A snowmobile is a unique vehicle for daily use in winter. It is used for movement across snowy terrain during scientific expeditions, excursions, hikes, hunting animals, and protecting the territory. Such a product can be purchased at a specialized store or made with your own hands. If ready-made structures have a fairly high price, and not every person is able to afford such a purchase, then homemade ones are a more affordable alternative, made from scrap materials and equipment.
Drawings, options for finished work
The design of a snowmobile must begin by creating a drawing of the desired product. He will help in the process of making practical and functional equipment that will serve for many years.
Finished work option
If you can use ready-made drawings to create a snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor or a motorcycle, they are not provided for a design from a chainsaw, since each tool has its own technical characteristics and features.
Second life for old tires
There is another well-known method. Let's look at how to make a homemade motorcycle track using old tires. For such work, it is best to choose tires from large trucks. It is better that the tread pattern is kept in satisfactory condition. To work, we will need a very sharp shoe knife and some cutting skills, no matter how strange it may sound. In the manufacture of such a caterpillar, the method of cutting out the sides from tires is used. To ease the effort when cutting thick tires, you need to periodically dip the knife in a soapy solution. You can also use an electric jigsaw with fine teeth.
Chainsaw snowmobile
Advice.
The snowmobile can be made as either a tracked vehicle or a ski vehicle. Before you start making a snowmobile from a chainsaw, you need to choose equipment that will have all the necessary characteristics. The best option for this purpose is the Druzhba, Ural and Shtil chainsaw (the power of these tools is ideal for creating high-speed snowmobiles).
Important! The engine and gearbox are the main parts of the chainsaw that are used during operation.
The snowmobile design consists of four parts:
- Caterpillars.
- Ski
- Transmissions.
- Engine.
Chainsaw Ural
The assembly of a homemade snowmobile is carried out not according to some proposed scheme or standard drawing, but based on the materials and tools that the master has at his disposal.
Instructions for assembling a snowmobile from a chainsaw
Assembling a product is quite an interesting job. It consists of several successive steps that must be performed carefully and responsibly.
- The first stage is the assembly of the frame base of the future homemade snowmobile. For work you will need steel corners (size - 50 x 36 cm) or steel sheets (thickness - at least 2 mm). The middle part of the structure is made from the corners, and the front and back are made from sheets.
Advice. To give the necessary rigidity to the structure, the metal is bent at an angle of 90 degrees.
- Carefully make two through holes to accommodate the track shaft and track wheel guides (tensioners are installed on both sides of the side members).
Important! The front device is specifically designed to tension the second stage of the idler gear, and it also helps in adjusting the track itself.
- Special brackets are carefully welded to the bottom of the side members (they are attached at the same distance from each other), support rollers are installed in their open grooves.
- The rollers (in rubber covers) are placed on five axes, each of which is attached to the underside of the open grooves.
- Between each of the elements special bushings made of duralumin are installed (they are made from a suitable pipe).
Advice. In order not to waste time making rollers and axles for them, they can be borrowed from old equipment for digging up potatoes.
- The bracket axles themselves are secured using nuts and locknuts (they are designed to strengthen the snowmobile frame and hold the side members at a certain distance from each other).
- Three metal corners are used to make racks for attaching the prepared chainsaw gearbox, and install the intermediate shaft of the chain drive.
- A seat for the user is installed on the prepared frame (a suitable box or car seat is used for these purposes), it is fixed in the area between the middle and rear parts of the structure.
Chainsaw snowmobile
- A hole is made in the front section of the frame to accommodate the steering wheel; it is made from a pipe with welded control handles.
- Metal gussets are installed in the places where the snowmobile racks are attached (they strengthen the structure, make it stronger and more reliable).
Important! In order for the future homemade snowmobile to have good maneuverability in snowy terrain, it is equipped with a caterpillar mechanism.
- A snowmobile drive shaft is made from a metal pipe, and a special round flange is inserted into it for attaching gears.
- To create the steering, equipment from old motorcycles or mopeds with three-lever control is used.
The finished snowmobile is light in weight and can easily be placed in the trunk of a car for transportation over long distances. Its controls are so simple and intuitive that even a child can easily use it.
Track manufacturing technology
Making a caterpillar for a motorcycle with your own hands is not difficult for those in the know. Let's look at the most common method.
We make the caterpillar for the motorcycle from a conveyor belt, which we divide into 4 parts. The resulting strips are 5.5 cm wide. We assemble them into a single structure using U-shaped profiles. The track supports need to be balanced. Balancers are made of steel sheets. We cut out the halves of the disks using stamps. We take bronze hubs or grind them ourselves.
Then we connect the half-disks with six bolts. The blanks for balancing are ready. It is necessary to make shafts for the support drums at the front and rear. They are made from steel rod. They make holes for the bearings and insert them there. The support drums are made of aluminum or duralumin parts. Then the structure is connected with bolts. When installing, rubber sprockets are inserted between the support drums.
