Dutch Zeus Trike

This machine made its first appearance at the 2004 Rally. Its Dutch, formerly had a petrol (ugh) engine in it but was converted to Diesel so I'm told. More when I get it.

Petter Holte's Moto Guzzi Diesel Motorcycle.

This is my project for the winter of 2009. The bike is a Moto Guzzi California 2 1985 and the engine is a Yanmar from 1986 taken from a termoking ageregat.

Petter's Winter project, this fabulous California Diesel motorcycle.

Sam's Turbo Diesel Motorcycle

Checkout Sam's turbo Yanmar powered Dieselbike. Its a 3cyl, 958cc. Engine has been totaly rebuilt with preformance in mind. Turbocharged, injection pump modifications, pump timing advanced, all parts to spec. Turns at 4000rpm, lots of fuel, boosts 8psi under moderate load. Cool!

One of the youtube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5sd6Pv_xMk

Partial build thread here http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=852603

Brett's 1984 Kawasaki Conversion.

I'm grateful to Brett for forwarding on details of another creation (he has also built the orange lombardini dnepr further up the page before this). Originally it was a 1984 kawasaki 454 ltd frame. It now has a Winsun 22 hp 812cc diesel engine with “automatic” (CVT) style transmission. Twin tank biodiesel/ svo system including pump, inline veg heater and switching valves.

The gearing as she was set up for the client in Utah: Top speed- 72 mph, 138 mpg consistently.

There are frame modifications, dual batteries, custom paint, "Harley" style dash which hides the fuel pump and inline heater, also keeps the veg temp gauge and switch, changed from a belted final to chain for ease and range of gear changes.

Brett builds custom bikes and is based in Portland. You can contact him via the forum. His Nick is 'Roverthetop'.

2002 KLR Diesel 418cc - $4000 (seen on craigslist in Aug 09)

I have no way of knowing if this bike sold. But, with its good looks it is proving to be something of an inspiration to other builders namely located on our forum.

This is a home built diesel KLR. I'm using a Yanmar clone 418cc diesel engine, with a Comet 40 series convert/drive. It's both electric and pull start. At this moment, it only has 375 miles on it and still in the break in period. The top speed is about 65MPH with an average of 130MPG. I've run it on bio diesel and regular diesel. Both seem to suit it just fine. This is an experimental bike and sold as such.

Yanmar MZ

This machine came to the 2005 Hamm Rally. It appears to be a Chinese Yanmar engine inside an MZ Frame.

Brian Rutherford's MZ Yanmar Diesel Motorcycle

I live just outside Edinburgh in Scotland and have just finished my diesel MZ (they are never truly finished are they ?). It started life as a 1972 MZ 250 ES TROPHY that a friend gave to me a long time ago (5 years plus) . Then one night at my local rally bike club ( SPECIAL K ) I was discussing what to do with the TROPHY and how it was so ugly it was good. Another friend said that he had two Yanmars living under his bench at work and that they were going to be scrapped, so that was how the project began.

So one sorry looking MZ, two Yanmar LA 100 engines (one for spares), a box of comet cvt parts bought from e-Bay and the project was on. It was always going to be a long project because of other commitments: wife, children, friends, work, my other bikes and rallies. I have made as many parts as I could myself and what I could not do, my friends helped or the internet has proved me with. My friend Davey at spectrum bike paints (07788904946) did the subtle paint for me.

Your site has proved to be a very good source of ideas and information on what can be done.

Here is a list of parts I have made.

Main engine cradle
Battery box
Primary cover
Front brake anchor
Back brake arm
Front sprocket cover
Number plate

There are parts that have been modified originals or from other bikes but the list is quite long. I also wired it myself so I am not so sure about how long before the lights stop working.

Brian Rutherford's MZ based Diesel Motorcycle.

Dean's Bio-diesel Honda

In the Summer of 2006, Dean bought this 1985 Honda Rebel and converted it to a 10 Horsepower Single Cylinder Yamar Diesel powered motorcycle. He also put an automatic belt driven transmission on it. He gets 140+ MPG and uses Bio Desiel.

Visit Dean's business here: http://www.specmotors.com/dean.html

Dean's bio-diesel powered Honda.

Kawasaki Diesel Bike using Yanmar Clone 406cc engine.

The following text was used to describe this bike when it went up for sale on eBay. The bike was originally located in North Garden, VA, United States.

