Bravo engine in G1 clutch question

CharlieN

I just bought a Bravo engine to swap into My G1.
With the engine on a bench I figured I would start with the simple part of the swap, get the original clutch mounted on the crankshaft.
I was expecting the G1 oil pump drive gear to interfere but what I found really surprised me.
The clutch bottoms out on the crankshaft before the taper seats.
Essentially the clutch taper is to large to seat on the Bravo crankshaft.
First thought is to bore into the clutch. I mounted the clutch on a lathe and bored in about .080" and the taper is getting close but I need to pay attention to how much material needs to be removed which is thinning a critical area.

My goal is to keep the original sheave for the starter generator.

My question is how have other Bravo conversion dealt with mounting the G1 clutch.
Do I have an oddity that is not common?

BGW

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CharlieN

Never mind, I bored another 0.050 into the sheave and the taper seats well now. I am surprised I did not find any other mention of this issue in my searches.
On with the swap.

smallblock450sl

Great info Are going to modify the block starter housing to get more forward clerance? Saw one post were the builder used a 90 degree pvc pipe for an air filter, looked like the perfect fit. Good luck on your build. Post some pictures when you can, we all love pictures

tony-g1

I just put a bravo in my G1, I have comet clutch on mine, that came off the G1 motor, Maybe I mist something. But mine just bolted right on. I haven't ran it much but, The clutch seems to be on the taper. Hope I got it right.

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CharlieN

SB,
It will be awhile before my first trial fitting to determine what clearance issues are and how I will go about them. If I can move the engine back a bit I will consider that but I have allot to learn first.

Tony,
Mine has the original Yamaha 4 finger clutch. I sure did not expect it to bottom on the shaft. The Comet clutch clearly was bored deeper that this Yammie one.
The chamber looks nice on your conversion.

I will be starting a thread on my build. The Bravo should be a nice engine but I am already wanting to swap in a 340 twin. I think I know how to approach the ignition to make it reversible.

sho305

Lol, yes the 340s were sweet little motors and sound really nice. Had I the time I would put one in a play cart.

slonomo

You could do the twin 340, but you'll have trouble lining up the clutches since it's wider. You can move the engine toward the pass side but loose clearance there. Also the clutches for the 340 and 440 will contact the frame if lifted, so not sure how to deal with that. I have a 440 Exciter in my shed with no cart for it to fit into. Previous owner of my G1 mounted the engine in, but never finished and it was not even close to having the clutches aligned. I couldn't figure a way, so I just rebuilt the stocker....

CharlieN

I think clutch alignment is of paramount importance. A twin will definitely hang over near the battery. To me the battery can move if needed.
My approach at a twin would center around the ignition. I would make my own plate to mount two ignition triggers opposing each other and time them as the original G1 would be, again with the other 180 off for the second cylinder.
Then use two of the Chinese 12V CDI units.
This will provide a simple reversing twin install.

sho305

I have a 440 I could use too, but the 340 actually sounds a lot cooler and has plenty of zip. I have a welder the frame can easily be adjusted. I guess I rather use a smaller twin since it would not be about speed/power so long as it had more than stock, but it would sound really cool. The ET340 would do 60+mph, seems like that would be enough power. IIRC the 440 did 80 or so and a 250 would go around 50. A 540 SRV engine is also a good one if you need more power, mine said it went 93 on the speedo but they are rarely correct and there were no gps back then.

Or you could use a 4 cycle trans/cart and not worry about reversing the engine.....though I think you are right it would not be that hard to make it work.

CharlieN

When I was first starting this long before I actually had the cart here I felt a 440 would be about right. I do have a Rotax 440Fan cooled in a plane that will be getting swapped out for a water cooled engine but I think I want to stay Yammy in the cart.
Once it warms up and the snow is running down the rivers I might start looking for derelict sleds. But I will drive this with the Bravo if not just to get a baseline.