Hydrostatic Twin-turbo Diesel Powered AWD Motorcycle
Sam Turner has loved motorcycles ever since he received his first at age 8. Then at age 12 his Father taught him how to weld and he has been building things ever since. Sam’s recent creation allowed him to combine his knowledge as a diesel technician together with his fabrication skills and his passion for motorcycles into one build.
Sam wanted to build a motorcycle around a 840 cc direct injection V-twin diesel engine. To keep the engine looking symmetrical he installed two RHB31 Turbochargers. Then he decided he wanted the bike to operate like a diesel electric, where the engine powers an electric generator that provides electricity to the wheel motors. This is when the idea of making the bike AWD started.
After researching the diesel electric system he realized the motors would cost a lot of money. He had to give up on the idea of a diesel electric but he still wanted the bike to be AWD. So Sam switched to a hydrostatic system where the wheel motors are turned via hydraulic fluid. This system would still give the motorcycle AWD but at a fraction of the cost of the diesel electric system.
Because the hydrostatic drive required one side of the wheel to be used, Sam had to design a single-sided suspension. An air bag system would be easy to install and would allow the bike to sit on the ground without a kickstand. He built his own leveling system that allows him to adjust he pressure in the front or back. Due to the length of the bike (11’3″) Sam had to build a system to turn the bike. This was accomplished using double push-pull cables connected to the front spindle and the back of the bike where the pivot points for the handle bars would be.
The bike started to take on a military appearance so Sam decided to go with it. He built two 2.5 gallon air tanks to look like bombs, built a Jerrycan to use as a fuel tank, fabricated a heat shield to look like a gun heat shield, converted an ammo box to hold the battery, and painted the bike in black bed liner and olive drab.
This video was made by Chopper Town and goes over the basics of the bike. It was cut together from the builders own videos.
The videos below are by the builder and I have put them into chronological order.
Source: Dieselmonkey89 (builder’s channel) and Chopper Town via OppositeLock
