I'm kinda tired waiting for a decent Enfield donor. So I'm looking at alternatives.
From what I can see, converting a BSA or Norton would be similar to an Enfield, but they are even pricier.
Basically I'm looking for something that will happily accept a 10hp clone without modifying the wheel base/frame to avoid lengthy inspection by road authorities.
Does anyone know how much work converting a honda cb400 or similar is?
straight forward conversions
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Sphere
- I luv the smell of Diesel...
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straight forward conversions
'92 Enfield + Hatz 1B40: street legal, weld up stainless exhaust, check engine rpm and change final drive sprocket.
Shere,
Like yourself I was inspired by the simplicity of the Enfield conversions but I wanted to go 20hp.
If you want a really simple conversion, you probably cannot find an easier bike than a Harley.
Without repeating my whole build, all it entails is making 2 engine mounts that bolt directly to the original engine mounts and I would recommend a head steady that bolts to another original mount on the frame. There is plenty of space for any transmission of your choice or cvt if preferred.
The engine bay is massive, some models are right sided drive already and the bars are rubber mounted.
In short they are about as ideal as any bike on the planet for straight forward conversion. Might not be your taste or style but I challenge you to find an easier or cheaper option.
I would never have considered a Harley prior to getting into Diesels until it became apparent that it was the quickest way I was going to get a project finished.
I was stunned to find what I had previously thought of as collectable or expensive machines were in fact nothing of the sort. So many unfinished custom projects never get finished and become available cheaply. Or sometimes they are imported and cannablised for the engine/ gearbox. I picked up an entire rolling bike minus engine for £500. How cheap do you want?
This is also proving to be the cheapest machine I have ever owned in terms of spare parts price and availability. The custom scene is so massive that people replace shocks/forks/wheels/exhausts etc before the bike has left the showroom. This means the second hand parts market is flooded. As an example I wanted to try longer shocks to raise my ride height. £20 off ebay within a week, likewise I wanted a different exhaust system, £20 off ebay within a week.
Similarly to Enfields, the model range has run for years with very little update so parts interchangability is enormous.
As I hadnt modified my frame in any way with the exeption of adding some footpeg mounts, the uk authorities had no reason not to licence it.
Never thought I'd see the day when I was a proud Harley owner but I got my 80mph, 150mpg Diesel bike with no hassles from the state and on a tight budget in a reasonable time scale.
Dont just take my word for it, Roverthetop is on his second build.
Food for thought anyway, good luck, Mark
Like yourself I was inspired by the simplicity of the Enfield conversions but I wanted to go 20hp.
If you want a really simple conversion, you probably cannot find an easier bike than a Harley.
Without repeating my whole build, all it entails is making 2 engine mounts that bolt directly to the original engine mounts and I would recommend a head steady that bolts to another original mount on the frame. There is plenty of space for any transmission of your choice or cvt if preferred.
The engine bay is massive, some models are right sided drive already and the bars are rubber mounted.
In short they are about as ideal as any bike on the planet for straight forward conversion. Might not be your taste or style but I challenge you to find an easier or cheaper option.
I would never have considered a Harley prior to getting into Diesels until it became apparent that it was the quickest way I was going to get a project finished.
I was stunned to find what I had previously thought of as collectable or expensive machines were in fact nothing of the sort. So many unfinished custom projects never get finished and become available cheaply. Or sometimes they are imported and cannablised for the engine/ gearbox. I picked up an entire rolling bike minus engine for £500. How cheap do you want?
This is also proving to be the cheapest machine I have ever owned in terms of spare parts price and availability. The custom scene is so massive that people replace shocks/forks/wheels/exhausts etc before the bike has left the showroom. This means the second hand parts market is flooded. As an example I wanted to try longer shocks to raise my ride height. £20 off ebay within a week, likewise I wanted a different exhaust system, £20 off ebay within a week.
Similarly to Enfields, the model range has run for years with very little update so parts interchangability is enormous.
As I hadnt modified my frame in any way with the exeption of adding some footpeg mounts, the uk authorities had no reason not to licence it.
