Turbo Twister

I have just been off the phone with a friend who works with lawnmower repairs every day and he has told me he has a 13.5hp Briggs and Stratton engine with a battery and key start off a donor ride on mower, I just have to wait for covid 19 to blow over so I can get it off him. The original mower this deck came off only had 10hp so 13 is a bonus! The same friend told me I'd have to have a spring loaded pulley so I can start the engine and then engage the blades, so I plan to make a long cable system I can operate from the quad to save getting on and off when I need to turn it on or off. My intentions for towing it are to make a detachable and adjustable hitch so I can have the mower either directly behind or to either side of the quad. This will be a similar system to my trailer hitch, removable with a pin. I am trying to figure out the rear wheel adjustment height system at present, I want to incorporate s hand winch and 2 pins to secure it, I'm open to ideas..

I only came across 1 other deck with a similar underside, all the later decks seem to just have 2 or 3 full length blades like a normal push mower.

Yeah, its sturdy, the deck is about 2-3mm thick. I just got an email from my boss to say we are all temporarily laid off for minimum 2 weeks to combat the Coronavirus so I'll have plenty of time on my hands to get stuck into the project. Unfortunately that also means suppliers will be closed so I'll have to use whatever I have lying around!

@_Wilson_™ according to the manual, the engine is rated at 3600rpm for all models of this type deck. They made them from 1985 onwards and still make them, but the particular model I have, I think was made for 6 years between 88' and 96'. Trying to find the exact manual for the deck I have but there are lots of variants of models.

I had a good look at that option even before I bought the deck. As @_Wilson_™ said in the next post, if I fit 4 more blades, there's a really good chance of blades striking eachother. As is, I would say 4 blades is plenty and it would put less pressure on the engine than 8 blades. I spent about 4 weeks searching for this deck, it's off a mower made sometime between 1988-1996 so none of that plastic crap. @_Wilson_™ I came across the rpm for this particular mower, I'll have a look back and see can I find it again.

My purchase arrived this afternoon! It turns out it's actually a 42inch deck, which is the same width as the bike so I'm pretty happy about that! First thoughts on it upon inspection: The metal condition overall is good, there are no visible rusty holes or weak points. It's missing a plastic wheel and two brackets got bent during transit but I will be removing both. The pulley wheels are loose ontop but the drums beneath are solid, it probably just needs new bolts or bearings or both. I think I did pretty good for €46 plus postage which brought it up to around €80. I'm going to scrape off all the paint and straighten out the underside first, then start taking it all apart to see what the hidden parts are like. Keep you all posted with photos, that's what seems to keep everyone interested!

The suspension units arrived today, along with the mower deck for my next project! I greased everything up and have assembled both wheel units. To my luck, the holes from the old suspensions match like for like with the new ones, I just had to drill 2 extra holes on each side of the trailer for the 6 holes per new unit. I have to get new bolts so I cannot complete the trailer until I have them.

Would I be right to assume that a full pressure oiling system type engine would be somewhat more expensive and possibly a good bit heavier than a stationary engine?

Would a standard 4 stroke vertical shaft ride on mower engine not suffice? I wouldn't be climbing steep terrain with the mower, maybe 30-35degrees at most? I know 4 stroke engines don't like being on their side compared with a 2 stroke engine but is it even possible to source a 2 stroke vertical shaft engine with enough power for something like this? My thinking is to get an engine with at least 9 or 10hp, anything less would just bog down with the sight of thick grass or rushes etc..

I have made a purchase on an old Countax Westwood 36inch mower deck. It doesn't come with any motor, belts or wheels. I intentionally wanted this so I can make my own custom frame to raise and lower the deck depending on what I intend to mow/mulch. The above is very similar to my idea, but I don't like the idea of exposed belts!

I never thought about that! To be honest, the bike will probably never pull any more than about 150-200kg. But you do make a valid point!