"This is a diesel conversion motorcycle built from the frame up using a 1982 Kawasaki 550 LTD. It is titled as a Kawasaki 550 LTD. The original frame was modified to accept a DEK 10 HP air cooled diesel (Yanmar clone) and a Comet 500 CV belt drive transmission-jackshaft assembly. This involved removing the forward half of the engine cradle on the stock frame and building a larger cradle to accept the new components. A professional welding shop made all welds. The completed frame was primed and painted using a high-heat ceramic-epoxy spray paint. The front forks were rebuilt using new seals with the addition of fork boots to keep out road dust. The steering stem bearings were removed, cleaned, and repacked; the swing arm received similar treatment. Brakes are original, with the front master cylinder and caliper being rebuilt prior to reinstallation. The wiring harness was custom built (one circuit at a time) and mapped-out for future reference. All lights except the headlight are LED (brake/tail) or LED-ready (turn). The seat pan was custom-cut from the original pan and professionally upholstered. The gas tank (purchased from Coyote-Gear) is mounted rear of the seat; it is a spun aluminum DOT-approved 3-gallon tank with a bottom main outlet and a separate return. There is a fuel filter and an associated cut-off valve rear of the engine’s injector intake pipe. The engine can be turned-off via this valve or by completely rolling off the throttle (which shuts off the fuel injector pump). The exhaust system features a custom-made header and flange (again professionally welded) and a chrome megaphone muffler. The bike has a manual (rope) start and an electric starter (supplied as stock on engine, I have not wired this in). Engine has a compression release for easy starts. The charging system is rated at 150 Watts. This bike is fully functional. Purchaser might choose to make further refinements, for example: selecting a larger rear sprocket, connecting the electric starter, etc. This is a good bike for a person who likes to tinker. Similar designs have attained 140 mpg and 55-60 mph; I have tested this bike on my driveway but have no high speed data or miles per gallon data. Included with this bike is a copy of my journal documenting all aspects of the project (e.g. costs, material sources, schematics), a CD containing photographs taken over the course of the project, and a second (commercially purchased) CD with extensive information on diesel bike design, making bio-diesel fuel, etc. This bike represents the culmination of 2 years of design and research and several hundred hours of build-time; it could well serve as your entry to the world of diesel motorcycling and design. I built it purely for the challenge of creating a diesel bike and never intended to keep it once finished." Bikes VIN is: jkakzfc11cb505599.

Mike Sieberts Yanmar (clone) Scooter

Mike ( a confirmed scooterist) built this scooter with the smallest size Yanmar Clone he could find. He says it looks like an old mini-bike frame but it is new and larger - and it's street legal!

See a You-Tube link of it when Mike took it for it`s first ride. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAy8DrojAuQ

Ben's 1980 Honda CB750C Yanmar Diesel Motorcycle.

Ben's 'John Deere' styled Honda Diesel Motorcycle.

Ben built this over the winter. It started out as a 1980 Honda CB750C but now has a Chinese Yanmar engine along with a Comet
clutch system to jackshaft and chain final drive. It's been tested to 95 kph.

Honda XL Diesel Conversion by Ed Bush

Here's the lowdown on the project. The chassis was an '86 Honda XL600 that I had available and titled. Engine is a 406cc Chinese Yanmar Clone, nominally 10hp. Transmission is a Comet 40 Series CVT to a jackshaft, then roller chain to the wheel.
Frame conversion consisted of welding in a new subframe to carry the engine and transmission jackshaft, and flipping the rear wheel around to take the drive on the right side. Everything else was pretty much eyeball engineered.
The bike has been retired and cannibalized pending construction of the Mark II. The big drawback to the machine was the belt drive. While it worked fine when the weather was nice, any rain would totally immobilize the thing. Enclosing the belt helped, but the clutches seemed to run too hot and belt life suffered.
The Mk.II will be built on a hard-tail converted CB360 frame with a Burman CP gearbox from an Ariel motorcycle (possibly the only such transmission in Wisconsin.) Progress has been slow, but it should be on the road by June.

Ed Brush
Madison, WI .

I spotted a video of this bike on YouTube recently. The bike does 55mph max and has mpg figures of between 100 and 120 (US) gallons I presume. The bikes runs on regular diesel, bio-diesel of veg oil cut back with a little parrafin so that it will flow through the fuel filter easier.

N01200 (forum name) yanmar bike.

Here we see No1200's bike partly in bits although he has ridden it ok down in Australia.

Unknown MZ Yanmar bike

Not sure of the details about this bike.

Diesel Guzzi

Not got any details on this bike. I'm not certain what the engine is even. See more of this great bike in action on YouTube: Video's.

Unknown Military Looking Diesel Motorcycle

This bike was spotted by one of our forum members. We have very little knowledge about it which is why it is towards the bottom of this list. As you can see it was originally posted to - 21ponies.com.

Unknown Honda CB Diesel

Again, this was found by one of our forum members but we have no details of the build. Looks kinda good though eh?

Rick's Bike

I've not got much details on this one.

The FrankenDiesel Motorcycle

I've not much info on this build.

Jerry's Diesel Motorcycle

I've no info on this bike at present apart from it being made by Jerry.

Unknown Engine or Frame

This bike recently appeared in a 'For Sale' column in Germany. If you bought it please let me know what the spec is.

This bike has 1 cylinder and a capacity of 660cc.