A brilliant scheme

 

What a brainwave (at 2 am) -- the concept is to take Dnepr#2
over to the local Institute of Technology and challenge
the Engineering class to build me a road-legal all-wheel-drive
diesel-electric ATV out of it (with gov't funding of course)
for maximum traction in snow or mud.

I wonder if this scheme will still seem as brilliant by the dawn's
early light.

SQ
'07 Triumph Scrambler with imaginary motor and wheels
'06 Suzuki S40
'85 Dnepr MT-11
'79 Dnepr MT-10/36
'xx various derelicts in rehab

 


http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_bikes.html

A diesel powered Dnepr just seems so right
somehow.

 


<fx: narrows eyes>

You've been drinking, haven't you?

 

On 3/17/2010 11:25 AM, TOG@Toil wrote:

Hey, I work at a school that purports to teach engineering, among other
things. That bunch would love to have a project like that. Only problem
is, it'd take 5 years to complete, weigh about 8 kg, and end up covered
in solar panels.

Think you could handle something like this? It'd mean of course that
you'd have to move somewhere there was actual sun more than 3 days a year.

http://www.midnightsun.uwaterloo.ca/www

You might also want to keep in mind that this is the same school that
spawned Red Green.

 

TOG@Toil wrote:


Now whatever could possibly give you such a wrong impression?
I tellya, the idea came to me in a vision (with no pink elephants
involved, either).

Why wasn't diesel/gas-electric used early on? Probably because
in the time before microcontrollers and other modern solid state
devices there was no economical (at mass production consumer
volumes) way to regulate the power delivery to each wheel
where needed. Therefore complex mechanical solutions such as
the limited slip differential were designed.

But surely it would be possible to replace the Dnepr's
conventional arrangement of

MOTOR---CLUTCH---TRANSMISSION---DRIVE_SHAFT---DIFFERENTIAL

with

MOTOR---GENERATOR---MOTOR [on each wheel]

SQ