Gearbox

[IgorVigor]

I was thinking about gearboxes for diesel bikes, and thought of an idea...
I wouldnt try it with a big engine but small diesels (up to probably 15~20hp) it should be OK.

Ride on mower generally come with a transaxle (transmission built into the rear axle).
However, some came with a seperate gearbox (Normally a Peerless 700 series gearbox).

They are chain drive to the back axle and are suprisingly strong (sought after for mower racing)
To ensure they dont just die, you strip it down (easy), clean of the grease, and then half fill with EP90 gear oil.

The only disadvantage is the vertical input shaft.

Now to solve that, I thought either use a 90 degree gearbox, and run a belt (which could then be a belt tension clutch).

The other option I thought of, is to turn the gearbox through 90 degrees on the output shaft axis, so the input is also horizontal, and then fit a small belt/chain drive to the engine shaft.

The only downside, is you would need to seal the gearbox jointing surfaces, and perhaps fit a breather into it.

Just an idea...