtu.be

During the next two passes, the Sportster performed flawlessly and achieved a maximum speed of 96.8mph! The drivetrain was geared to 102mph at a redline of 4200rpm, but the engine peaked at 3800rpm and couldn't go any faster. The supercharger produced 7 pounds of boost and 150F at the intake, and th...

After prepping the bike, we rolled over to the staging lane and joined the queue. The first run went extremely well, and I beat the previous top speed by 7 mph. However, while riding down the return road, the engine started spitting oil out of the crankcase breather and coating the left side of the ...

Friday dawned cool and partly cloudy, with a good tail wind and low humidity. Absolutely perfect conditions for racing, so we left the hotel early and rushed to the track. The bike breezed through tech inspection, and we attended the morning drivers meeting, set up our site, and wandered the pits ad...

I inspected the rear differential after breakfast, and it appeared that the leak had resolved itself. However, by Portland, Maine, the leak was worse than ever. Driving in the cool weather the previous night had only lessened the symptoms. At a rest stop, I called my mechanic to diagnose the problem...

On July 11th, my friend Dan and I embarked on a 650 mile road trip to the Loring Timing Association's "Maine Event" in Limestone, Maine. We loaded my beat-up, 220k mile truck, hitched the flat trailer with diesel Sportster, and began our journey with the traditional 2 hours of gridlocked N...

This past weekend, two of us traveled to northern Maine for the yearly pilgrimage to the Loring Timing Association in Limestone. I'm happy to report that the Sportster didn't disappoint! Weather and wind were favorable, and the bike posted a top speed of 96.8mph! The bike was geared to 102mph at a r...

Finished reassembly and received a fresh NYS inspection. Finally ready to ride again!

I brewed up some caffeine and locked myself in the garage for a marathon reassembly session last night

Engine reassembled and tuned!

Progress! I've refurbished the original engine internals, deburred the new crankcase, and installed everything with fresh bearings and seals.

IMG_20180226_211454503_HDR.jpg I finished stripping the engine, and was able to examine the inner assembly for the first time. Overall, the components are in excellent condition, the only major issues being excessive carbon buildup in the combustion chamber, and wear on the output-side plain bearin...

I finally worked through my backlog of other projects, and the KZ400 diesel is now back on the bench for a rebuild. The first step was to disassemble the drivetrain, clean the frame, and improve some of the mounting hardware and wiring. IMG_20180212_200852907_HDR.jpg IMG_20180212_200905426.jpg IMG_2...

The Sportster received a small write-up in Cafe Racer!

I think that this screw is missing because of a mediocre attempt at EPA emissions compliance. To make this engine legal for US sale, they probably removed the adjustment screw to lower the fuel delivery, and simply marketed it with a handicapped horsepower rating. Generally, engines can only combust...

Information is limited for this engine, so I finally decided to open the governor housing to document the design and look for improvements. It's difficult to see through the small access hole, but after a few hours of tinkering, I drew this diagram: IMG_20171130_084758507_HDR.jpg - Lever "A&quo...

A week at my local powder-coating shop, and the exhaust now has a high-temp ceramic finish

Here are some progress pictures of the new exhaust system. I've decided to make separate headers instead of the 2-into-1, and run them high like scrambler pipes. I'm trying to keep the head as far away from the charge pipe as possible. I still have to practice, but I've made some major improvements ...

More progress! Next up is a new exhaust system.

Here are some updates of the supercharger installation. I've fabricated the mounting brackets, remachined v-belt pulleys from the hardware store, and started welding up the plenum.

I worked for a company that built diesel generators to military spec, and they required extremely rapid rpm response to load changes. We found that there are very few factory mechanical governors that could meet the spec. The worst of all were the external linkage governors on the air-cooled Yanmars...

Here's a preview of the next stage of the project
AMR500 supercharger from a Subaru Pleo!

Some footage from the first Sunday morning run

https://youtu.be/ZK8IGfvcZ5o

:) We arrived in Presque Isle on Thursday night, and spent Friday going through registration and tech inspection at the track, settling into our hotel, and purchasing wool socks and gloves because of the "unseasonably cold" high-40's weather. By that evening, Drew and Maggie had arrived an...

On Labor Day Weekend 2017, we once again drove to the great white north (almost) for the yearly pilgrimage of speed, cramped legs, road food, hotel beds, and surprisingly cold weather! Joining this year was my extremely patient and understanding girlfriend Hannah, as well as great (and slightly craz...

It has arrived