The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Tangeras Verksted & Stoperi T900 – Custom Twin from CAD to Metal

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Tangeras Verksted & Stoperi T900
Tangeras Verksted & Stoperi T900

John Tangerås from Norway thought we might like to see a motorcycle he currently has under construction, the Tangerås Verksted & Støperi T900. The new 21st century builders, like John, start with CAD drawings, detailing all of the various components, including the engine, and when the design is to his liking the build begins.

Tangeras Verksted & Stoperi T900
Tangeras Verksted & Stoperi T900

Unlike the old school cut and weld, re-cut and re-weld builders, the 21st century process enables a designer to create everything on a computer screen, including the engine, and then, with the addition of 3D printing, create patterns for molds to cast the components. Combined with CNC machining, a builder today can create custom motorcycles he could only dream of creating in the past, unless he worked for a large manufacturer.

3D printed cylinder head parts
3D printed cylinder head parts

Here’s how John describes what he’s doing:

The engine is a 900cc vertical twin, 180 degree crank throw. Air cooled. 4 valves per cylinder and hydraulic lash adjusters under double overhead cams. The cams are driven by gearwheels. The cylinder and upper crankcase is one unit. The power is calculated to about 72 hp.

The engine is 100% production ready. Most of the steel parts for the engine are semi-finished, and molds for casting the cylinder head and crankcases will be commenced later this month. CNC programming is done for all parts and casting simulation performed for all castings.

More 3D printed parts for the T900
More 3D printed parts for the T900

The gearbox assembly has been 3D printed and cast in polyurethane for function testing. The actual steel gears will be made later this year.

The engine is a structural member of the chassis. The headstock is bolted to the cylinder head via aluminum tubing. The “boomerang” shaped aluminum subframe is a hollow part doubling as an air filter box and battery carrier. The rear frame is bolted to the subframe.

T900 crankshaft machining
T900 crankshaft machining

The single arm swingarm is aluminim and bolted to the engine cases. The wheels are both forged aluminim Marchesini’s, and the brakes are Brembo. Belt drive.

Originally, I intended to cast the subframe in magnesium, but due to time pressure, I will machine the components in aluminim and weld it. The same goes for the oil pan and camshaft cover, to be machined from billet aluminim. The lower crankcase will be cast in magnesium, though.

Trial fitting Mikuni carb to 3D printed part
Trial fitting Mikuni carb to 3D printed part

John also adds, “The rendered pics are missing a few frame components such as footrests and lights as they are yet to be modeled. I am too busy making engine parts at the moment!”

Not a problem, John, what you’ve done so far is great!

I am constantly amazed at the number of builders creating motorcycles entirely from scratch, right down to the engine. The capabilities of CAD, CNC and now 3D printing are spreading to many more shops and garages. The potential builds we’ve yet to see, like this T900, can really get a person excited.

And, John, we will be awaiting progress reports and a video of the finished T900 when it’s on the road. Nice work!

Comments

  1. Cool bike idea would love to hear that run. Now I just need to come up with the money so I can have a 3d printer.

  2. Really like it. Clean and simple. Parallel twins are great because they are so compact.

    This would look amazing with a Crampton-esque girder front suspension.

    Can’t wait to hear it.

  4. A 180 degree throw crankshaft has perfect primary balance but suffers from a torque reaction between the pistons (which move up and down alternatively rather than together) and works very well in 500cc engines with a single gear driven balancer (such as the GS500E) but at larger sizes it seems not to be at all popular even though it only needs a single balancer whereas other crank throws require two balancers. I suspect the weak point of this design will be vibration, especially as the engine is used as part of the frame although judging by the power output it will not be high revving – older 180 throw crank designs such as the sixties CB450 smoothed out at higher revs, so not sure if this is actually going to work out. Be interesting to see, though.

  5. More power to them, but I wonder how much consideration has been given to emissions and noise regulations. A big air-cooled twin with carbs would struggle to meet street bike requirements, I would think.

  6. I think this stuff is amazing, first of all. But I was thinking the other night about these projects. You get a motorcycle which is amazing, even a self-designed engine, which is something that just was so out of the realm back when I started riding. Okay, but what if it’s not right first try? Thinking about Gurney’s Alligator and how they went after that, with test mules; with that approach you get to tweak a lot more than with the “CIABI” (CAD It And Build It) approach. It costs more, certainly, but it allows you to do something different and be wrong. The CIABI approach has a lot of fantastic advantages (I’d think Gurney’s team used some of that as well, not just “hold the tube up to the other tube and see what it looks like”) but if the final product is wrong… so it seems to me you have to do something more safe, more of a copy of other designs, so you’re more likely to be right (enough) first time.

    Now I don’t mean to be a party pooper, because I do think this really is just amazing, and applaud — loudly — anyone who does it, and especially who follows through and builds the thing. I only wish it was cheaper so I could build a few of those things I used to draw on school notebooks (300cc transverse V-8, anyone?). 🙂

  7. Wow!!! I work with CAD and 3D printers and lasers and CNC equipment all day. I’ve yet to go from computer model to “production-ready” in one design cycle…and I’m working on much less fusisticated stuff. Either I suck or others are naive and unrealistically optimistic to the point of being delusional. Even if your first shot is brilliant, there’s a natural “teething” process that cannot be eliminated from any good design. Its called R and D – not “Model and Freeze for Production”.

    • Dear Paulinator,
      thanks for your comment! When writing “production ready” I meant that I had all the drawings, mould models, CNC files and casting simulations done (100% CAD & CAE ready, perhaps?), ready for me to take into my workshop and start making parts. I should have written “self fabrication ready”, but didn’t think of that. I am fully aware that there will be problems and flaws, there has been plenty already.
      This is a prototype and a “make and learn” project.

