EU etc. w/ microcar's Hit boneyards for CVT Trannies?

[coachgeo]

Just throwing this out there.... I see more and more that Diesel Bike builders in the EU and elsewhere that side of the pond are using cvt's out of microcars found in bone yards. Aixam transmission was one of the last notes I read about..

Someone on that side of the pond might consider hitting bone yards a weekend a month and grabbing CVT's and selling them at a reasonable profit to use diesel bike builders around the world?? For your more local Bike builders.... maybe sell at cost-n-labor plus a pint?

Just a thought.

[Sphere]

Seemslike drive + driven is 350 euro for second hand at brommobielsloperij.nl -- I dont know what IBC charges, because I can't find a reseller on ebay.

[coachgeo]

500 to 714 Euros (700 to 1000 USD) for a heavy duty CVT here that can handle a 3cyl diesel. Less for those using smaller power plants.

[IgorVigor]

The problem in the UK is most people seem to choose manual cars.
And most of the auto's are not of the CVT variety :S...

There are some though...

Apart from things like the microcars, Ford used a CVT gearbox on some of the fiesta's (and possibly the escort's), and some of the rover metro's were fitted with a CVT transmission (The metros to look out for are the ones fitted with the K series engines, if I recall correctly :S)

Personally, I would always choose a manual box... I like to swap the cogs myself , and that way I can engine brake more

[albertaphil]

Subaru also put a CVT in some of their little Justys in the late 80s and 90s. I don't know anything about it, but it might be an option. As for engine braking...most of the CVT's I've seen from snowmobiles, etc. are set up to provide engine braking. Basically, the secondary pulley has a cam that works both ways; it keeps a low ratio under high torque until the speed is up where it needs to be. Under deceleration, the torque it takes for the wheel to turn the engine will also tend to ratio down the setup to keep the revs up at whatever speed you are traveling.

Around north america, I still snowmobile wreckers are the best place to find CVTs. IMHO.

Cheers,
Phil

[coachgeo]

...Around north america, I still snowmobile wreckers are the best place to find CVTs. IMHO.

Cheers,
Phil

from what I gather that is true if your using a two stroke diesel, when you get to the four strokes like the 3cyl diesels... this is questionable. Some of those CVT's designed for snowmobiles are NOT rated for something with more torque. Look at the page pdf's at IBC... they have pictorial suggestions of the types of vehicles they consider the CVT's good for.

[albertaphil]

I know what you're thinking, Coach. And a CVT designed for 30hp at 6000rpm likely will not perform the way you want it to at 3600rpm. But a clutch designed for 80hp at 6000-10000rpm probably will handle the torque and rpm of a 30hp diesel. To hook onto a dihatsu or big kubota or something, belt size is probably the biggest issue. You can tune any clutch however you want within limits, but there has to be enough meat in the belt to produce enough friction with the pulleys to not slip when you're putting full torque into it at half the rpm the thing was designed for.

I'm sure it is easier to find a snowmobile wrecker where I live...1 hour from the rocky mountains, than it is for you in Texas, but the mountains are still closer to you than europe is, especially with no air travel:-)

Phil

[coachgeo]

... But a clutch designed for 80hp at 6000-10000rpm probably will handle the torque and rpm of a 30hp diesel. ...Phil

They have 80hp snowmobiles?

[cumorglas]

... But a clutch designed for 80hp at 6000-10000rpm probably will handle the torque and rpm of a 30hp diesel. ...Phil

They have 80hp snowmobiles?

they have 80 horse sleds from the factory that guys will spend a couple thousand more to get to 100. this winter i was a 230 lb passenger with a 200 lb driver taken on a ride where my handheld gps said we hit a peak of 123 mph and averaged just over 100 mph for 18 miles.

this was the personal sled for the owner of a speed shop for sleds, it's fairly radical for a backcountry rig but not as radical as the stuff he does for customers.

[Sphere]

I take it the ride ended after 18 miles because you ran out of fuel

[cumorglas]

I take it the ride ended after 18 miles because you ran out of fuel

nah we got where we were going. and that sled is set up with a ten gallon tank. which gives it about a 150 mile range. sort of the opposite of what we are trying to achieve here.

but it does show how versatile a cvt can be. you can tune it for a twin turbo rotax vtwin in a highspeed touring sled, or you can tune it for a 100 mpg yanclone bike.

[albertaphil]

A friend of mine regularly goes sledding with guys with 300hp snow machines that are turbocharged with nitrous oxide boost. Seriously. He also has a Bombardier quad that has an 800cc twin cylinder engine that comes stock with 80hp, that he has modified internally and with nitrous and now makes 130hp at the rear wheels.

There is a CVT available for anything you want to do.

Phil