“Marlin” weighs anchor

Marlin personal watercraft: design, handling, specifications

Readers of our magazine are already familiar with the best examples of technical creativity by S.P. KOROVIN, a designer from Kumertau (Bashkortostan). In “Photo Panorama” (see “Modelist-Konstruktor” No. 1’2000), his most famous designs were presented: the “Visit” aircraft, a children’s car, the seven-seat “Orbita-1500” car, and a jet ski (personal watercraft). Later, readers appreciated another Read more…

Kick scooter… for adults

Adult scooter: Orlik conversion, 30 mm ground clearance

How far can a person travel by pushing off the ground just once? If it is one step — on average less than a metre. If you build up speed and push harder, you can jump about four or five metres. So imagine our surprise when a modest, no longer young man walked into the Read more…

“Butterfly”

“Moth” micromotorcycle from a scooter, D-5 engine

This name was given to a micromotorcycle built on the basis of a children’s scooter. The authors of the “Moth” are Zhenya Gavrilov, Sasha Golev, Seryozha Golubenkov, and the head of the micromobility club Boris Pavlovich Chernov. The club operates at the Young Technicians Club in the Moscow-region town of Pavlovsky Posad. The “Moth” was Read more…

“Buran” is not afraid of frost

Snowmobile «Kompromiss»: heated cab for Buran motornart

How a snowmobile (motornart) differs from a motorcycle is clear to anyone familiar with these vehicles: mainly, the former is tracked and intended for travel on snow, while the latter is wheeled and for ground travel. In terms of comfort they are alike — both are open, although motorcycles are used mostly in warm weather Read more…

Without damaging the bottom bracket

Bicycle bottom bracket repair: groove cuts for 204 balls

The bottom bracket of a road bicycle — and indeed of any other bicycle — is probably its most heavily loaded mechanism. Therefore, in bottom brackets with external tapered bearings, bearing cages often fail under heavy overloads, and the ball races on the cones of the bottom bracket spindle are frequently damaged as well. Intensive Read more…

Snow motorcycle

Homemade motonarty: Voskhod-3M engine snowmobile build guide

In “Modelist-Konstruktor” magazine No. 11’1991 I came across a description of motonarty — a tracked snowmobile built by the Matveychuk brothers from Zavodoukovsk, Tyumen Oblast, and named by them “Mysl-2” (“Thought-2”). I liked the machine. For me, a rural resident, it looked like an indispensable means of transport in winter, and as a home builder Read more…

The third wheel of the “Tourist”

Sidecar for Tula-Tourist scooter: fiberglass body & frame

Enthusiasts build sidecars for all kinds of motorcycles and motor scooters! For Izh and Voskhod, for old Zündapps and brand-new Vyatka-Elektron. Owners of Tula-200 motor scooters are also happy to add a third wheel to their machine — especially since the engine power of the modern Tula-Tourist makes it quite feasible. Unlike many such trailers, Read more…

City car “Alezonnik-2”

Alezonnik-2: compact DIY urban two-seat car build

The two-seat car “Alezonnik-2” was built specifically for driving in urban conditions. Therefore, even before design work began, I formulated the main requirements the future vehicle had to meet: compact size, minimum curb weight, and high maneuverability combined with good road stability. Drawing on experience gained while building an off-roader (“Modelist-Konstruktor” No. 10, 1996) to Read more…

“Grasshopper” with a D-6 engine

«Kuznechik» micromotorcycle: frame, fork, paint

More and more often, the editorial mail receives bulky packages with drawings and descriptions of homemade micromotorcycles. Their principal difference from designs of earlier years is a successful combination of standard and homemade units in the construction. A second important detail is a sharply improved appearance and bold design solutions. On these pages we present Read more…

The fourth is unnecessary

Triada-350 trike: IZH-Yu-5 engine, frame, chassis, foam body

The proverb usually mentions a fifth wheel. However, some car designers use a formula reflected in the title of our article. They really do consider the fourth wheel on a car redundant. Judge for yourself: unlike a four-legged stool, a three-legged one does not rock even on uneven ground (remember from school: through three points Read more…