Dad was talking to one of you guys a few days ago and gave some great advice on how to replace the rubber grommet (plug) in the top right side of the engine. I have sprayed the whole head with grease cleaner and once dry, I will run the engine to see exactly where the oil leak(s) is/are coming from. While waiting for said cleaner to dry, I noticed that the front right side of the bike looked lower than the left side (front right wheel as sitting on the bike), so I got a tape measure out and sure enough, the left side was an inch lower (I emptied the box on the front rack beforehand). It wasn't until I jacked up the bike I noticed a flat tyre, so I thankfully sorted that worry out (thinking it might have been a bad front spring!) I am currently tightening up the front hub nuts as the wheels are rocking a little, so I'll fill that tyre with air and wet it with soapy water to see can I find any air leaks.. I suspect it's a leaking valve.

I have purchased a new tow hitch for the bike, an extendable but also quickly detachable one so I can pull dads trailer with it (the hand hook on his trailer opens up very high and fouls the storage box where the original hitch is). I sprayed the nut with oil yesterday to allow it soak in, but I still needed a 6ft long box section of steel on the wrench to open the bugger!💩 after I got some movement, I put an offcut of plywood behind s vice grips on the top of the tow ball so as the protect the rear drive case from damage. It worked a treat! The new hitch is in the post so it will probably take at least a week before it arrives..

Me too! Still waiting on the new suspension units so I can fit the wheels and bearings. I did indeed have to use a jack to get it into place, but I had to remove the back wheel to get at the front bolt. I'm glad it's on now, no more worries about hitting either of those components off big rocks or tree stumps etc.

I think the reason the front bolt was so hard to get aligned was because some of the rubber mounts were too big (long). I took 2 of the longer ones out and replaced them for stubby ones and this helped a lot, while still maintaining a gap between plate and rear drive.

An hour later, I finally got the bugger on! The front bolt hole wouldn't line up at all, it was only off by about 3mm so I bored the hole an extra half mm and managed to persuade the bolt in. Things looks great when they step clean and new! Next few jobs on the bike include repairing 2 of the mud guards, they became loose on the metal supports during my last outing. The left inner fender needs bolting at the bottom, I only noticed this wasn't refit a day after I got it back from the garage🤔 I also intend to remove the skid plate to replace one of the bolts I snapped and I'll cut out a hole for the engine oil drain bolt as suggested by one of you wizards a few months back, think it may have been @shadetree?

I also got the brake drum bash plate fixed onto the quad, along with 4x new rubber mounts. I have to fit the rear drive bash plate aswell but the weather turned cold very quickly so I will do it another day..

I'm contemplating lining the inside of the trailer with plastic and using it as a hot tub in the summer! Finished internal dimensions are 1160mm x 850mm (I no longer use an imperial tape measure as everything in Ireland is metric calculated). Roll on the next outing so I can finally put this to some good use! (When I get the wheels)!

Taking shape. 3 more reflectors to fit, then it's just the hitch, suspension units and wheels!

Some progress photos of the trailer!😁 The weather is really nice today so an ideal time to work outside. I got the top of the frame painted and fixed stainless rivets through the checker plate to the frame. I have also done the two sides, just the front and rear to go. As dad previously mentioned, the old suspensions were knackered so I'm still waiting for the new ones to show up before fully completing the trailer. I will probably fit the new hitch in a few days time as that part is still drying. I bought small reflective rectangles for the front sides and rear so will be fitting these at some stage today. More photos to come.

Let's see photos of any homemade pull behind (or infront) mowers you guys have. Looking for inspiration for a new project that will be compact and easy to manoeuvre/store when not in use.

Some light hearted snaps I've been receiving amongst many!

I also had time to clean the brake guard and rear diff guard, give them a coating of etch primer and paint the two of them with a 1st of 2 coats of oxide paint. It's very shiny paint and less wasteful than spraying in my opinion. The sun is gone now and it's getting cold so I'm doing another bend of steamed beech before I go inside.

Got stuck into some painting today, all 4 sides are now painted and once dry, I will cut the aluminium checker plate to length and fix it all together. I also painted some parts of the trailer frame but will need to flip it and do the top side when I get a chance. I think the steel plates on the underside will be big enough for the new trailer suspension units dad got (hopefully!) I made up a steel bracket for my trailer (in a previous photo above) last week and fixed it to the trailer with dad earlier. We used 6mm aluminium threaded rivets which are a fantastic idea! Now, my tarp doesn't need a temporary prop anymore and will permanently stay on the trailer to keep the water out.

Apart from painting, that can continue!🙈