OgreCycle

How to recycle a vw into a motorcycle when all is lost and excitement you seek. then one must build their own! buying one or having it done for you is cheating. sure youmay need help but in the spirit of american ingenuiity you gotta do it yer self!

Step 1: Thinking

You must first gather all of your Ideas this is fun and Time consuming the internet is a wonderfull device for this. I like classic bmw's and flat head harley's indian four's also so you will see these influences in the ogrecycle. Take all the pic's that fit you're style and cut them and paste them together until your satisfied with your dream. Remember this is your dream not anyone elses so you have to like it or your peeing in the wind.

Step 2: The Gathering

Take your Idea's Shopping. The four main pieces you should gather somewhat depend on eachother. First Thing to consider Is the Drive train. There alot of opinions about this and I'll give my two cents. If you want shaft drive there are kits available to convert a BMW motorcycle to a VW engine (easy way out cheater) there have been discussions about final drive ratio's between new and old bmw and its clones IE the Ural due to the engine rpm differance in a vw and a bmw. I have also seen a volvo transmission to shaft drive much more rugged but still shaft drive. (ok so I'm Biased) I do not know a bout subaru but there is probably a viable drive there. What I do know is that a vw Transmission will work but you must get the correct year where there is a Differential cover on both sides of the transaxle. Why? because Vw's go the wrong way and to fix that on must flip the Differential. The Amazona used this and Some other people have also! it works there is a mid engine cable shifter that works well with this setup but it cost some coin. you know me I'm all about the free or at least inexpensive. This trans axle is a good choice for stock engines you may want to go a little beefier if you want to use throughtle in a bottle! (nos).
Ok ok here is my choice I'm using the 914 Porcshe transmission! Well la tee da you say! Here is why the 914 was mid engine so it goes the right way. It is twice as rugged as the vw. I know it was made by vw but its twice the bug trany. this is important because of the latteral strain placed on the out putshaf bearing. the shifter comes out the side. The bug comes out the end although the mid engine sandrail shifter is verry slick i got the 914 tranny free! so you do the math. By the time youve got this figured out I'll have the next step written

Comments

[abadfart]

So after seeing what people are asking for there bikes i decided to build my own and id love to get some hints

[billdan]

Great job, you are one of the smartest people I know.

[bevel121]

if you look at www.ratbike.org,go to "junkyard" and find 3 vw m/cs from sweden,they have converted the original vw gearbox to chain drive and foot shift,the latter using a solenoid.

[Gunnar]

It is very interesting projectYou describe the idea very well.I have a few questions; How did you balance motorcycle?Because offset transmission output you may have some balance problem.I am a fan of BMW motorcycles-VW cars your bike is perfect mix for me.Here is another interesting bike design: Alfa romeo V6 engine-honda goldwing frame(?)http://home.earthlink.net/~alfabike/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/alfa.mpg

[Ogrecycle]

actually it is pretty well ballenced at rest the low center of gravity you can almost put your feet up without moving. when you rev the engine there is a rotational pull to the right but in motion the gyroscopic action of the wheels counter acts this I suppose a boss hoss must be a hand full but the few low speed tests Iv'e made and the other VMW owners Iv'e talked to say its not bad. the bummer with the gold wing is the transmission is integral to the motor you could go like a sidewinder with the v6 and run a Harley tranny then you wouldnt have the lateral rotation problem or the problem ith trying to change the direction of the power like vw,bmw, goldwing. thanks for your comments and intrest.

[Rishnai]

I would have thought it would want to torque over off a stop like you wouldn't believe, but if not, that's a pleasant suprise. My grandpa had an Indian Four back in the day, and being young and dumb, he revved it up really fast at a stoplight, meaning to sound cool and then take off in a hurry, but wound up having it almost throw him off the side. Of course, that was a powerful engine and a scrawny rider, but I wouldn't be inclined to go hotrodding around on a Four anytime soon.

[Ogrecycle]

At a stop it does pull a little to the right but once you a re rolling its fine it has a hefty tug but not enough to throw me around feels good you can feel how powerful the bike is without even moving.

[Charlie1138]

Thanks so much for this Instructable. So how do you shift the 914 tranny? Is it an H pattern? If so, how do you plan to set that up? How will you clutch, etc? Do you have to lock the differential? How about the cable shifter for sandrails? Do you have to use the clutch with that? If so, it seems kind of awkward. Could you please try to list all the different shifter configuration options that you find? To me it seems like the ideal solution would be to have it set up like a car? Is this Possible? To operate the brake and gas with your right foot like a car? Or would this not work? I have been looking for info about how VW trikes shift, but can't find anything online.

[Ogrecycle]

I didnt notice the link til after wow thats bad a... is that yours?

[Gunnar]

No,it is not mine but i have same V6 Alfa romeo engine sitting in my garage for my future Alfa Romeo Spider swap.My problem is too many projects , no time or money.
Bike belongs to Chris Barber ,a member of Alfa Romeo forum .
Here is his web site
http://home.earthlink.net/~alfabike/id2.html

[Peterskelly]

Very interesting! Waiting in anticipation for your next chapter.

[Ogrecycle]

Thanks! I know I should have done some to this this winter! for more info check out www.ogrecycle.blogspot.com and vw motorcycles on yahoo groups

[ciblek]

It's amazing idea. Fantastic motocyle!!! And I want to know how to change hand shifter to foot shifter like the others motocyle??? it is make me confuse.

[Ogrecycle]

Ciblek sorry to not reply sooner The linkage for a foot shifter is some what complex but not to difficult the forward and back motion is acomplished by pushing up and down on the foot lever the left and right motion is controled with an solenoid or linear actuator it is slightly different if you use a vw or a 914 trany check out www.ogrecycle.blogspot.com for more info JVJ

[Wounded Bear]

I couldn't find an e-mail address for you so I'm not sure this will get to you. I'm building a trike and would very much like to have a foot shifter. Way more cool than a hand shift. I know you had a plan but the last update on the blog was Aug 2007 and it wasn't a working model at that time. Any progress? I haven't found anybody that's been able to do it yet. Lot's of ideas but nobody has a working model. later al