Never thought I'd see the day when I was a proud Harley owner but I got my 80mph, 150mpg Diesel bike with no hassles from the state and on a tight budget in a reasonable time scale.
Dont just take my word for it, Roverthetop is on his second build.
Food for thought anyway, good luck, Mark
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Sphere
- I luv the smell of Diesel...
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- Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:45 pm
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Maybe I'm looking with my backend, but harleys in Holland start at 3k euros. Basically the ugliest Enfield starts at 1500, but they are extremely rare, starting at 2k for a 15-20yo bike is more normal. The exception is the bikes from India without Dutch plates, because it costs roughly 700 euro to obtain one. There's people selling Enfields without Dutch plates for 2250 euro... 
My goal is nog Enfield per se, merely something that will ride at 90kph cruising. Sometimes I eye over ebay.co.uk I wish I lived around there
My goal is nog Enfield per se, merely something that will ride at 90kph cruising. Sometimes I eye over ebay.co.uk I wish I lived around there
'92 Enfield + Hatz 1B40: street legal, weld up stainless exhaust, check engine rpm and change final drive sprocket.
Suzuki GS400/425/450 or GSX400 twins cylinder bikes should make an easy and cheap conversion. I'm presently doing a GS550, where there is loads of room for everything. The twins are much lower and lighter and there is nearly the same space and layout of the frame. In UK you can buy non-runners on ebay for less than £100 I got my Comet 40 CVT and jackshaft from USA for about £130 including postage and engine for £350. This means you should be able to make a good bike for about 1000 euros. You only need to weld some mountings for the jackshaft bearings and a subframe for the engine. The rest is fairly easy. Crazy Jerry (http://diesel-bike.com/) has made a downloadable instruction for how to do it that costs $25 and covers all the main points, or if you look in his forum, I am keeping a progress report running of my build (http://diesel-bike.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/Ya ... 1222290303)
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Sphere
- I luv the smell of Diesel...
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Well I can get my hand on a CB500/4 K0. Is has an extra block for spares. So I won't use either, but that doesn't matter. The biggest problem is transmission. I'm pretty confident a 10hp yanmar clone will fit.
Are there any documented CVT projects around? The dieselkrad listings of hodna cb conversions aren't really sporting detailed pics.
Are there any documented CVT projects around? The dieselkrad listings of hodna cb conversions aren't really sporting detailed pics.
'92 Enfield + Hatz 1B40: street legal, weld up stainless exhaust, check engine rpm and change final drive sprocket.
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taildraggin
- I luv the smell of Diesel...
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- Location: Suffolk, New York USA
My 2 cents:
Just keep hovering and collect an engine and parts. I found a decent Sixty-5 with a blown bottom end for $1000 in Manhattan (craigslist.org) and a used ditchpump engine in Utah (ebay) for $550. It took about 3 months and I thought it would take longer.
There must be many more old indian REs in europe than here. We only started getting them here in any number in 2000(?).
Harleys are the easy choice in the US and I think they make great diesel bikes because of their agricultural proportions and good, never-unitized gearboxes. You can always get what you paid back for a part, too, if you need to break it up.
Dniepr/Urals fit have the same properties and may be less expensive but are even more 'locomotive'.
I went with the Enfield because the builds are well documented with a fair amount of support available, good for the first bike built, I think. The economy is also well beyond that of any gas bike, unlike the more practical big diesels. I live in a back roads area, too, so cruise speed is less an issue. Lastly, >100 mpg makes B100 easier to use and manage (should be able to run all summer on 2-3 cans worth).
The other inexpensive alternative I was considering is a 400cc class with yanmaclone and a Comet. I was looking for an '80s GS400 or some such, that could probably be had for around $400 here. But the RE build seems easier, with more predictable results.
I've just finished clean up tasks on the Enfield, ordered the necessary stuff from Henry at Price Parts (stand up guy - he called this morning to say 'hi' and to confirm my order and address), and I'm now noodling over how to fab the engine mount and intake and exhaust pipes.
