Back in 1959, a wooden boat builder decided to build a car, so, drawing on what he knew, he built a wooden car. For power, he mounted a 1952 Ariel Square 4 motorcycle engine in the rear. Citroen suspension, Cadillac taillights and who knows what else completes this custom but, you have to admit, it’s different, kind of reminds me of the type of car you would build from plans out of an old Mechanix Illustrated magazine.

It’s for sale on eBay. If you’re more the woodworking type than a metal worker and like the smell of varnish, this is your car.

More photos below: Read the rest of this entry »

Ian Douglas sent me a note and thought we might like to see his answer to the Gunbus 410. No, it’s not built to the outsized proportions of that monster but the engine is based on cylinders and heads from a Continental radial engine. This isn’t one of those little Rotec radials used by Jesse James or JRL Cycles, these pieces are from a full size aero engine. The 2 cylinders, with a bore of 5.125″ and stroke of 4.625″ yield 191 cubic inches (3130cc) and mate to a crankcase designed by Ian himself. He designed the patterns, a local foundry made the casting.

Everything was built by Ian in his garden shed. He designed and built the boardtrack style hardtail frame with sufficient size to hold the engine while keeping it proportioned so someone can actually ride it. I like the aero touches like the nose art, applied by local artist, Jennie Persak and if you look closely, you’ll even see a pitot tube for the airspeed indicator. How cool is that?

The bike looks pretty neat but it’s the engine that catches your eye, I think the heads, especially, look great. Is the bike practical? Not really, though it certainly looks rideable, it’s just one of those projects that starts when a builder comes up with an idea and sees it through. Anything with an engine that looks that good gets a thumbs up from me.

Link: WarbirdMotorcycle.com

Every now and then I have to dive into the back room and work on what makes The Kneeslider tick. I’ve been knee deep in all of the work so posting has been a bit light recently. I’m still here, as always, but it’s hard to work on computer code and tech stuff and write articles, too, the mental process is very different and it’s hard to switch back and forth constantly, those of you who do this sort of thing, know what I’m talking about. More motorcycles will be coming your way soon.

In the meantime, if you see something motorcycle related that you think should be addressed immediately, just let me know through the contact form above.

Thanks,
Paul

Where are all of the nice, smaller displacement motorcycles that look good and are fun to ride? They’re everywhere, you just need to do a little work. If you’re looking for inexpensive options to a vintage British cafe racer, especially if you like the idea of building your own, you can start with a lot of different models, the Honda CB750 always gets a lot of attention but the Yamaha XS650 is another great choice. I noticed this one for sale on eBay and it looks like the owner went through the bike completely, added a few parts plus some nice modifications and the result is a subtle, clean little beauty that anyone would be proud to own. It would get a lot of attention at bike night, too.

The old XS650s are pretty easy to find, the problem is many have been hacked and chopped into some unfortunate mess, not a problem if you only want the engine but if you’re looking to do what this guy did, you’ll want a nicer one to start with. Read the rest of this entry »

If you think the Hayabusa V8 is the epitome of motorcycle engines adapted to automotive use, think again, there’s another player in town, the Callaway Cyclone V16. This 80 valve V16 is made from a specially built common crankcase which mounts 4 Yamaha 1000cc inline 4 top ends.

If you follow the world of high performance Corvettes, the name Reeves Callaway will be very familiar, for years he’s been turning standard Corvettes into something on another performance level altogether. Callaway Cars helped develop the Yamaha 5 valve heads so when he started thinking about building a show car, he thought a truly spectacular engine would be appropriate and the Yamaha engines came to mind.

Specifications:

Callaway Cyclone V16
4.0 liter 16 cylinder 90° V angle
5 valve / cylinder DOHC
bore 75.5 (3.0 in.) x stroke 55.75 mm (2.19 in) = 3994 cc (243.83 cu. in.)
aluminium block and heads, iron liners
12 (2 x 6) main bearings, plain
crankshafts: en40b steel, 2x, 4 journal, flat plane, nitrided
connecting rod, steel, plain bearing
compression ratio 11.5-1 naturally aspirated
power 550 bhp@10,000 rpm
torque 340 ft/lb@ 8,500 rpm
max rpm- 10,500
dry sump lubrication, 1 pressure, 3 scavenge stages
super unleaded fuel
EFI single fuel injector / single throttle / cylinder
Dimensions –
926 length (36.45″)
540 width (21.25″)
500 height (19.7″) - to top of injector trumpets
Dry weight- 152 kg (334 lbs.)
patented, Cyclone cam drive system
clutch- superclutch triple plate 5.5″
water pump- ecu driven, vari-speed electric unit

They had the engine out to a car show a few days ago where the Autoblog boys found it and said the current state of tune allows a redline of 11,500 rpm so the horsepower is now up to 640.

If you have the slightest trace of motorhead tendencies within you, this engine is the stuff of dreams. If you think you can handle the sensory experience, you should listen to this baby run! The Callaway link has a few sound files, … ah … I have to go and cool off now.

Link: Callaway Cars with sound files! via Autoblog

On Wednesday, Nov.12, 2008, at 8 a.m. central time, Buell rolled out their 125,000th motorcycle, a 2009 white 1125R bound for Australia. That’s quite a ways from a company turning out a handful of motorcycles in a Quonset hut and old farm buildings. If you build a product people like, you succeed. Congratulations to Erik and the entire team of Buell employees. Nice job.

While reading Cafe Racer: The Motorcycle, I came across a bit of business information I missed earlier this year. The very well known John Mossey Restorations is now Hailwood Motorcycle Restorations, named after its new owner, David Hailwood, son of Mike “The Bike” Hailwood.

Hailwood Restorations is the kind of shop I wish were somewhere around my neighborhood, if for no other reason than to stop by and ogle the bikes for sale and undergoing restoration. Their shop offers new Egli-Vincents, new Norvins and if you want to build your own creation or repower your old Black Shadow, you can purchase a new Vincent engine, too.

As long as shops like these exist, we’ll be sure to see the old machinery running and inspiring new generations with a style less often seen, these days. If you like the old classic British iron you might want to check them out.

Link: Hailwood Motorcycle Restorations

The modular motorcycle concept discussed the other day, which can be described as ordering exactly the motorcycle you want with a careful selection of components added to a standard base assembly and configured by the dealer, also gives us a way to move up without having to buy an entirely new motorcycle every time.

I just noticed modular construction is currently making news in the field of digital cameras. A big problem with cameras, as with any electronic device, is how fast improvements come along, making you wish you would have waited before buying and giving you no easy and economical way of buying the new camera without first disposing of the old one. If every component is upgradeable, you buy what you need and can afford, and upgrade over time as your needs, budget and technology change.

Motorcycles and expensive, high end digital cameras are certainly vastly different but the idea of modular construction is one that holds promise and is being tried in other areas. There is probably resistance within the camera industry the same as some commenters suggested it would appear in the motorcycle industry, but I don’t think that’s any reason not to try it.