The Kneeslider — Motorcycle News for Positive People

16 Cylinder H16 Engine to Power New Motorcycle Under Construction by Andreas Georgeades

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 1/27/2012

H16 engine by Andreas Georgeades placed to check position and measurements with frame

Andreas Georgeades, our favorite example of old school garage wizardry, the man behind the V12 CBX, as well as several Ferrari engined motorcycles, is at it again. Working in the same small garage workshop, he's building a new engine, an H16, a 16 cylinder engine consisting of two 8 cylinder boxers stacked on top of one another and joined by a common drive gear linking the two crankshafts. Its design is much like the old Formula One engines built by BRM in the 1960s.

H16 engine by Andreas Georgeades from 4 YZF600 engine top ends

The new engine is using cylinders and heads from four Yamaha YZF600 engines attached to custom machined crankcases. It will run four Dellorto carburetors. He's using pieces from a CBX clutch and a slipper clutch from a Honda VF1000R. The frame will be a much modified GSX-R with a 58 inch wheelbase, only a few inches more than stock.

Old school mark and measure before machining

He is strictly old school, measuring, marking and machining, no computer controlled anything. He thinks it through, sketches it out and goes to work. I can't begin to get my head around this. If he was any other guy who said he was going to build an H16 in his garage, everyone would roll their eyes and walk away, but Andreas, whose V12 CBX was constructed exactly the same way is already well along in the process. Absolutely astounding.

Crankcase after initial machining

There are no predictions about when the bike will be finished, but judging from what we can see here, we can expect steady progress in the coming months and one day another amazing engine will come to life and then a spectacular bike will hit the road. I am in awe of this man's skill.

Thank you Rémi for the tip.

Be sure to watch the videos below to see Andreas explaining what he's doing:
[read the full article…]

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Ipothesys Moto Guzzi Griso Conversion

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 1/26/2012

in Motorcycle Builders

Ipothesys Moto Guzzi custom

Just shown at the European Bike Expo, this custom Moto Guzzi Griso from Ipothesys looks very well done, and like any well designed Guzzi should, it puts the visual focus right on the engine with minimal body work to hide the mechanicals. I'm guessing some sort of kit is planned so you can do this yourself, but I don't have any more info just yet, we'll see what we can find.

Thanks for the tip, Doug!

Link: Ipothesys

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Building a CNC Milling Machine the Hard Way

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 1/26/2012

in Workshop & Tools

CNC conversion for a standard milling machine Current CNC milling machines have dramatically advanced what a builder can create from a simple block of metal, and as we've seen, a properly programmed high end mill can turn out amazing work. Home machinists and builders often make do with more basic equipment allowing them to make those special one off parts or even a series of parts, but if you start with a basic milling machine and then get the urge to do CNC work, you have to make a choice, trade it in for a factory built CNC machine, buy some sort of add on kit or design and build everything necessary and convert it yourself. Though the last route is a bit over the top, Joel Miller of Massachusetts, an industrial designer by day, decided to see what it would take to do just that and forged ahead.

Joel bought a Grizzly G0704, a manual machine of the type you might find in a home shop, and set it up in his garage. After getting the feel of it and seeing what it could do, he launched into the conversion, buying parts, metal enclosures, stepper motors, switches and wiring and even designing and etching his own printed circuit boards.

He has a detailed series of posts on his website describing the whole process finishing with some videos of the machine in action, definitely worth your time. I can imagine someone seeing the CNC mill in his garage and assuming it was something he bought as a complete outfit, never imagining he did so much of the work himself. This is "hands on" on a higher level. Nice job!

Link: CNC Machine conversion via Make

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Brutus Electric Motorcycles

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 1/24/2012

in Electric motorcycles, Motorcycle Builders

Brutus electric motorcycle

Well, as long as we're on the subject of electrics, here's a new one from Brutus Electric Motorcycles. This one has a lot less of the enviro-geek look we see too much of and instead appears to be a massaged and somewhat portly Ducati Monster. Yes, it could be cleaned up a little, but it actually looks pretty cool.

Brutus electric motorcycle

The DC motor runs on lithium polymer batteries and sends power through a 5 speed gearbox. The bike has a 100+ mile range when ridden aggressively according to builder, Chris Bell.

The bike shown here is Brutus 2, the second iteration of the design and it looks to be pretty nicely done. Interesting.

Link: Brutus Electric Motorcycles via Autobloggreen

Videos below: [read the full article…]

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