Hey everyone,

I've been thinking a lot about DragBikeMike's post on the “Oil System Evaluation and Upgrade,” specifically about modifying the drive gears to achieve an overdrive configuration. After reading it, I was completely sold on the idea. Then, when FinnHammer and others adopted the mod as well, it really solidified my decision that it's worth implementing.

My approach will be a bit simpler—no additional tubing to direct excess oil flow to the gears, just an oil bleed at the filter housing. I'll be running a straightforward setup with a few mods: a Weisco 94mm pop-top piston, a cam sourced from Lancer, and a new Dyna Muffler.

What I’m aiming for now is a low idle to get that great "thumping" sound, which is currently detrimental to the engine’s lifespan. With the modifications to the oil pump drive increasing idle oil pressure, what are your thoughts on achieving a low “thumping” idle without compromising the engine's longevity?

Eddy, just my opinion, shy of installing a V-Twin engine in the Savage, nothing will make it sound much better than a farm implement.  All that cacophony emanating from the valve train and air-cooled cylinder, combined with the thump, thump, thump, it will always sound like a lawn mower.  But one man's racket is another's music.

Even with the overdrive pump gears, I still like to run my idle at 1300 rpm.  If you want to run yours down below 1000, I suggest you install an oil pressure gage off the head cover.  It's very easy to do and you will have your head cover removed for the cam install.  That way, you can establish a safe threshhold for your idle speed.

I have to disagree! Farm implement? Gimme a break.
Over here the is a legacy, it is called Nortin Manx, BSAGold Star, Matchless G50.
These are the big thumpin' singles that won the races in the forties and the fifties.
These are the singles we aspire to but cannot afford, so we drive Savages instead, style them in a similar way, make them sound lige the real thing, to pay the dues.
On top of that we get another 150cc (aint no replacement for displacement) and an oil tight engine plus the challenge of making it handle half decent.

Mike, all

I am doing fine, just not doing things that I find worthy of mentioning here.
My Savage is dry as a bone, and has been since the rebuild.
I was hoping to spend the winter months working on further improvements to it, including larger valves, but something fortunately happened:
24 years ago, I built the Tesla coil for the Danish Energy Museum, and just recently, I won the tender for a dual coil replacement, with music playing capability.
1 on the ground, the other inverted from the ceiling.
Based on this one:
https://youtu.be/kwL5AGscI80?si=wf0LJc1KgzoTxX0r

This means I am buried in all things Tesla (bar the car) for the next 4 months.
After that, perhaps some time to devote to the good ole thumper....

Cheers, Finn Hammer

It is the coil that makes the sound.
You see, each single spark event lasts only 200microseconds.
By sequencing these short events at a rate that corresponds to the frequency of a musical note, the sound is made.
For example, the A is 440Hz, so in that case, there are 440 sparks fired into the arc channel every second.
In that case, the sparks only occupy 1.2% of the time, although it looks to be contineous. This is due to the air (which is turned into a plasma)cooling relatively slowly, and also the eyes reacting also relatively slow, compared to electric events, which are close to instantaneous.

Wow!  Can you weld with that thing?  Very cool, very scary.

What does "won the tender" mean?  Did they award you some sort of prize or give you a contract to build more Tesla coils?  Congratulations are in order.

Glad to hear your engine is leak free and running well.  Keep us posted on your progress with the larger valves.