On-road buggy for the new guy

[CVTguy]

Hello all. I've been searching through the forums for some information I can't find. I am an engineer with a company that makes CVT belts and I've been kicking around an idea. I think belt-driven CVT drives (like off a snowmobile) have potential in some on-road applications with some advancement in the technology. Partly as a test bed for the idea and partly just for fun, I'd like to take the engine out of a wrecked Hayabusa I recently acquired and run snow clutches in an on-road buggy. I found a great post talking about some of the details and a link to a paper that had some good information about mounting and such. I think I can handle the actual mating of the engine and clutch and the final drive. I already have a start on adapters for running the primary directly off the engine and an adapter for the secondary.
My question is, what should I do about the buggy itself? I have some machining capabilities (I have a mill and lathe), but am only a so-so welder and have no tubing equipment. I also don't have time to start from scratch. I'm thinking I would buy an existing buggy, pull the VW or whatever engine and mount my motor and clutches. I'm not really interested in off-road use since my RZR is about as wide as I can get on the trails around here. I need something street-legal to commute in when the weather is decent. The buggy would be a novelty and for generating interest at shows my company participates in. What should I look for in a buggy? I figure I don't need 20" of suspension travel, but don't want a go-kart either. I need a rear end with brakes at each wheel (required for inspection). What about steering? Suspension? A full size or mini? Manx type? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. I know CVT drives, ATV's and snowmobiles, but don't know squat about buggies.
Ideas?
Thanks,
Eric

[Raptoryan]

The busa has a internal clutch and tranny so it wouldnt really work. If you want something for on road put the motor in a smart car and make it chain drive and use the motors trans and clutch in it.

[Ozpilot]

There are a few people doing Smart cars with busas in them. It would be great to see how your idea stacks up against those using the gearbox.

Please post your progress here or let us know where you are posting your progress no matter what type of body you use - I for one would be extremely interested in watching and contributing (if I have anything to contribute - seems to me you only need pointers on the easy parts!!). Feel free to PM me.

Yoshi - do you have anything that would get this guy on his way???

[CVTguy]

Hmmm, haven't looked at the busa, yet. I didn't realize it was all integrated. Just got it in an online auction. I already had another guy interested in it for parts anyway... As far as the Smart car idea, that's not bad. I hadn't even considered that. I see two problems, though. 1. This will be on my dime (and my stack of dimes isn't all that tall), so I was hoping for cheap. 2. The buggy-style appealed to me because it looks easiest to work on and could be the best for showing the idea off. It seems like the smart would be tougher from a packaging standpoint.
Do you have any tips for what I should look for/avoid/don't need in the suspension or steering department and where to look for those things on a used buggy? I'm assuming some kind of A-arm setup in front and independent rear would ideal. Would those be required? If so, is there a make of buggy that would be easier to find or work better? On the motor side of things, I would like to stick to a motorcycle engine due to the power band compatibility with the clutches. It looks like people use R1 and Honda powerplants. Any pros/cons to these? I would just pull power directly off the crank without going through a gearbox.
Again, thanks for any direction you all can provide.
Eric

[nutz4sand]

By the time you go thru the trouble to tap power off the motorbike engine with a CVT you might just consider looking for a Yamaha Nytro or Apex or RX1 snowmobile.

Those motors are all large displacement four strokes with a CVT already on them. They make big power and can be turboed easily later if desired. I to was looking at a motor bike engine with a CVT.

Tapping it off the crank CAN be done but its a lot of work and parts.To me the easiest way to do it was to add a shaft on bearings behind the motor and use a crankshaft adaptor off a Geo (See pic below. Thats bolts right to a flywheel of a Geo Metro (they make them for ecotechs too))

The shaft behind the motor would be a simple long shaft with a bearing on each end and a sprocket behind this adaptor which would transfer motor power to the shaft.The drive clutch then bolts to that shaft. You would have to deal with the gearing and figure out which gears to leave the bike motor in.

Geared right you would be able to have a type of high and low range. With the lower gear being a bit more power and take off and the next higher gear being more of a cruiser gear.

(Just becareful with the gearing to not overspin the CVT clutch.)

While it can be done that way a good deal on one of the sled motors mentioned would make for a lot less headache and look a lot better and be less to go wrong.

Others have talked about mounting it right off the bike motors sprocket shaft. But if you do that you need to support the OUTSIDE of the shaft on the outside of the drive clutch with a bearing. The sprocket shaft would not deal with the load well due to the leverage.

Remember it would NOT* be close to the motor (might have to plan for offset motor too) as the drive clutches diameter are usually three to six times the diameter of a common bike sprocket. It WILL be mounted a good ways away from the motor! The bike motors own case is in the way.

There is also a company who mounts the Hayabusa top end on a skinny crankshaft just for a CVT type setup. But its not cheap and you cannot rev most CVT drive clutches to what a typical Hayabusa will turn.

http://www.h1v8.com/page/page/1562068.htmYou

You can see the V-8 Hayabusa and the inline four Hayabusa there. $$$$$ :]

Costwise those 4 stroke Yamaha Sled motors are a bargain!

[evan]

Im sure ya already know but cvt is already used in street cars. Mini has used if for quite a while. Might want to google it for some more ideas.