Are HT kits Illegal in US?

sonny, i'm very interested in reading about the forthcoming episode with ebay when you tell them you don't want the item because of legalities and seller "mis-statements"...

this could be the start of a good thing, please keep us posted :)

if we wanna "save the planet" we have to save the country first :cool:
 
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augi, I will be happy to post the outcome of my conversations with the company and ebay. The other fall-back is American Express and the disputed claim policy. I feel like I am treading on thin ice here in this forum though. There are a lot of really cool people here that enjoy the construction and riding of bikes equipped with these engines. It is only my intent to keep my a** out of the sling and trouble and not to cause difficulties for others. It may be that I just need to take care of my own issues and not make them the issues of so many others at this point. What do ya think?
 
everybody better leave "sonny" alone ;)

i have the right to protest these issues, sonny...i am an mbc-og...a co-creator and the former admin...i truly have had personal relations with the players involved. i'm a cold-war veteran (machinist's mate on the uss chicago cg11) who's earned my say, on this of all weekends (burp! pardon the beer-breath ;))

yes, there are many cool-cats here riding HT's, i started with one myself and had many many samples sent to me. from a gearhead's point of view, the HT's potential is to die for... but it will never "get there" if we don't stand firm.

don grube, bring a HT factory to the usa (and hire documented united states citizens) and i will personally beg congress for a waiving of the certification fees (but not the certification process) :) :)
 
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Heck, convince Briggs&Stratton to build them here. The potential market is of the order of 30 million units. Build them compliant, build them to US industry quality standards, and build them HERE. There are literally dozens of shut-down, mothballed production facilities all over this country that could be used, there are literally hundreds of communities that would grovel in the dirt trying to attract the work, and tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of experienced machinists/mechanics/technicians who'd love the jobs.

Outsourcing may be great for the world economy, but it has been a disaster for the US economy, it puts this nation at enormous risk, and it insures our status as a permanent debtor nation. None of that is terribly attractive for my kids and grandkids.
 
indeed! it sure beats droning out "welcome to walmart" for minimum wage.

i understand don owns the real patents, the way i read it only he could bring the HT to the USA...(corrections please)

but i would p**p my pants if i heard about a reputable company like B&S bringing it back home...search out info on the "hodaka" company...seems to me guys like that would p**p too if they had another chance :cool:
 
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HT is just one possibility. Lots of different engine designs, and frankly, lots of possibilities. I've been bouncingaround in my head talking with my cousin who is a machinist and steam power enthusiast the possibility of building a small scale modern materials variant of the two cylinder stanley engine, direct drive to the rear axle, with a bottled gas (LNG) fed fire tube rapid response boiler and a condenser. I think it is doable, it's external combustion and would be very "green", modern gas comprsseor/storage bottling systems would let you compress and hold LNG in a bicycle frame reasonable tank, and rapid response boiler delays on start-up are on the order of 30 seconds. Not 30 seconds to pull away from a light - 30 seconds after light-off from a cold start in your driveway.
 
Quite like that, actually. Using modern materials and technigues, that thing could be even more streamlined and a tighter fit.

Just as an aside, has anyone here used link belt tech for a belt drive? I couldn't find anything, yet I've seen link belts used in some VERY high powered, high torque applications, exposed to severe weather. Link belts are lovely things - they can be any length, and they have very little stretch to them.
 
heck yeah! if i had a tiny lil HT with the quality & performance of my tanaka...
 
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