The Kneeslider

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OV-23XV Air Cooled Yamaha Big Twin Racer from Over Racing of Japan

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Over Racing OV23XV racer powered by air cooled big twin from Yamaha MT-01 and Warrior

Curt Winter’s big twin racer sparked a discussion about big twin racing in general, it seems quite a few folks think it would be a Harley Davidson series and of no interest to anyone else. Doug dropped a link in a comment to this sweet looking machine from Japan’s Over Racing, it’s the OV-23XV, built around the 1670cc air cooled V-Twin from the Yamaha Warrior and MT-01. To me, it looks like a pretty serious piece.

Over Racing OV23XV racer

The bike was built back in 2004 for the Suzuka 8 hour endurance race and it didn’t qualify or the next year, either, though, according to an article by Alan Cathcart, it was very close.

Over Racing OV23XV racer

The bike Cathcart rode weighed 460 pounds with 115 horsepower and 115 foot pounds of torque. Each cylinder was topped with 4 valve heads and twin injectors.

It would be interesting to see if the engineering in the intervening years since this bike was built could improve on the previous efforts, but it shows these engines have the ability to make for some very exciting racing. Looks like it wouldn’t be just Harley Davidson after all.

Link: Over Racing

Over Racing OV23XV racer at speed

Comments

  2. I recall that Cathcart described the Warrior as a slice of a radial aircraft engine. Most Big Twins can be developed for racing; a series running similarly-sized engines would be competitive, and imagine how 30 of them would sound at race speed! Harley would be a big component, but the other manufacturers might like to showcase their cruiser engines in a completely different venue.

  3. 460 pounds?!?!?! Gee wonder why it didn’t qualify. It always amazes me when they try to make the dinosaur run faster. There’s a reason they (Harleys) only race in classes against each other- because they aren’t competitive anywhere else due to their antiquated design.

    • Again, another person who doesn’t know the NHRA exists. Those antiquated designs are 15-1 this season and ran a 6.72 @ 199.26 MPH in Gainsville.

      • And none of those bikes would be capable of running in the 8 hour. Their motors are generally toast after 6.73 seconds…

        Shall we compare apples with apples or oranges.

        PS: love drags but this ain’t a drag bike…

        • Ah yes, but apples and oranges don’t count when replying to the comment “aren’t competitive ANYWHERE”

  4. I’m sure Alan would like to see a big Britten twin. That made 175hp with heaps of torque at 1L!

  5. Yes, these engines are big and heavy but you can lose a lot of weight by dumping the transfer box and installing an separate oil tank. This also loses about 9″ in length as well.

    They are fun engines and sound great. I was involved in a project for Baron’s Custom Accessories (SoCal) in 2001 where we prepared a Roadstar for drag racing. With some very straight forward mods and a good ignition we got 125hp at 6000rpm.

  6. That is one brutal beast of a race bike. Would love to see this race in a class of it’s own against other big twins. Would also love to see a “street version” of this.

  8. “To me, it looks like a pretty serious piece.”
    Exactly my thinking as well…though feels like an understatement at the same time.

  9. That does look like quite the serious effort – though I wonder why they didn’t just use the R1 or some other ready-to-go / much more capable sport bike for an endurance race. Being different is very cool but some times it just creates new challenges that you weren’t prepared for.

    -todd

    • Todd – probably because it was a challenge beyond the challenges an endurance race puts any bike through.

      Alan Cathcart’s involvement gives this type of racing credibility. Don’t worry purists, there are no illusions of being the premier class. The closest I’ve come to riding this type of big twin is Guzzi’s V11 which offers a completely different riding experience than a modern multi. Doesn’t mean these engines can’t be put into a capable chassis & go racing

      • I forgot about a ride on a Victory years ago. It was a 92 c.i. Vegas and I remember thinking, imagine if that pulling power didn’t have the extra 300 POUNDS while also having great geometry.

  11. Ok, so these are ‘big’ twin racers, I guess my RSV1000 is a ‘little’ twin racer :^). Anyway, the link to the Alan Cathcart article would be interesting but I can’t read Swedish (despite having been born there) …

    ACE

  12. Aaaaah…I remember this bike. Over Racing always makes really cool street and racing motorcycles, and this MT-01 powered one is no exception.