Engineering brilliance - Honda 6 racer

[pete376403]

April Two Wheels mag has an in-depth article about the Honda 6 replicas built by George Beale in the UK. Apart from being in awe of the skill needed to recreate these bikes, the article shows the brilliance of Honda in the 60s designing and building them in the first place and the extreme measures taken to design a six cylinder engine that was no wider than a 500 single of the day. Imagine a con-rod a little bit longer than a credit card (70 mm between centres), pistons a bit smaller than the width of that credit card to create a 297cc engine that made 65HP at around 17,000 rpm. This sort of performance costs - GBP20,000 for a set of six tiny carbs (than 10 grand EACH in our money), 14 hours of CNC machining just to carve the cylinder block.
Little wonder that the completed replicas cost GBP175,000. If I was that guy in Kawerau I'd have one on order right now.

And for you philistines thers also a write up of the 2004 R1, which they reckon is pretty good.

[merv]

The 60's was a great era for the Japs in racing when there were no restrictions on the number of cylinders or the number of gears in the gearbox (as far as I remember) so they turned out bikes with ever more cylinders and gears until it all finished in 1968. The tiniest cylinders Honda used were the 125 five cylinder and the 50 twin. Suzuki actually developed a 50 triple but it didn't make it to the race track. See this page http://www.suzukicycles.org/history/history_04-race-1960-1967.shtml

As for the guy in Kawerau (or is he a mob man from Te Teko?) he's probably already talking to WT to get his Harley ordered.

[Kickaha]

And not just the Japanese in the 60's,I'd put Moto Guzzi's 500cc V8 right up there as well,although that was a few year earlier

[merv]

And not just the Japanese in the 60's,I'd put Moto Guzzi's 500cc V8 right up there as well,although that was a few year earlier

Yep back in '57 and it was a shame they didn't keep developing it a bit longer to really let it make its mark.

[laRIKin]

Yep back in '57 and it was a shame they didn't keep developing it a bit longer to really let it make its mark.

If you are talking about the Guzzi V8.
You may find these sites interesting.
Articles on the Guzzi V8

http://www.users.tsn.cc/rdd/samples/Carcano_article.jpg
http://www.users.tsn.cc/rdd/samples/SurteesV8_article1.jpg
http://www.users.tsn.cc/rdd/samples/SurteesV8_article2.jpg
http://www.users.tsn.cc/rdd/samples/SurteesV8_article3.jpg

[shafty]

...................if I was Mr/Mrs Kawarau Winner (........and good on 'em) I'd be looking to try a Morbidelli 850 (Baby) V-8, yeah baby!

Do not regret growing old; it is a priviledge denied many;