Dreer starter

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Jim

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Apr 30, 2005
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Does anyone out there know how Kenny Dreer put the electric starter on his Commandos? From what little I have been able to see in a few pictures it appears that he may have used a Harley starter and (guessing) it is engaging a modified Harley (?) ring gear that I suppose is mounted on a modified clutch basket. Since everything is vented it’s obvious that he used a belt drive primary. Wonder what ring gear Kenny used on the clutch basket? Being the adventuresome sort with above average access to a machine shop and also retired with lots of time, I have been thinking about this project for some time. I am thinking of welding a mount on the inner primary and machining it to accept a starter. Then modifying a belt drive clutch basket to accept a ring gear to engage with the starter gear. As of this time I haven’t tried to do any welding on a Norton primary case so I am not sure about the feasibility of adding a lot of material to the case. But from past experience I have found out that some castings seem to accept welding OK and some are a real pain. Depends on the alloy that Norton used. Another possibility may be to add a mount for the starter to the transmission / engine cradle. Yes, I can think of a thousand reasons why such a project could likely turn out to be a real adventure.
 
Interesting, Briggs & Stratton have an alumium ring gear they bolt to the flywheel, wonder if their starter could be used.
 
My Dreer is a kick start.
Don't know alot about the e-starts but I do know it has a big battery and a Harley starter driving a ring gear at the clutch.
 
Just sat thru a tech sesion with Dyno Dave. He covered his starter well. It has double windings and spins with more power and RPM than any others. It has O-ring seals in it's body so it dosn't suck water. It is an adapted car starter to the Norton bolt patteren. It has one tooth less on the pinion providing more leverage. It spins the motor at 1000 RPM. Yes he is the maker for Old britts,Norvil and Others. It is shorter than the stock starter. Some gas proof paint would be the ony inprovement. If kenny were doing this today you can bet he wold be using one of Dave's or one of the same guts. It is my understanding that mark three clutch hubs dont have bearings like earlyer Commando's making an adaption difficult.
 
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