While it is encouraging that it's coming together, the tough fits await and as a first-timer I would be a little overwhelmed right now if it were a more complex engine installation.
- Charlie
Just keep hovering and collect an engine and parts. I found a decent Sixty-5 with a blown bottom end for $1000 in Manhattan (craigslist.org) and a used ditchpump engine in Utah (ebay) for $550. It took about 3 months and I thought it would take longer.
There must be many more old indian REs in europe than here. We only started getting them here in any number in 2000(?).
Harleys are the easy choice in the US and I think they make great diesel bikes because of their agricultural proportions and good, never-unitized gearboxes. You can always get what you paid back for a part, too, if you need to break it up.
Dniepr/Urals fit have the same properties and may be less expensive but are even more 'locomotive'.
I went with the Enfield because the builds are well documented with a fair amount of support available, good for the first bike built, I think. The economy is also well beyond that of any gas bike, unlike the more practical big diesels. I live in a back roads area, too, so cruise speed is less an issue. Lastly, >100 mpg makes B100 easier to use and manage (should be able to run all summer on 2-3 cans worth).
The other inexpensive alternative I was considering is a 400cc class with yanmaclone and a Comet. I was looking for an '80s GS400 or some such, that could probably be had for around $400 here. But the RE build seems easier, with more predictable results.
I've just finished clean up tasks on the Enfield, ordered the necessary stuff from Henry at Price Parts (stand up guy - he called this morning to say 'hi' and to confirm my order and address), and I'm now noodling over how to fab the engine mount and intake and exhaust pipes.
While it is encouraging that it's coming together, the tough fits await and as a first-timer I would be a little overwhelmed right now if it were a more complex engine installation.
- Charlie
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pietenpol2002
- I luv the smell of Diesel...
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My current project is a Yanclone in an early CB750 frame. The engine fits with very little work and I picked up the Honda rolling chassis for $35. Additionally, spare parts are plentiful and relatively cheap. I also have a CB550 and a CB650 frame, either of which I could throw up on the table and drop the engine in for pics or measurements if that would be of assitance. My earlier measurements on those frames indicated that the Yanclone would fit either.
Ron
Ron
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Sphere
- I luv the smell of Diesel...
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Thanks for your replies. Although pics of an engine in a CB frame would be useful, I'm worried about hooking it up to a tranny. Like taildraggin mentions, for a first timer the choice for Enfield is a nobrainer, because a lot of people do it, and you can use the transmission that comes with it. You can even buy kits with relevant parts for conversion.
With a CB I think I would go to Comet, but without any elbow grease engineering background a reliable solution might be too tough. I wouldn't know which parts to use to make it all work.
If I weren't held back by skills, I would likely go for CVT, since I think it suits the nature of generator diesels best. A donor Honda or similar only costs anywhere from 200 to "one euro per cc" for a rolling chassis.
With a CB I think I would go to Comet, but without any elbow grease engineering background a reliable solution might be too tough. I wouldn't know which parts to use to make it all work.
If I weren't held back by skills, I would likely go for CVT, since I think it suits the nature of generator diesels best. A donor Honda or similar only costs anywhere from 200 to "one euro per cc" for a rolling chassis.
'92 Enfield + Hatz 1B40: street legal, weld up stainless exhaust, check engine rpm and change final drive sprocket.
Last week i was offered a bj.2000 enfield 500 for 800 euro's over mail. The bike has now a new owner. A friend of mine..arnaud wrote:sphere, i honestly cannot understand where you are talking about.
There are lots of second hand enfield bullets for sale in and around the netherlands.Do what normal people do, look at the various websites the dutch internet has to offer and get your rebuild done!
There are several enfield under 1700 euro for sale ASKING PRICE
It appears to me that you can see that as well as any other.
Also, if money is such an issue, why not take an MZ as basis? a good MZ cost 300 euro, so a broken one half of it.
With a second hand variomatic and china diesel you have a very cheap bike.
But, i figure you are going for a second hand china engine
