tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88416322728709931662024-02-09T01:09:56.104+05:30The monster dog bullet to Bonneville project.Building a Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Land speed Racer.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-40767398553288402292010-10-08T19:31:00.004+05:302010-10-08T19:38:25.980+05:30The dream is not dead...just Hibernating.The year 2010 is almost over,sadly this year has been hectic to really do much with the dog,In between regular work,My workshop upgradation,the Alfa Kilo Challenge(an off road event for 4x4 vehicles we organised in memory of a dear friend)and travelling to cambodia and singapore.<br /><br />But the year is not over! <br /><br />Who Knows....kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-17311879629257698902009-12-31T16:50:00.002+05:302009-12-31T17:04:53.579+05:302010 monster dog's fastest year yet?2009 the year that taught me a lot! Not necessarily about motorcycles , but life in general.<br /><br />I haven't posted anything for sometime,but far from being at a stand still the "monster Dog Project" as it has been christened by the autocar India "Car and bike show" has been slowly but steadily progressing.<br /><br />I know there might be some among you, who will say.. OK mate! but where is the supercharger and how fast does it go?All in good time guy's!<br /><br /><br /><br />So will 2010 be Monster dog's fastest year yet? only time will tell...kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-11496773347180520572009-07-08T07:57:00.003+05:302009-07-08T08:25:10.718+05:30Death of the cast iron engine!Well not really,but off late this does seem to divide most bikers in the Indian Royal enfield community and get them all riled up!<br /><br />I have just replaced my Cast iron block with a aluminium one.<br /><br />There are a couple of reasons for doing this.<br /><br />First of all it happens to be much lighter than the stock block ,about 3.5 kg lighter in fact!<br /><br />Since the supercharger weighs in at 7.7kg it will negate some of the weight added to the bike. <br /><br />Secondly the heat dissipation will be better than stock.<br />This is beneficial especially when supercharging, as for every Psi of boost used there is a increase in heat generated within the engine proportional to the efficiency of the supercharging system.<br /><br />So in my case I haven't killed the old CI block, I have merely retired it for a bit.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-81817689826334317112009-06-21T19:52:00.001+05:302009-06-26T21:18:59.726+05:30Nothing Beats Getting Blown!Before you guy's start getting any idea's....<br /><br />Remember in my earlier post's I said I would use every trick in the book to make this bike really bite!<br /><br />Enter the supercharger!!!<br /><br />I have just procured a supercharger or "blower" with the generous help of a English gentleman.<br /><br />Now starts the tedious and maybe hazardous process of incorporating it on a outdated British single.<br /><br />No believe me...supercharging a single cylinder bike is technically quite difficult.<br /><br />Even if it is successfully incorporated, whether it will actually boost power or be more of a parasitic load is any one's guess.<br /><br />I will post some pictures as soon as i start work on mating the superchcrger to the engine and chassis.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-82567346372502835502009-06-21T19:30:00.002+05:302009-06-21T19:39:07.782+05:30Holiday over back to the grind!Just got back from the Ladakh ride...awesome yet again!The glorious monsoon rains have started in Poona.<br /><br />I have a lot of pending business at the shop but I will start work on monster dog soon.<br /><br />New plans for the dog, have it salivating at the mouth!kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-68174156110127567912009-04-01T09:09:00.005+05:302009-04-01T09:34:08.622+05:30motorcycle ride around and over the greatest mountain range on earth.Juleh!! <br />Work on monster dog is suspended for the next few months, too many work commitments.<br /><br />Plus we are in the process of preparing for our annual motorcycle ride to Ladakh the roof of India.<br /><br />Four friends Two royal enfield 535cc motorcycles and one army spec mahindra 550, leave behind our routine life for our annual "get out onto the road" trip for 20 days from the 30th of may 2009.<br /><br />Ride start :<br /><br />30th of may delhi.<br />31st chandigarh to manali<br />1st of june manali<br />2nd manali to malana and hopefully kheerganga.<br />3rd manali<br />the main ride starts now( manali to leh)<br />4th manali to jispa<br />5th jispa to pang<br />6th pang to tso mori lake<br />7th tso mori<br />8th tso mori to leh via mahe bridge and chumthang<br />9th leh<br />10th<br />11th<br />12th<br />13th<br />14th<br />15th<br />16th<br />17th<br />18th<br />19th leave leh via air<br /><br />1oth to the 18th are open for discussion in leh but khardungla , marsimek la, nubra valley and the various monasteries around leh are on the cards.