The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Ecoforce engine

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We've covered quite a few different engines here at The Kneeslider, shops all over the world seem to keep coming up with variations to the basic internal combustion engine. Their efforts produce some innovative designs, they build prototypes and proceed to market or begin looking for funding and we don't seem to hear much more. I came across the Ecoforce engine a little … [Read more...]

STi ATV update

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Remember this? Well, builder Ken Brough has been hard at work and has more pictures up at his new website, sti.co.nz. Lots more info about where he got the idea for building it. Seems he saw a TV show covering the hillclimb, Race To The Sky and thought a real super quad would be just the ticket. His aim was to build it road legal but the New Zealand authorities are a bit … [Read more...]

Motorcycle fab labs

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Mentioned fab labs a while back and I noticed in the last few days there's been a lot of buzz due to the release of a new book, Fab, by Neil Gershenfeld of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. He teaches, "How to make (almost) anything," which is exactly the kind of course I would have enjoyed when I was in school, of course, back then, our tools were, ah ..., a bit more … [Read more...]

Biodiesel motorcycles

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When I first started writing about diesel motorcycles it struck me as a bit unusual, I really wasn't aware of some of the latest advances in adapting diesel engines to a motorcycle frame but of course, the Thunder Star 1200 got me thinking about the possibilities. That bike gets 150mpg and looks like it should get pretty impressive performance to boot. Now there's biodiesel to … [Read more...]

Machining model engines

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Some hobbies or skills are so utterly amazing and turn out such fine work as their end product, it almost takes your breath away. It's no secret The Kneeslider is biased toward the technical side of things and I personally find mechanical components that work together totally fascinating. The other day I posted about metal casting and today, in a related area, I want to touch … [Read more...]

R1ot, Yamaha R1 powered car

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This sort of thing is starting to pop up in more places, I just wish more of them were popping up where I live. The R1ot, is a purpose built track day car powered by a 150hp Yamaha R1 engine. And if you're wondering about performance, the total package weighs 410 kilograms, that's 903 pounds! I'll bet some Harley dressers get close to that weight. Built by Sylva Autokits, a … [Read more...]