Web Site By Don Muddiman, St. Cloud, Florida
This is what a Pulse looks like with the body off.
Web Site By Don Muddiman, St. Cloud, Florida
This is what a Pulse looks like with the body off.
Since then I have repowered it after rebuilding the original engine. I have documented most of the overhaul with detailed pictures. Even though I have sold my Pulse #199, I hope this information will provide others with the understanding of assembly and maintenance. I hope you can benefit from the information.
Keep'em cruising !!
Don
Bob Cervero's Pulse #61......now owned by Fred Showalter
Litestar/Pulse Engine Temperature by Bob Cervero
Dave Bauer's sends some nice pics of painting his Pulse and pics of a Pulse in Newark, Ohio, The Spaghetti Warehouse Pulse and Frank Neris Pulse.
Dave Bauer's images of retro-fitting a Honda engine to his Pulse #167
February 10,2006............Jerry Callen of Kalamazoo, Michigan is now the owner of Pulse 199.
September 20, 2002...................... uploaded images of the
Kawasaki ZX7R engine install. The 327 images include
Comparing the old 400cc to the ZX7R, Engine mounts and Drawings,
Cooling System, Exhaust System, Fuel System, Ignition System, Charging
System, Hydraulic Clutch, Air Filter Box, Engine Views, Cooling Fan
Mounting, Hatch Cover Mold, Insulation of the Body, Rear Custom Sprocket
Hub, Shift Lever, Front Wheel Speedo gear and Calibration Gear Box,
Fuel Sending Unit and MORE !
I have just purchased a 1997 Kawasaki 750cc Ninja sport bike engine to install in my Pulse. I have done a lot of research on this in the past month, looking at specs and taking measurements. I have concluded the Kawasaki engine is best suited for installation in the Pulse. Yes it's true the Goldwing does have a slightly higher torque at the lower RPM.
I have found the 750cc sport bike engine develops about 75% of the torque at 3000 RPM compared to the Goldwing engine at the same RPM. The sport bike engine than surpass the Goldwing engine in torque and horsepower after it reaches about 6000 RPM. I have been riding a Yamaha FZ750 sport bike (inline 4) I repaired that my nephew gave me. I am very impressed with the torque at low RPM, even when the bike has two people on it. I was concerned at first that the sport bike engine would be turning a much higher RPM at the same road speed than that of Goldwing engine. Running my 1982 Goldwing at 70 mph the engine is turning 4100 RPMs, the sport bike engine at the same speed is turning 4600 RPMs. Only a 500 RPM difference. This sport bike engine has awesome power beginning at 3000 RPM and kicks into ABs at about 6000 RPM.
These are highly precision engines and should last a long time running in a Pulse. I thought the Goldwing engine ran smooth until I rode the FZ750cc Yamaha sport bike, man these inline 4 cylinder engines are smooth. Another plus for using a sport bike engine is there no major cutting, welding, the charging system puts out 25amps+ and much less down time for installation. The Kawasaki ZX750 (inline 4) is water and oil cooled for longer engine life and that's a plus when it comes to surviving in the Pulse. The ability to change my final gear ratio is also a plus and the engine is almost identical in size as the Yamaha 400cc. Riding the Yamaha FZ750cc I have been getting 45+ mpg even when I have been making it breathe hard.
Another plus is being able to use an automotive rear tire typically used on the Pulse . From what I have read about the guys running sidecars they recommend running a flat treaded tire which no one sells any more. One other option they talked about is to use a Volkswagen rim and tire modified to fit the Goldwing hub. A typical motorcycle tire in a LiteStar/Pulse setup will wear out in about 10,000 miles because you will be running only on the center of the tire. There is also a safety concern that the vehicle spins out easier using the cycle tire because of minimum tread area contacting the road. Another concern as Dave Bauer has found out is the rear tire skidding during hard breaking. This is happening because of using a motorcycle rear tire that has little road surface contact. The only negative part using a sport bike engine is the chain and sprocket setup. Using an o-ring chain will increase the life by about ten times over a regular chain. I have looked the Goldwing over many times and just can't justify spending a major amount of time installing it when I can use a sport bike engine. After driving both the sport bike and the Goldwing and looking at the horse power and torque curves it just is not worth it in my opinion to install the Goldwing engine.
The new sport bike engines generate lots of horsepower and torque, even at low RPM. I may be wrong but the only way to find out is to do it and then do a side by side drag race. Check the specs out on these new sport bike engines against the Honda Goldwing, I think you will be surprised as I was.
I'll be installing the Kawasaki 750cc Ninja engine in over the Christmas holidays. Any of you Honda Goldwing power LiteStar/Pulses up for a drag race? I will soon have the Yamaha DOHC 400cc engine out including the oil cooling system, plus lots of spare parts. Any one interested in it? To date I have put over 8000 miles on my Pulse since I received in December of last year.
Dave Bauer sends images of his Reverse Gear Unit
Bob Cervero has completed adding the oil cooling system> to his Pulse #61.
His results of the oil cooler are the same as stated below the Cooling Box and Engine Cooling Fan Mounting images were removed. This was not a solution for cooling an air-cooled engine in the Pulse. The oil cooling system (liquid cooling) has proven its self over and over again after running many hours in the Florida heat.
With temperatures reaching in the high 90's I have discovered there is no real need to run the radiator cooling fan in traffic. This is such an easy fix to eliminate all you over-heating problems. This can be used on any motorcycle engine installed in the Pulse with no major body cutting. The added air-scoop in the underside of the nose and a filter opening in the aft bottom is the only cutting that is required. This installation provides no major cosmetic changes to the body of the Pulse. Even the water cooled motorcycle engines could apply the same radiator installation for the water cooled radiator. This is less time consuming, cheaper and cosmetically looks better than having a radiator cooling box hanging on the side of your Pulse.
The other benefits include no more high current air cooling fans drawing your charging system down. (As some of you have found) The alternator is not working to its maximum capacity thus eliminating the added engine heating and wear on your alternator. Increased oil capacity helps for longer engine life and better cooling. A remote mounted automotive oil filter makes for easier and less costly oil and filter change.
The radiator is mounted in the front and not adding more heat to the engine compartment. Defroster and cockpit heat can be easily tapped from the forward mounted radiator. Eliminate the added clear scoops over the NACA ducts. The cost is about $250 or less depending on the machining cost of the oil cooling adapter. Its the best money investment you can spend on eliminating the over heating problems on your Pulse.