<br /><br />Juleh!!kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-68284340034139663842009-02-28T13:51:00.004+05:302009-02-28T20:14:00.797+05:30speed run 2009Things have been a little busy, so I have not had any time for my project.I hear the 2009 speed run is scheduled for the 20th of march...but i will definately not be partcipating this year.<br /><br />when the bendpipe decides to fly off on a run,I think it's time to rebuild!<br /><br />I will be redoing the electricals and Crankshaft and will also do the final finisihing touches, no rat bike from now on! <br /><br />The fuel tank with a capacity of 3 litres will be shifted behind the seat.the electricals will be where the tank once was in a sleek housing.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-85336305930701671972009-01-28T08:07:00.003+05:302009-01-28T09:29:53.845+05:30The Veypor Debate.Recently a friend of mine told me that there was some debate on how accurate the veypor really is and if it was incorrectly calibrated, could give incorrect velocity readings.<br /><br />The fact is, if configured incorrectly, it could give you lower velocity readings,or higher depending on the wheel circumference fed into the veypor.<br /><br />The veypor is very accurate, the actual tolerences or error factor can be checked online,this is not debatable.<br /><br />Wwhat is debatable, is human error, either deliberate or by mistake.<br /><br />I have never really bothered with what people think of me, those who know me know what I stand for, so in my case the former is out of the question.I am not building this bike as poser value, to boast or impress anybody.<br /><br />The latter- human error is also not possible when you consider the method used to measure the circumference of the tyre, a stout wire inner cable wrapped around the centre of the front tyre and measured in mm to give the correct circumference.(this was rechecked several times to be sure).<br /><br />I initially had the stock speedo mounted with the veypor to see the error factor on a brand new(just done 3000km)Tbird speedo.At 50kmh on the veypor the stock speedo registered around 60kmh, so with the correct ca liberation the veypor actually registered a slower velocity than the stock speedo.<br /><br />"<strong>In the end the race is only with yourself</strong>"kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-1452740256309659552009-01-25T19:41:00.003+05:302009-01-25T20:26:35.252+05:30TheBeach Recce.January the 24th 2009<br /><br />I decided to check out a beach we had visited a year ago, to see how suitable it would be to run the bike,so me, my wife and a friend rode down to the Konkan on our motorcycles. <br /><br />The beach was good:Flat,long and realtively hard , allthough our bikes did tend to weave a little on the sand.<br /><br />The local village poppulation might be another story,for some reason they did not seem too happy to hear or see us.<br /><br />Anyway the hunt for a suitable place to test continues.<br /><br />If anybody knows a suitable road around Pune in a 50km radius, I would be grateful for any information.Just remember it has to be a straight, fairly long (1km or >) ,flat road with a good surface and no people, dogs,buildings or traffic.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-4185838013433517532009-01-22T08:40:00.003+05:302009-01-22T08:51:24.923+05:302009 ooty rider mania!No i will not be going for Rm but it sure has kept me busy these last few days tending customers bikes and last minute repairs.<br /><br />In affect i was not even able to look at monster dog, let alone get some work done or ride.I was finally able to get the correct cable to download from my veypor, so i will now concentrate on gathering as much data form each run and using that information to better tune the bike.<br /><br />The next thing is to look for a suitable place to test.The roads around here are too dangerous.the closest place to test is talegaon , but that was last year who knows what that road will be like now!<br /><br />we are now thinking of testing on the beaches of the konkan, this would mean looking for a suitable hard packed,long,deserted beach.<br /><br />Lets hope for the best.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-18852338480504959142009-01-15T08:27:00.002+05:302009-01-15T08:55:35.067+05:30100mph!It's official! At 12 noon on the 14th of Jan 2009 on a test run to see how the Veypor functioned we clocked a 100mph or 161.8kmph on the veypor motorcycle computer.<br /><br />The run started off slowly, i was'nt planning to open the throttle.I still had the stock speedo bolted on to see how inaccurate it is.I revved monster dog up past 3000rpm and suddenly decided to push the bike a little.The acceleration was instantanious and fast, before i knew it was blasting down the road. So used to the older albion 4 speed gearbox,i changed into 5th only after i began to slow down.