      • @ John TangerÃ¥s, I really admire the shape and aesthetic of your bike. It’s very simple, and very clean. I hope it can remain this way as wiring, lighting, etc. are added. Kudos to you for doing this. I don’t think I have the patience or willingness to free up enough time to make a project like this happen.

        @ Paulinator, I too work with CNC equipment and 3D modeling, and getting something like a fit detail prototyped for production usually takes me a minimum of 3 attempts to get two components of differing materials to the place where they have the perfect fit. I’ve written all of them down and I’ve got a library of working allowances, but anything new turns those into guesstimates and starting points.

  9. Want to feel anachronistic?

    When I joined the Navy 45 years ago I wanted to be a pattern maker.

    • Hey Greybeard, I know what you mean! Remember when you actually had to get up and turn the dial on your black and white TV to change the channel? Technology is certainly advancing rapidly. This is really a cool process that well see more of. I It’s pretty amazing. And by the way, thank you for your service in the USN. 🙂

  10. The thought that strikes me is, “Where would we be today if the great minds of John Britten and Bert Munro had had access to the CAD systems, 3D printing and CNC machines of today?”

    The mind boggles …

    • I agree,John Britten did the impossible,with not much more than a few basic hand tools, he put together a world class bike,that could run with the major motorcycle manufactures and beat them.Right now there is a few Johns,sitting in front of there computers,designing tommorrows bikes.

  11. 3D CAD is some lovely stuff. I’ve been working with it for over ten years and it has saved countless hours and iterations of prototypes. Sure, you never get to the final design in the first step but it really helps eliminate a whole bunch of unnecessary ones.

    Another great aspect of 3D is that you can send photorealistic renderings of a product to the marketing department so they can get to work drumming up sales (and investors) long before you get to spray the top coat on the real thing.

    -todd

  12. All that you say is wright it is amazing what can be done with all this tech gear and 3d.
    But it also makes what john britten did in the 90’s all the more amazing to design something so radically different then cast and build all the bike himself in a garage no less and then take it to daytona and almost win on the first attempt. He did not just build a sports bike but a racing bike that was faster then anything else. A truly amazing bloke.
    The doco they did on him is well worth watching.

  15. Regarding the rocking couple that afflicts 180 parallel twins-
    perhaps the counterbalancing method of the BMW F800 engines
    could be adapted? The F800’s have three crank throws, with the
    outer pair forming a 360-deg twin, and the center throw at 180 deg
    carrying a dummy conrod with a counterweight for balance.
    This design eliminates the need for balance shafts, balancing like
    an inline-four.

    Now, to use this approach on a 180-degree twin, put pistons on the
    center and one outside throw, and place a dummy on the other
    outside crank throw.

    Of course, recent big parallel twins like the Triumph Thunderbird
    and Yamaha Tenere have been using 270-degree cranks.
    It’s funny how, after all these years, there’s no consensus on the
    best way to make a parallel twin! 🙂

  17. Looking at the crank photo he may have diminished the problem by having the cranks closer together with a single bearing in the middle (rather than having two bearings and a cam drive in the centre)? Along with finely machined rods and pistons to reduce reciprocating mass he may get away with a single balancer on such a large displacement for 180 degree crank.

    The new Triumphs use twin balancers so it is not an efficient design, as seen in its poor economy and excessive mass.

  19. Thanks for all the comments. Regarding engine balance, I did consider some sort of balancing, but being used to large singles and old Triumphs without balanceshafts, I thought I’d give it a try without, keeping it as simple as possible to start with. To absorb some of the vibrations; I will use magnesium in the bottom crankcase and a rather large flywheel. If the vibration is too excessive, I’ll go back and make some sort of balancing (and/or change the whole 180 degress crank to 270 or 360). There are some other engine design issues I am concerned about with this design, but if I’m ever to get this done, you just got to build and test it, and then rectify the problems later or else you may wind up with a paper project.

  20. Looks great.

    I hope Yamaha are reading this! This is just what they should be doing with the TDM 900.

    The motor in the TDM is a peach. Really smooth and with it’s 270 crank makes a lovely noise with the right pipes.

    Give us a supermoto/tracker Yamaha and please call it a TDR 900 or even TDR1000!!!

    • Dawg, this used to be called a TRX850, which was competing with the Ducati 900SS back in the days. Awesome bike, though not as powerful as the following VTR1000 or TL1000 or Aprilias, not even close to the Ducatis of our days, but still an awesome bike.
      I believe the TRX850 never got imported to the US … but if there is one for sale around, please let me know, I’m buying it !

    • Streettracker in bumble bee livery please! Someone cooked up a TDM based bike when the AMA started the non-Harley friendly Supertracker class. It didn’t appear to have much success but I’ve always liked the idea.

    • Yeah, come on Yamaha, stop building overweight Tenere 1200s and give us a lightweight twin. The TDM engine is one of the most reliable motors out there and could be so versatile. You are missing a trick!!!

  22. With the flat engine side covers and very rectangular cylinder fins there seems to be a bit of the Laverda twins from the 70’s in there too.

  23. John
    Nice work indeed, what are your plans for the fuel tank etc?
    If you think about a clay model for that, I might be able to help you,
    I have the knowledge, tools and live quite near.
    brgds
    /Petter

    • Hello Petter,
      thanks for the comment. The fueltank etc will be CNC machined from plastic modelling board and then I’ll make a negative siliconemould to use as a starting point. I’ll probably go for an epoxy/glassfiber tank. Thanks for the offer, though, you are welcome to come over and have a look if you want to. My email is lostwax(a)online.no.

  24. If he hasn’t already I hope this guy either links to the sites he used or posts some kind of synopsis of the things he learned. Obviously not a full blown n00b friendly DIY guide, but something useful to those in a position to seriously attempt a project of this scale.