5hp lighted flywheels

markus

Well-Known Member
#1
Reguarding the briggs charging type flywheels......
If the ring gear assembly is removed from a charging/lighting flywheel can it work under a standard shroud? I have seen it suggested but not confirmed. Trying to figure out if they used a longer flywheel on the Lighted models or if the hub on the wheel was in a different spot to space it out. And of course woudl the alternator still fit (or modified to fit).
 

delray

Well-Known Member
#2
something that I too wanted to look into and see markus. I did not know about this until a few years ago when I built my baja briggs bike and use a lighted coil snow blower engine with electronic ignition and figure out that it has a longer recoil cover or I should say deeper cover and that the old points engine covers do not fit. lighted coil covers seem to be about 1/4 or so longer. big question is why.
I did purchase another lighted coil engine off a snow blower same has the other engine and have not yet look into why this is different. I was kind of assuming the flywheel was taller for the lighted coil setup,also could be something to do with the ring gear? maybe a big if..? and the only reason I say 'if' on that is because briggs made a lighted coil points engine too and that did not need a different cover.
my goal was to build in the future a boonie bike that would look like it was a old style engine with the early big aluminum recoils and make it work on a newer lighted coil engine. bike had the battery box and headlight,taillight and horn. I want all that back on with a lighted coil setup and electric start where the two speed shifter was originally and then go with a automatic two speed setup.
here is what I have found so far with the newer light coil engines.
snow engines are ok but they come with a 3 and 4hp style recoil that is spot welded forward and need to be modified straight up for minibike.

here is a troy built unit with everything I need to possibly change it over to use the old style aluminum recoil on it. they come with the big steel recoils on them and they do look like you could take them off and make a vintage style recoil bolt on and I know the snowbower covers will not work because the cover is molded to small or could say stamp out to small. not like the troy built unit. it has a large stamp out area for the vintage recoil to possibly bolt up too.


here is a points engine with a lighted coil.



lighted coil unit for a newer briggs


briggs lighted coil chart.


hopefully some of this may help you? sorry I just haven't got to that point to see why the two covers are different from each other yet. I believe I have a electronic ignition non lighted coil engine and I don't think that cover is the same has the lighted coil engines. that too needs to be look into?
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#4
Thanks Delray, An engine just sold on ebay the other day (later model) I didnt see the listing till the last few hours and was trying to figure out if the flywheel could be altered. I should have just started bidding as it went pretty inexpensive but I pussed out. Looking at it and then doing a little searching on the fly you can see they ring gear spaces it out pretty far and bolts on and the alternators that I did run across seem to come with some spacers so that was making me wonder if the dedicated electric start engines maybe used a longer crankshaft or something to that extent to make the spacing for the ring gear.

I gotta stay within the original shroud as its matching numbers 4hp to the bike....its a titled legal bike. The block itself will be newer and bigger bore 5hp but that will not be something anyone can tell without tearing it down. If I knew for sure an electric starter would clear and I could stuff a big enough battery under the cowling to power it I would pave the numbers over on the electric shroud and try to backdate the engine looks, but I dont think theres room to pull that all off on the little Campus!

Funky ole.....so the crankshafts are longer?
 

delray

Well-Known Member
#5
Shroud , crankshaft and flywheel are different. Need extra space for the generation coils. They are only rated at 5watts also.
I ran a load test on my first snow blower engine and only got 2+ amps out of it. i ran led cluster bulb in the headlight case and a led side marker for a tail light. So i still have a small amount of trickle charge into my battery for my 12v electric.
 

delray

Well-Known Member
#6
Thanks Delray, An engine just sold on ebay the other day (later model) I didnt see the listing till the last few hours and was trying to figure out if the flywheel could be altered. I should have just started bidding as it went pretty inexpensive but I pussed out. Looking at it and then doing a little searching on the fly you can see they ring gear spaces it out pretty far and bolts on and the alternators that I did run across seem to come with some spacers so that was making me wonder if the dedicated electric start engines maybe used a longer crankshaft or something to that extent to make the spacing for the ring gear.

I gotta stay within the original shroud as its matching numbers 4hp to the bike....its a titled legal bike. The block itself will be newer and bigger bore 5hp but that will not be something anyone can tell without tearing it down. If I knew for sure an electric starter would clear and I could stuff a big enough battery under the cowling to power it I would pave the numbers over on the electric shroud and try to backdate the engine looks, but I dont think theres room to pull that all off on the little Campus!

Funky ole.....so the crankshafts are longer?
Ok Markus,almost need to find a vintage points lighted coil. So everything could work correct. They look stock or are saying too in your research they are different too?
Point engines they are so hard to find.
Even in this state i have never seen one in person.
Newer ones with electric ignition i trip over all day.
 

Davis

Well-Known Member
#8
I have one of those also other than it’s stock. My god those guys made a killing selling these military surplus engines.
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#9
I bought one of the military 5hp Briggs engines from BAD DOG about 10 years ago, it has a longer crankshaft than a normal dual bearing briggs because of the lighting coil. Its on this schwinn bike View attachment 249837

Rocco, I want to say maybe it was a post of yours thinking It might be possible to retrofit that flywheel with the ring gear off from a few years back. Do you think that might be doable to ditch the gear and not use the spacers on the alternator?
 
#10
Rocco, I want to say maybe it was a post of yours thinking It might be possible to retrofit that flywheel with the ring gear off from a few years back. Do you think that might be doable to ditch the gear and not use the spacers on the alternator?
I think Randy and I were talking about that, because he had an engine with bosses he could tap for the lighting coil. He wanted to do the same thing your talking about but I don't know if he ever did. I do think if the clearance is there it will work.
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#11
I think Randy and I were talking about that, because he had an engine with bosses he could tap for the lighting coil. He wanted to do the same thing your talking about but I don't know if he ever did. I do think if the clearance is there it will work.

Thanks, I wish I would have just went for that engine a week or so ago. That way if it I could not retrofit, I could have at least made use of the engine on something. I'll keep my eyes open for some used parts to at least play with, the flywheel itself is kinda pricey new from what I saw online if its a fail and can only be used as a paperwieght....although paper clips will stick to it since the magnets are there so that would be handy ;)

@delray, do you have a an engine number or separate part numbers for an earlier unit?
 
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