Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

[Stainless1]

Oh, bet you wanted to see the sprockets... sorry I was a little amazed that there are so many "interesting old guys" in Wichita....
I didn't get them in, so here are a couple of shots. 

In case you thought Max has been laying around on the couch and eating M&Ms here is some proof he really has been working on the motors. 

[Stainless1]

The big chain is getting closer to fitting in the hole.  The new tensioner will be built from steel instead of aluminum.  The one in the pic is the old one and it was bent in the chain explosion.  The new one will be a bit wider.  Took a lot more pictures today, but they are all a little blurry, guess I better check if macro was selected before the next time.

   see ya at the Bub

[SPARKY]

looks like Max has been working on stuffing a buch of STUFF into the stuff box   

[Beairsto Racing]

Stainless,

What does max use for a "wear pad" on the tensioner? From the pictures of the old set up, it looks like the chain ran directly against the tensioner.

[Stainless1]

Hardened steel... the old one was aluminum with a steel slider, the new one will be a 1/4 inch steel boxed piece... with a hardened steel slider.  Oil helps reduce the wear.

[Stainless1]

Dropped in on Max, Caught him laying on the couch, watching soaps and eating Bon Bons.... as usual... 

The plan was to leave the bottom ends together, well as we know the best laid plans... in Max's own words... mostly

"Last week I was moving along pretty good getting things sorted out and fitted concerning the installation of the 30,000 lb. tensile strength nitro drag bike chain by SK.  I made all of the spacers, and for the first time knocked down tight with my half inch impact, the rear crankshaft.  When I did this, all of the gears had to be removed which couple the two engines together, making the rear engine independent.  The purpose for doing this was to check the freeness and clearances in the cases, looking for any drag or anything else that seemed suspicious.  The rear engine turned over way too hard.  Lots of drag somewhere, and it had to be corrected, without a doubt.  After trouble shooting for about a day I discovered that the spacer between the two Timken bearings on the drive side of the crankshaft had brennieled itself, and lost about .010 of it's width.  Corrected this by adding a .010 shim.  Tomorrow I'll put the cases back together, and by the middle of next week or thereabouts, have the lump all back together and repaired except for the chain that goes from the transmission jackshaft to the Muncie three speed main shaft, or the chain which is called the secondary primary.  That chain is the same chain, 1" wide HYVO that gave up the ghost during Black Lightning's first run last year.  So as to not take any chances on a chain that has already proven itself to be too weak, I'll replace it with the same 30,000 lb. SK chain.  Should take the better part of a week to get that done, so it looks like in two, or probably more than likely, three weeks, the liner will be all back together "If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise". "

he explained that so much better than I could...so the lump is apart just a little, the rear engine cases are split and Max replaced the bearings even though they were not the real problem, it was part of that one day of troubleshooting.  As some may have figured out, the bearings are set up by shimming the crank in and out.  Here's a couple of pictures.


The brennieling of the spacer was evidently caused by the blower pulley nut loosening during dyno testing.  Max found the nut loose before it went to Bonneville, tightened it with a little red locktite to help it hold.  Here is the rear crank stack to check the bearings, (not in the order they are actually used or even the actual parts, there would be a blower pulley)

[Stainless1]

More pictures just for fluff...
Both cranks were checked to turn free

all the motor drive pieces removed to the table

The crank, the insides are rarely seen... with the right amount of luck 

Max is busy getting it back together, then he will start on the clutch to transmission chain.  It is the same type that broke, so it is getting the monster chain as well.  More sprockets to make/modify and some case mods. 

[SPARKY]

SS----Thanks to both of you, Max for his wonderful obsession and you for snooping with your camera!!!!!!!!!!

[little max]

  Great snapshots of the buildup,Looks like progress,You deserve a M&M brake.

[Stainless1]

Little Max, you know dad has had the brakes on M&M consumption since Patti told him he had to cut back.... 

For all of you that thought Max has quit working on the bike.... WRONG!  The real reason you have not been seeing much is that I have been a little busy with working on the A S Streamliner in Denver and moving to our new place.  With any luck I will be able to get a little more "Max time" in during the next couple of months.

Just to prove what I just said here is the new chain tensioner, built from 1/4 inch steel and ready to work.  The chain and sprockets have been shimmed into alignment.  Max still needs to do a little more clearance work in a couple of spots, but this side is basically done. 

And another angle

To reinforce the case damage correction welds I previously showed in progress a few posts back, Max decided to put in 3 clamping bolts.  You may have to remember back a couple of years, but when Max made the engine to engine gear drives he welded in the piece he made to hold the axles.  That is the part that cracked and separated when the HiVo chain processed through the gears.  So after getting it all back in place and welding it, Max decided to put on a belt with his suspenders.  The 2 capscrews you see on the top (left and center) and the one you can't see on the bottom.... because Max already paved over it with a little epoxy. 

[Stainless1]

OK, now we saw the stuff you missed over the last week or so..... here is what's happening now.

Max has the torch out again preheating the lump for more welding. 

And doing a little more welding

On the gear drive and big chain cover... Yes the chain runs in oil and that is a really large seal a couple of inches from the weld. yep, Max has an extra if it gets heat damaged, but aluminum cools quickly and there is a lot of mass there to absorb the heat. 
The back (in the picture, which is actually the front) is bolted down to the case and you probably should notice the 3/16 spacers between the case and chain cover.  To accommodate the big chain, Max needed to space that cover out a bit.  It was previously welded but Max didn't need to cut it off, the little incident did most of that for him.  So it needed cleaned up a little and the surfaces prepared and now being welded.  It is bolted in place through the spacers.

[Stainless1]

OK, now is the time all the welding professionals need to get up and get a beer, everyone else may view the pictures 

The pieces are mostly joined, a little more welding around the edges will be required.

The dreaded close up      

Oh yea, this is the correct viewing distance... 
Next will be building the 3/16 spacer.  It will be epoxied, not welded to the cover.  Still plenty of work to get done, Max is predicting the motors in and running in July.

[John Noonan]

Get er dun Max and "team"

J

[little max]

You need another welding hood old man,you know the kind with corrective lens.Ha Ha

[Stainless1]

Dropped in on Max again, thought I'd catch him watching soaps and eating Bon Bons... Nope 
He was working on the cover.  The 3/16 shim is installed and the edges have been welded around the corners, then Max smoothed it all out a bit.  All that is left is a little milling and drilling. The milling is required on the new oil seal, to get it flush with the inside of the cover.