The original sketch that started the whole thing
Luckily, he has a friend that works for a forklift company that was able to get him a variable displacement pump that’ll actually allow him to accelerate properly. He’s currently getting it installed, but like everything else along the way, he has to make a lot of modifications to get it to fit, because it’s bigger than the old pump.
Once that’s done, though, everything should be all buttoned up and it’ll be done. Well, “done.” No project is ever truly complete. He has to figure out how to get the thing street legal, which is its own ball of wax. “I actually cut the neck off of a 1978 Triumph TR650 that had the VIN plate and that’s what I actually used as the pivot point for my handlebars. So I’ve got a VIN number that matches a 1978 Triumph, but I know if I registered it as such, and I ever got pulled over on it, a cop is going to be pretty sure it’s not a Triumph.”
The one thing he’d love to do, when everything is said and done, is take it out somewhere long and flat—like the Bonneville Salt Flats—and see how fast it will actually go. He says, “It should hopefully do about 90, if I could get it to a place where I could open it up.”
I’d say the salty flats would be a good place. Too bad they’re on the other side of the country from Sam. Maybe a road trip is in order?
You can see more of Sam's work on his YouTube page here, including his first diesel motorcycle conversion.