Lee's Air Conditioned 1984 V65 Honda Sabre

Why? After the lid law started in California I got a hot head.

The air conditioning is for the helmet only.  It keeps my head 
around 45 degrees cooler than the outside air.  The aluminum 
hanger that sits on my shoulders, keeps the weight of the helmet 
off my head.  The combination of the two 2 3/8" hoses going into 
the front of the helmet and the helmet hanger definitely makes a 
conversation piece at stop lights. 

The Dihatsu freon compressor is driven by the rear wheel.  It 
runs 1800 RMP (full efficiency) at 35 MPH.  The R-12 freon then 
goes to a condenser (6" x 18" x 2") on the back of the bike.  An 
automotive electric fan cools the condenser.  The freon then 
goes to the receiver/drier, then on to the evaporator which is a 
unit originally made for auxiliary AC in the back of a van.  It 
has a three speed squirrel cage fan controlled by a switch on 
the handle bars.  I cycle the compressor clutch with another 
switch on the handle bars, since I sometimes like to make it 
frosty cold.  The cool air is sent through one of the hoses and 
is aimed at my face, next to it is a return hose to make it a 
closed system.  I leave some small openings for fresh air to mix 
in so I don't experience a lack of oxygen. The closed system is 
necessary on hot days; the same as in a car, you have to roll 
your windows up when it's really hot.  Some coolness is lost 
through the hoses; in one respect it would be better to mount 
the evaporator on the gas tank, but then the freon hoses would 
have to be routed up there too, so I made the decision to mount 
everything on the back to keep it all together.

If I have to repair the freon system I will probably use the 
Pennzoil direct replacement similar to R-12 freon, since it's 
approved for use in California. 

With the two fans, an electric compressor clutch, and running 
the headlight on low beam, the blower can be run at medium 
speed; running the blower at high speed takes a little too much 
amperage and the battery would discharge while cruising. 

The AC weighs around 80 pounds and cuts my gas mileage from 
around 40 to 35 MPG.  It is not too much for the bike, but puts 
it at its limits with a passenger, except for speed.  The 6" 
wheel that rides against the back tire of the bike does not harm 
the tire.  The little wheel is spring loaded into the rear tire 
with around 30 pounds of force.  When I engage the compressor 
clutch I can barely feel it; like hitting a small head wind.  
The bike has plenty of power and is not noticeably effected. 

I bought the bike new and it has around 68,000 miles on it now.  
The gear shifter had of problem of sticking when it was new, so 
I had a big ball bearing installed on the shift lever.  I've 
been using 20/50 Castrol replacing it every 5,000 miles before 
the helmet law.  Now, I just put on around 2,000 miles a year, 
so I replace it once a year along with a 50/50 mixture of 
Prestone antifreeze and distilled water.  Lots of tires too.  I 
had the front fork seals replaced with original equipment seals 
after they started leaking; it started leaking again, and I 
just let it ride now.  It doesn't need that much oil in the 
front forks anyway. 

I had the bike around 5 years before I found the power band at 
7,000 RPM.  That was really exciting. 


Machine work for Lee's Air Conditioned Motorcyle was performed by
KEMPTON Machine Works, Inc.   (714)990-0596
396 Cliffwood Park St.
Brea, CA  92821

My Home Page
Helmet Law Info
http://www.leemjordan.com/lawinfo.htm


Cool man, Lee