And now the caterpillar on the motorcycle is already rotating from the chain. A special unit, which is attached to the ear of the bushing at the front, helps to fix this entire structure on the back of the all-terrain vehicle. Two such ears are needed; they should be welded onto the longitudinal pipes and the previously made balancers should be attached. Here is the main part of the work that allows you to make a snowmobile on tracks from a motorcycle.
Snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor
A walk-behind tractor is another option for equipment that is used in the process of making a snowmobile with your own hands. Its design practically does not need to be altered, since it is initially multifunctional.
There are three types of walk-behind snowmobiles:
- wheeled;
- on tracks;
- combined.
Walk-behind tractor
Before you start working with a walk-behind tractor, you need to decide on the type of future design. The complexity of the master’s work, as well as the duration of the entire process, will depend on it.
Construction of a snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor
Important! To create a wheeled snowmobile, you do not need to redo the steering system; special attention needs to be paid only to the frame of the device and skis.
- The snowmobile frame is made of metal pipes or angles (it should be rectangular in shape).
- A box or chair is attached to the finished base to accommodate the driver.
- Skis are made separately from angles and sheet metal and welded to the frame.
- The finished structure is attached to the walk-behind tractor and used for its intended purpose.
Drawing: snowmobile made from a walk-behind tractor
Features of manufacturing tracks for motorcycles
Of course, you can always buy factory-made snowmobile skis or track wheels. Then the need to invent something will disappear. But we are not looking for easy ways, and not everyone has the opportunity to purchase new spare parts. Sometimes it's not the price or the fact that the parts are hard to find. For some people, it’s a hobby to create their own “transformer” and ride it around their town. That's why we decided to put together some tricks that different craftsmen use to create their snowmobiles to make your creative process easier.
Snowmobile from a motorcycle: a guide for masters
Making a snowmobile from a motorcycle is not so easy. If the assembly of previous products did not cause any difficulties, then with this design you will have to suffer. The work will require not only tools, materials and equipment, but also skills in working with a welding machine and other equipment.
Important! Motorcycles "Ural", "Izh" and "Dnepr" are the most suitable models for making a snowmobile with your own hands.
Snowmobile design technology
- A suitable frame is made from metal pipes of different diameters and steel corners. Its base is made in the form of a rectangle (its dimensions are 150 x 43.2 cm).
- The steering beam is constructed from metal corners (its dimensions are 50 x 50 x 5 mm), its parts are sheathed with dense metal overlays. The finished structure is installed in a horizontal position on a drilling machine.
Motorcycle Izh
- The frame and the finished beam are processed at the joints, special grooves are prepared for reliable fixation of the elements.
- The front crossbar of the frame is equipped with a strong corner.
- The seat is attached to the frame of the structure.
- Make holes in the side members.
- A channel is welded between the steering and middle sections.
- Select a suitable track sprocket and rubber band for further installation (suitable dimensions - 2200 x 300 mm, thickness - no more than 10 mm).
- The caterpillar itself is carefully sheathed with nylon so that the material does not delaminate during use.
Snowmobile from motorcycle
- A transmission is installed, which consists of a front and rear axle. The front one is the drive one, it consists of a tubular shaft, a track sprocket and rollers (the sprockets themselves are fixed with through bolts). The rear axle structure consists of a track drum and a tubular shaft.
- The skis are welded to the structure of the snowmobile (sheets of steel and metal corners are used for their manufacture).
The control system of a homemade snowmobile from a motorcycle is quite complex to design. It consists of:
- skis;
- longitudinal traction;
- lateral thrust.
Important! Experts do not recommend changing the motorcycle steering system; all controls must perform their original functions.
From the information presented we can conclude: a homemade snowmobile from elements of a walk-behind tractor, chainsaw or motorcycle is a reality. Any craftsman can make it. For productive work you will only need certain skills, equipment, tools and materials.
Best materials
Most craftsmen use a material such as aluminum to make spare parts. It lends itself well to deformation, is easy to drill, grind, and is not heavy, which will help give your vehicle additional maneuverability.
Caterpillars are made from spiked rubber, tires, and chains. For their manufacture, sheet steel is most often used. Now let's figure out how to build a snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle from a motorcycle.
DIY snowmobile: photo
All in your hands!
We see that you can convert any motorcycle or walk-behind tractor, put it on tracks, skis, or combine it. Fantasy is not limited by anything except its own capabilities. First, look around your garage - maybe you already have a caterpillar for a motorcycle in stock. If so, you can begin assembly. Even if you are using a track for a motocross motorcycle, do not forget about safety, which should come first. You need to think not only about yourself, but also about those around you who you may harm. Take a test drive in a deserted area. Was the test drive a success? Now we're off to the track!
There are a huge number of options, all of them unique in their own way. They can safely be classified as handmade, because almost every detail is made individually. The choice of materials and manufacturing methods is also huge. In addition to a standard set of plumbing tools, you will definitely need a welding machine, possibly a pipe bender, an angle grinder, etc. But one thing is clear: making a track for a motorcycle and turning it into a snowmobile yourself is much more interesting, and most importantly, cheaper than simply purchasing ready-made components.
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