Well, it is now time to make the bends in the pipe that will connect the combustor to the turbine section of the turbo. I set the chop saw to an 11.5 degree angle and started cutting pipe wedges to join together with the welder. This should allow me to get a nice smooth bend in the pipes that will hopefully not reduce the flow of the hot gasses rushing through them.

The pipe work will have to travel through the part of the lower frame section where the foot pegs bolt on. This section is 7.5 inches wide, and since the engine will be centered in the frame, it means that I have only 3.75 inches from center for the pipe clearance. Once again, probably not the most optimal way to route the gasses, but the only way I can do it. I am sure that I will hear from somebody about this, and am awaiting the obligatory cries of "That won't work!". All I can say is that we'll see about that.

The pipe sections tack welded in to position

Here you can see the pipe work as it was tack welded while attached to the turbo. The brown discoloration is from the spatter of the flux cored wire that I am using to weld the unit together. Flux core is not as neat as gas welding, but is so much easier than dealing with bottles at times. Yes, my welder is a full mig with gas regulator, and I do weld aluminum with it too. The flux core was a gift from a friend, so it's use was perfect.

Another view of the tack welded sections. The spatter is not as
bad as it looks in the photos

Here is another view of the convoluted pipe work. The flux will be brushed off with a stainless steel brush before final welding, but will inadvertently build up again. By looking at the shoes and the piece of paper on the ground you can judge the size of the combustor. It is compact for sure.

Final welding the sections together

Here are a few pictures of me welding the difficult joints around all of the pipe sections

Welding in the inner radius of the pipe

Still welding!

Making the weld from the pipe to the combustor

Still going!

Finishing up the welds

And finally finishing up about an hour and a half after starting. It was sure a lot of welding around pipe, and at very difficult angles to boot. The end result was well worth it as you will see though.

The combustor mounted to the turbo

Here is the combustor mounted to the turbo in the test stand. The flux was brushed off as best I could given the difficult to get to areas. It will be media blasted later, and a new coating is going to be tried to keep heat away from critical components of the bike.

Spiral pipe bend coming out of the combustor

You can clearly make out the complex bend angle here as the pipe comes out of the combustor. It is almost a spiral bend if you look closely.

Smooth bends in the pipe to make the hot gasses flow easier

Here you can make out that the bends are smooth and transitioned well. This will be very important in keeping the hot gasses flowing properly to the turbine.

The delicate bends that let the air flow freely

This is another great view of the almost spiral bend. Keep in mind that each piece had to be hand fitted into position and tacked before the next piece could be added. This was time consuming and took about an hour just to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

The pipe bolted to the turbine flange

Here is the pipe as it enters the turbine. The bolts holding the turbine to the flange are 3/8 grade 8 bolts with split locking washers and nuts.

The spiral bend coming out of the combustor

A view from beneath gives another great show of that spiral bend. I couldn't have made that with the pipe bender. Keep in mind that this is 1/8 inch wall pipe too.

The bend will sit right in front of the rear tire

No the duct tape is not holding anything together. It was used to help hold the pieces together for fitting before the initial tacks were made. Thinking about the location of this now makes me want to fabricate a plate of 1/8 steel to go right behind it in the bike. You see, the tire will be right behind it, and if for some reason any weld should fail...... You get the idea. Hot exhaust gasses and rubber tires don't mix well, especially at high speed.

The end cap of the combustor with ignitor (spark plug)
and temporary fuel line

Here you can see the end cap of the combustor where the spark plug and fuel injector are located. The unit was fired for a brief moment at this point to test for leaks. There were a few places where overlapping welds had a small hole, but they were quickly patched with the welder once spotted. The fuel use to fire it up was fed in through the small plastic tube. Yeah, I know, dangerous. The tube stayed nice and cool though and was only run for a few seconds.

The fuel used was once again a can of butane used to refill lighters. The can was turned upside down and liquid butane was fed into the combustor. The ignition worked flawlessly, and the combustor fired up while spinning the turbo with our makeshift starter. Note here, I do not recommend this to anyone as it can be very dangerous! With that said, the turbo would normally spin down rather quickly after turning it with the starter, and although it did not sustain speed while using the butane, it did take much longer to spool down. There were no visible flames exiting the turbines, and none would be seen from any angle when looking at the turbine blades. As I said before, it was mainly a test to look for leaks in the plumbing.

Lloyd

Here is "The Lloyd". I appreciate his enthusiasm and tireless efforts in helping with the project.

My wife and business partner, Jordan

Here is my lovely wife Jordan. What can I say? This woman puts up with me and lets me build crazy projects like this one. She also gets the greatest presents for me for Xmas, birthday, anniversary, whatever! She also loves me madly. I am the luckiest man in the world! Thanks honey for all of your support! I have promised her that I will build her a junior dragster with a jet engine on it when I am done with this project. I'll probably put a free turbine on it coupled to a jackshaft for really quick takeoffs! She'll love it!

Lloyd and Russ, the Bad Brothers Build Team

Here is the Bad Brothers build team again. Is it just me or are these guys insane for doing all of this stuff?

Russ and wife Jordan

One final picture of me and my beautiful wife. Yes, she is actually that short, which is why she wanted the first YSR for herself. She needs a small bike so she can ride with me. It also explains the junior dragster. Don't let her size fool you though, this woman's heart is bigger than the whole state of Texas!

Well, that's it for this week. I have to acquire a fuel pump and an oil pump, so on to Ebay I go. There is still a lot to be done though, so be sure to check in and look for updates. As always, I will try to keep them coming as often as I can.

The Bad Bros. Jet Bike is looking for sponsors, so if you deal in YSR parts, jet engine stuff, are interested in a promotional vehicle for your company (silver bullet anyone?), or just want to throw some money our way to help with the project, then contact us. Any donations are appreciated.

Until next time, thanks for reading this far.

Russ W. Moore
Owner Bad Brothers Racing

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