Author Topic: The "2-Bits" V-Twin  (Read 25746 times)

Offline Kim

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #225 on: June 18, 2022, 05:39:31 AM »
Yes!  That's a beautiful engine, Ron!    :ThumbsUp: :popcorn:

The quarter is a really nice touch too.  Looks amazing!

Kim

Offline RReid

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #226 on: June 18, 2022, 03:04:47 PM »
Thank you for the compliments, Thanh and Kim! The key task now is to convert it from a nice shelf piece to a running engine. :)
Regards,
Ron

Offline fumopuc

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #227 on: June 21, 2022, 07:23:05 AM »
Hi Ron, nice and extraordinary. Very well done.
I am very curious to see the first results of your R&D Department.

Kind Regards
Achim

Offline RReid

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #228 on: June 21, 2022, 03:41:22 PM »
Thank you very much, Achim.  :cheers:

The R&D department is soon to be temporarily shut-down by an upcoming Friends & Family event, so if reports are slow in coming it's not necessarily a sign of bad news.
Regards,
Ron

Offline RReid

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #229 on: July 12, 2022, 01:12:46 AM »
Now that I'm back from a 2 week camping road trip to Montana for a dear friend's wedding, I guess I should offer an update on attempts to get this engine started.

The bad news is it so far refuses to start.

The good news is I'm getting closer to finding some of the sweet spots, so at least I'm getting pops, smoke, and heat out of one cylinder. But the other one is not firing, or at least not very often. Both have compression, both are getting fuel, both make observable sparks. My two leading suspects at the moment are:
1-my home-brew, bare bones basic points system. It works, but maybe not well enough to give a consistent hot spark, especially under compression. I may break down and order a pair of Howell's electronic ignition modules and hall sensors.
2- The angle between the exhaust cam pair that I had to separate and solder back together is not quite perfect, and of course the cam timing can't be adjusted independently for each cylinder. So the valve timing for the one may be good, while the other maybe is not quite good enough. This was a known risk, and I may have to eat it and do that part over.

But first I'll try a few more things tomorrow.



Regards,
Ron

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #230 on: July 12, 2022, 01:41:09 AM »
I wish you the best of luck, and may you end up with a running engine. I've been there many times before, and it starts to feel like you're pounding your head on a rock after a while. My engines always ran eventually, but some of them extracted their weight in blood, sweat, and tears before they did. Many times my engines made me wish I had an older, smarter brother I could call to come and show me what was wrong. Your engine is a thing of beauty---it will run.---Have faith-----Brian

Offline Admiral_dk

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #231 on: July 12, 2022, 12:03:34 PM »
First the cheap solution Test - Try and swap the two Sparkplugs and see if the problem moves from one to the other cylinder.

I never had any problem in my youth with bad Plugs (where you could identify the problem with Eyeball #1) and way more than I care to remember af the Plug size decreased - Problem here, being that they work nicly outside the combustion chamber, but not inside (with Compression)  :zap:   :Mad:   :cussing:

The simple system is usually very reliable - If all the parts are good and correct timing.
Any of the mentioned parameters mentioned not being good WILL provide problems.

Hope to soon hear and see a Happy Dance + Video of a Runner .... so go break a Leg  :ThumbsUp:   :cheers:   :popcorn:

Per

Offline RReid

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #232 on: July 12, 2022, 03:37:42 PM »
Thank you Brian, for the encouragement and your kind words.

Thank you also Per. Your point about small spark plugs is well taken, I will try the switcheroo test first thing.
Regards,
Ron

Offline Bearcar1

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #233 on: July 12, 2022, 09:46:12 PM »
Say there Ron, I have been watching from the shadows as this delightful engine comes together and I have no doubts about it becoming more than a mere static display. I was wondering, as I imagine a few others on here are, if you had any thoughts about selling or otherwise providing drawings for this little beauty? I think that they would be well recieved if there were such itinerations made available. Keep up the good work and best of luck. Be safe.


BC1
Jim

Offline RReid

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #234 on: July 13, 2022, 01:31:19 AM »
Thank you for your kind compliments and comments, Jim.

I have no interest in selling plans, but I am open to possibly making the drawings available to the MEM community if there is interest. There are somewhere around 30 or 40 individual part and assembly drawings, so it would be a bit of a project to make sure all were up to snuff, and as complete and correct as possible. And I do feel an obligation to have a running example before offering the plans to anyone. So once I succeed in getting the thing running, I may think about taking that project on.

Today I found a compromise exhaust cam setting that got both cylinders firing, though more weakly than the one cylinder was firing yesterday. This pretty well establishes for myself that the exhaust cam pair needs to be separated so that I can adjust them separately. One cam is locked to the cam gear by screws, which doesn't need to be changed. The other cam will be un-soldered from the assembly and a set screw added to allow for the independent adjustment. That's the plan and the hope anyway!
Regards,
Ron

Offline Roger B

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #235 on: July 13, 2022, 11:52:53 AM »
Have you tried experimenting with the inlet valve springs? If they are too strong they will limit the induction.
Best regards

Roger

Offline RReid

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #236 on: July 13, 2022, 02:54:56 PM »
Quote
Have you tried experimenting with the inlet valve springs?
Hi Roger. Yes, I have.

I've tried the same springs that work successfully on my Upshur, which uses an intake valve of the same type and size, and a lighter set. Either set seems to work based on three main clues. Each closes the valve adequately to seal, each opens enough to allow the cylinder to flood with fuel, and each produces an audible and characteristic "snort" from the valve as it opens on the intake stroke. Also, changing them doesn't have a noticeable effect on the strength or weakness of the firing I do get.
Regards,
Ron

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #237 on: July 13, 2022, 03:54:46 PM »
Ron--Have a look here. This covers a lot of "stuff" about getting your engine running".---Brian
https://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/forum/general/72293-setting-up-and-running-model-4-cycle-engines

Offline RReid

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #238 on: July 15, 2022, 01:14:13 AM »
Quote
The other cam will be un-soldered from the assembly and a set screw added to allow for the independent adjustment. That's the plan and the hope anyway!
Doing this produced the hoped for result. I now have both cylinders firing enough to get warm, whereas before one got warm and the other remained cold.

Now to get it firing strongly enough to run on it's own. Ignition work, I think. As we always said in my R&D career - baby steps!
Regards,
Ron

Offline Brian Rupnow

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Re: The "2-Bits" V-Twin
« Reply #239 on: July 15, 2022, 01:21:18 AM »
Ron---are you anywhere near Eureka? My wife and I took a driving holiday along the pacific coast highway in California, and she really liked Eureka.---Brian

 

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