<br /><br />The run was fast but for the short distance and slow start i was not expecting the bike to hit a 100mph so easily.<br /><br />I Dont have the correct cable to attach the veypor to my laptop and download the data as yet, so i have taken a picture of the screen. <br /><br />The future looks bright for Monster Dog.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-75576260420748936942009-01-06T18:56:00.006+05:302009-01-06T20:56:03.544+05:30The Veypor vr2Since I am dedicating a lot of time and effort into this project, the next logical step was to have a some sort of accurate data logging device to see how the motorcycle is running in real time.<br /><br />The OE speedos are notoriously inaccurate and really tuning monster dog without any data would pose a problem in the long run.<br /><br />The veypor VR2 is very ideal for someone like me, who has no access to a dyno and had to earlier rely on feel.This way any change made to the setup whether it is jetting, fuels,timing,gearing,tyres,riding posture etc would show up immediately on the veypor.<br /><br /><br />The veypor VR2 Features are: <br /><br />Full Instrumentation <br />Portable Dynamometer with plots <br />Full and Pro Tree 1/4 Mile Runs <br />0-60Mph and Braking Test Timing <br />Roll-on timing for any speeds <br />Graph results for all Runs <br />Save up to 8 runs <br />Calculate Fuel Mileage and fuel level <br />Separate Fuel Odometer <br />Odometer and Resettable Tripmeter <br />Metric or Imperial units <br />Two maintenance hour meters <br />Gear Indicator <br />Lap Timer and Course Analyzer <br />Full featured Rally Computer <br />Store 4 separate vehicle setups <br />Super bright dual-level shiftlight <br />Programmable speed light <br />Download all Run data to a PC <br />Drag Coefficient Calculation <br />Rolling Resistance Calculation <br />Full-time datalogging for up to 24h <br />Programmable sampling rate <br />View all logging sessions on a PC <br />Time and Date with battery backupkunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-62993308730519134152008-12-28T13:20:00.003+05:302008-12-28T13:29:18.086+05:30Test run no 2I promised pictures so i will let them do the talking this time!<br /><br />The bike performed well, apart from a severely flat battery towards the end of the run, which forced us to limp home with the bike miss firing.<br /><br />The other rider in the black grey jacket and silver helmet is my ace rider Rahul, blessed with a professional riders build and years of riding experience he gets monster dog to perform(even in the break in period) like nobody else.<br /><br />The short guy Ram, a nepali is my most trusted mechanic and very resourceful in a tight spot.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-5107122504155634952008-12-25T10:33:00.002+05:302008-12-25T10:48:44.294+05:30Christmas day test run!The workshop is closed for christmas,so what do you do first thing christmas morning?Test your Drag bike ofcourse!!<br /><br />we left the house at eight in the morning.i started of running monster easily,kept the bike under 90kmh.<br /><br />This is the engine break in stage right now so it didn't push the bike too much.the bike revved quite well and i rode the bike to 125kmh in third gear for a short time.<br /><br />The braking and gear shifts were very comfortable.the engine was running very cool thanks to the mixture set a tad on the rich side.<br /><br />It was fun blasting past a few vehicles on the highway in the knee slider position.Sadly i dont have any pictures of the bike in motion,as the battery of my nikon died after the first few shots...silly me.<br /><br />I am expecting a photographer friend of mine to pay me a visit so i should have some fresh pictures and hopefully a video to upload.<br /><br />Overall a good test run with no hickupskunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-61855788235267212912008-12-20T19:44:00.004+05:302008-12-21T09:12:09.136+05:30road worthy!Well, Almost roadworthy! I don't have any pictures as yet, but we took monster dog on the first test run today.<br /><br />The bike is running well,I haven't opened up as yet but the bike seems to be pulling well and acceleration is very crisp.I really couldn't get past second gear (I was doing a slow 80kmh) as traffic around my workshop is quite heavy.<br /><br /><br />The bike is very stable and the riding position is quite comfortable.The only problem is the rear sets,the mounting clamp tends to flex a bit so I will be redesigning them in the coming week.<br /><br /> I will post some fresh pictures and try to upload a video as well.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-83395801234416874472008-12-14T10:37:00.005+05:302008-12-14T11:05:36.446+05:30What is monster dog? why royal enfield?This post is a tad late, but i realised some of you might be wondering what this blog is really about!