rebuilding motorcycle

[eternalfrost]

so this sumer ive been spending a good chunk of time overhauling an old motorcycle i rescued for free from the dump basically. at this point ive rebuilt the engine from the bottom and got it running but still needs some fine tuning to get it smooth. just needs some tweeking on the brakes and lights wiring.

anyways, i just as a passing interest i was wondering what would be involved in making it run off ethanol. also is it at all possible to have a sort of 'flex fuel' type. im guessing it hs mostly to do with changing the jets in the carbs etc.

also, anyone with a bike want to toss up some pics would be awsome

[Dnderhead]

From what i understand flex fuel has to be electronic fuel injected - The computer adjust the amount of fuel by detecting alcohol/gas
mix, and if going to alcohol you mite consider a "cold start" feacher, as some way of injecting gas to start ,cold engines do not like to start alcohol

[Nykter]

Agree, to make it run on ethanol you need to change jets, and maybe som pipes and gaskets to alcohol resistant ones. Might also need adjustment of ignition timing.
If you run it on petrol after that , it will run way too rich, maybe not at all.
A flexifuel engine uses electronics, lambda feedback and maybe knock sensors to adjust "jetting" and ignition timing.

What kind of motorcycle is it? Why dont you toss up some pics?

[HookLine]

Agree, to make it run on ethanol you need to change jets, and maybe som pipes and gaskets to alcohol resistant ones. Might also need adjustment of ignition timing.

That is the guts of it, as long as you only run it on ethanol (or the same ethanol/petrol mix) after that. I think one or two carb body parts sometimes need changing too, as ethanol and some metal alloys don't mix too well.

What kind of motorcycle is it? Why dont you toss up some pics?

+ 1

[mikeac]

also, anyone with a bike want to toss up some pics would be awsome

there is also this this thread, nothing about converting but some nice looking pic's!

[eternalfrost]

i sort of figured you would need a fuel injection system for an adjustible flex fuel to work.

i know for sure that besides the aluminum of the body the fuel would touch, a few inches of fuel line, plastic carb floats and a gasket in the carb.

ive taken it apart completly so know the whole system quite well.

heres a stock picture of the model i have. 1981 honda cb650

[HookLine]

That's pretty.

[eternalfrost]

its been a fun summer project. according to the registration sticker it hasne been on the road since 1993 got it basically for free rescued from the side of the road. all the engine block gaskets were shot and it practically squirted oil when you turned it over. so i dived in and tore it apart and rebuilt the engine, brakes, and transmission from the bottom up. starts right up now and purrs nice. all thats left now is tackling the wiring and lighting system to get it street legal again.

theres nothing quite like that feeling of rolling up your sleeves and making something old run again. its also great fun to know something inside and out and exactly how every piece works together... something that really has been lost in the newer cars and thier alien tangle of electronics and injectors

[HookLine]

its also great fun to know something inside and out and exactly how every piece works together... something that really has been lost in the newer cars and thier alien tangle of electronics and injectors

Ain't that the truth.

[Robb235]

Any updates on this project? You running it on ethanol, or are you using standard gas?

[nubz69]

To run your bike on ethanol you would need to either switch to a fuel injection system like megasquirt and program extra code to allow for a switch to change fuel maps or a flex fuel sensor or you would have to rejet and tune your carb to run on ethanol. The stoichiometric efficiency is very different then gas so you need to put in more fuel to run. Here is site on it. http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/id32.html

It really isn't to hard but you can only run your bike on one or the other if you are using carbs unless someone has come up with a new system I am not aware of. You could buy a second set of carbs and swap them as needed but that sounds like way to much work to me.

[Mr.Spooky]

eternalfrost:

those cb 650's are bullet proof engines!!!! you can also find parts fairley cheep! iv chopped many of these. certian carbs though are almost impossible to rebuild. im assuming its the 650/4 with the 4 carbs. if the carbs look like "pots" on the top, it might be hard to get parts for.

[Mr.Spooky]

this is a 01 750 ace that i did



http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww37 ... 0_1776.jpg