Andreas Georgeades and his Honda CBX V12
Building a V12 from a pair of Honda CBX engines would be quite an accomplishment if it was the only motorcycle project a builder ever did, unlikely of course, but by itself it would stand alone quite well. Andreas Georgeades' most recent project is exactly that, the bike shown here, but "most recent" are the key words. He's been doing things with motorcycles his entire life, starting out as a racer but quickly becoming a builder with some very unusual and creative skills.
Andreas Georgeades V12 CBX
Andreas, a former motorcycle racer from South Africa who raced his Matchless 500 at the Isle of Man in 1964 and 500cc GP racing in Europe, he also raced in Canada and the US. He also raced and won in Canada with a bike powered by a Honda 600 auto engine, a water cooled engine converted to air cooling by removing the water jacket and adding cooling fins!
This CBX V12 came to my attention over a year ago but there didn't seem to be many photos available, probably because the project was ongoing and still incomplete for so long, then Doug sent me a link to these photos which show quite a bit of the build of the now complete bike, and it's truly impressive.
His building technique is truly "old school," no CAD or computer work of any kind, just some sketches, and even those, sometimes not until after the work is complete to explain what he did. Even more impressive is his workshop, for those who think a project like this requires an immense workshop filled with the latest machine tools, Andreas does his work in more modest surroundings.
Honda CBX V12 in the workshop
Earlier bikes include 3 Ferrari powered machines, 2 with V6 powerplants, one of those supercharged, and one V8 from a Ferrari 308. He's obviously not hesitant to attempt whatever he sets his mind to.
CBX V12 block
There is simply no way to tell you everything about this man and his projects in one short article so I've included several links below that will fill out many of the details. Quite an amazing story and worth your while to read them in depth. Very impressive!
Thanks for the photo tip, Doug!
Link: Flickr photos CBX V12
Link: Flickr photos of CBX V12 engine build
Link: DucCutters story and more detailed pdf
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{ 31 comments… add yours below ... }
Holy Cow!! Thanks Mr Kneeslider, I feel this one is for Me. Incredable story. I can not imagine the Torque and smoothness of this Bike. What an inspiration, Who could dream this could be done by one man.( extremely talented)
I’ve seen this before and heard it run in the video. That thing is absolutely wicked! Plus the bodywork is stunning as well. I would paint some of it, but that’s just me.
WOW!!!!!!
I think it’s simply amazing that by just offsetting the two sets of bores a little bit he can stuff not only 6 more con-rods, but also associated bearings into what is essentially the same length crankcase. I don’t suppose the cornering clearance is quite up to MotoGP standards, though (~60 degrees from vertical).
Reminds me of that scene in Crocodile Dundee, where he’s held up by some guy with a knife. Call that a knife? [pulls out huge knife].. Now that’s a knife!
two thumbs up!
I wonder if he could take his V-12, put a water jacket around it and stuff it into the back seat of a Honda 600! I had a ‘72 Honda 600 sedan. It had an air-cooled twin. Maybe later Hondas in South Africa came water-cooled.
I remember “George the Greek” running that home brewed four cylinder Honda here in South Africa in the early 70’s. The curved megaphones were a work of art in themselves!
My hats off to you. Quite a work of art.
As you would expect that took a lot of effort I am sure.
INSANE!!!
Here is a video of that bike running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEe6c3KIUB4
I read a quote from Wilbur Wright. It went something like this, “I see thing more clearly with my eyes closed”. People with that gift don’t need CAD.
Again WOW!!
I think the frame/chassis is more impressive than the engine. I has a very old-school aircraft feel to it. I like it.
I am speechless. I thought I knew a little about craftsmanship. Now I realize that the key word is “little.” An amazing achievement.
What a thrill it must be for Andreas and Allen Millyard to motor down the road listening to their creations.
Very impressive ! I’m on my ass.
Even for me who love half-cut motors, as Buell Blast thumper
I love the ram air stacks shooting right out the front. its superb.
Gotta love those knee warmers.
-todd
To The Kneeslider – any chance we’ll see pics of the Ferrari bikes the man built?
madness !!! i love it
wait a minute
am i losing it or does his throttle work BACKWARDS ???
check out DaverR youtube link above
Wow! What a technical exercise…and he pulls it off so well…
Really, I would rather have a bone stock cbx…
This is one bike I wish I had bought new when it came out. Alas, the time was not right..
stunning workmanship! For years I got to listen to the Outhouse engineering V8 Suzuki run in a midget here in Wisconsin. First as a high rev version and later as a torque version. All interesting stuff. But not just this engine but wow to the whole bike.
And here I thought the stock CBX was scary enough…
@ juanitotheclumsy: something tells me the owner of this bike has other things in mind than taking corners with his knee on the pavement (no pun intended, Mr Kneeslider, sir). Probably something more along the lines of outrunning the police while staining his shorts and looking damn good while doing so.
wow! I saw the original 600 car engine in his frame about 2 years before the original cb750 came out, at Harewood Acres racetrack in Ontario. I always wondered if that bike was the idea behind honda’s 750. this guy is really persistent, to be still doing original bikes 40 years later. good for you andreas!
I’m speachless, would add 12 throttle bodies to clean up the induction side and fuel inject it myself , but excellent stuff!!!!!!!!!
George is a good friend of mine, and it’s nice to see him get the publicity that he deserves!!! This man is an artist.
Magnificent engineerig project! And what a classy and unique looking bike. I guess it would be only good in fine weather riding,those open air intakes pointing forward and all that pollised alloy whould take day’s to bring back the shine.
OK, I’m not very bright. Can someone explain to a nontechnical person how a stock CBX lower crankcase and crankshaft can have aother six cylinders added to it? Looking at the flickr pics it looks as if it is a stock lower case and crankshaft but never having seen one apart I dont know. But if the second set of cylinders are offset (which they are) then does this not imply that the conrods are beside each other running on the same crankpin? Allen Millyards V12 Kawasaki had the second set of conrods attached to the first set of conrods so the crank was stock (IIRC: correct me if I am wrong).
And how do you balance it so it doesnt shake itself to bits? To a non-technical person like me I can but agree with Arthur C Clarke (to paraphrase) that technology this advanced is akin to magic.
I don’t think that is a stock crank, looks built-up to my eyes. A stock crank would not have the space for a second row of timing chain either. The conrods are mounted on a common crankpin, side by side rather than forked or otherwise. Balance would be a piece of cake – inline sixes are naturally well balanced. A sixty degree bank angle is perfect for V6 and V12 – this looks close enough and I doubt Andreas would choose an odd angle.
If it is a stock crank, then the conrods he is using would need to be half as thick???
Anyone else have a true engineer’s explanation, as opposed to my rudimentary observations?
Another thought, do standard CBX sixes have single or double-row timing chains? If double, is he being cheeky and running single for each bank? Could be the source of the rattle…
oh. now im usually critical of ‘just cuz’ exercises in technology. this is a very fine effort requiring a lot of engineering knowledge and productive skills.
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