<br /><br />This post is not for the vintage and classic motorcycle enthusiasts, the guys who understand what it's all about.<br /><br />I have always loved old motorcycles.The vibration , noise, simplicity of design.The romance of that era....The machine!<br /><br />Everybody loves a challenge, some people climb mountains.Mine is to build a knee slider drag bike based on a slow Royal Enfield 500cc motorcycle to go like a rocket in a straight line...and a rocket it will be!It should be another year at least before monster will be really complete!<br /><br />I won't jump the gun here, but i will use every trick in the book to make this bike really bite! <br /><br />My inspiration comes from the "gods of speed" and like Burt Munro said"Anybody can buy a fast bike these days, building a slow one to go fast is something else"kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-76741872757886273252008-12-14T10:03:00.002+05:302008-12-14T10:25:01.924+05:30I have just completed gas flowing the head and rebored the cylinder.<br /><br />I Had to travel all the way to Bombay to get the job done properly. I have replaced the valve guides with phospher bronze guides, the new inlet valve has a larger head than the stock and the valves are nitriled.<br /><br />We have also cut the seat to unshroud the valve(three angle valve job). <br /><br />Monster Dog should should be ready to fire up by the end of this week!kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-34361685666844657432008-12-06T11:38:00.002+05:302008-12-06T11:49:21.998+05:30progress!!Wow!Progress is good.The dummy engine and gearbox in the frame have been replaced with the 5 speed gear box and rebuilt crankcase.The rear sets and gear shift have been fabricated and i must say the gearshift is silky smooth.<br /><br />I am still working on the upper end of the engine,that should be complete in a week or two.<br /><br />I will start working on fabricating the fuel tank soon.<br /><br />Ol'Murphy has'nt paid us a visit as yet...?kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-82038155452459355562008-12-03T08:07:00.002+05:302008-12-03T08:10:11.084+05:305 speed right shiftFinally!!I just picked up the gearbox and proceded to modify the gear shift to the correct right side!It took a couple of hours of welding and machining ,but it's finished now.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-52894700480556838012008-12-01T08:09:00.003+05:302008-12-01T08:18:49.666+05:30The chassisWell i still havent got the gearbox! so in the mean time i worked on the all important frame.I have changed the rake angle on the front end.I have also stretched the bike by nine inches and lowered the groung clearence to 3.5 inches.<br /><br />The idea on a drag bike is to increase the wheel base for better straight line stability.The fork rake angle is greater now , so high speed wobbles should be a thing of the past.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-91961875412278294572008-11-09T21:46:00.005+05:302008-11-09T22:14:54.073+05:305 speed.I am waiting for my 5 speed gear box.The last three years we used the orignal 4 speed albion gearbox that came with the bike.I should get it in a day or two.The first thing to do is change the shifter from left to right which in my opinion is the correct side!<br /><br />Then starts the process of fabricating the rear sets and gear shift for the new box.<br />The advantage of using the 5 speed over the 4 speed even though the final ratio on both boxes are 1:1 1st through 4th is closer and slightly lower than the 4 speed.<br />the difference in gear ratios between the two boxes are as follows:<br />the 4 speed ratios: 1st = 2.78:1, 2nd = 1.84:1, 3rd = 1.36:1, 4th = 1:1.<br />5 Speed ratios: 1st = 3.06:1, 2nd = 2.01:1, 3rd = 1.52:1, 4th = 1.21:1, 5th = 1:1.<br />this coupled with the fact that the 5speed is more positive and sure while shifting should improve launch times and dreaded! missed shifts should be a thing of the past.<br /><br />I will post pictures once we start the fabrication.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8841632272870993166.post-33369342896383022432008-10-31T07:10:00.003+05:302008-10-31T07:21:56.948+05:30As it standsThe bike as it stands, well almost.After the speed run 2008 i decided to rebuild the bike ground up correcting all the flaws of the previous three years.this will be a time consuming and expensive affair.i have decided to totally rebuild the engine clutch and gearbox.I will also extend the frame by roughly 6 inches thus increasing the wheel base adding to the high speed straight line stability and also modify the front forks and rear sub frame to reduce ground clearence.kunal bhaskaranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00883516285585860488noreply@blogger.com