late 70's Benelli 354 4 banger race'd up abit .. 

Used to rev like mad to go anywhere .. but not very quickly .. 

I seem to recall there was also a Moto Guzzi badged version as well that did not go down well with the purists .. 

Bottom pic is a standard 354 ..

 

1 hour ago, ktm jeff said:

How are the valves driven. I cant see a cam chain housing or push rod tubes.

 

There's a single cam, with matching drive pulley dead centre.  The cam is run off of a drive belt linked to a drive box behind the second cylinder. 
The timing belt looks like a very small toothed drive belt, a lot like the drive belts in photo copiers.

 

 

 

Built by a German guy called Dieter Hartmann-Wirthwein.

Some more specs:

Bore 35mm, stroke 32.4mm, 125cc, inlet valve 13.5mm, outlet valve 12mm, valve angle 60°, 12mm original carburettor, power about 5-6hp at 7500 rpm.  Most was hand built, except for valves and pistons, which came from from four Honda GX25 engines - typically used in strimmers.

Have a listen to it:

 

Another one of Dieter's hand built motors. An 868cc V8, fitted to a Ducati Elenore, which is usually powered by a 900cc twin. He actually mated it to the original twin crankshaft, which is no mean feat, and took out a patent on the connection he made to do so.  Amazing workmanship.

 

 

 

 

I like how he just happens to have a radial engine lying about, as you do...

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

I seem to recall there was also a Moto Guzzi badged version as well that did not go down well with the purists .. 

I can just imagine what our own, sadly departed, 'Guzzi purist would have said...

More details, and more noise music, from the 125 straight 4 and 868 V8 engines above.  The twin crankshaft linked to 8 cylinders is a thing of beauty:

 

3 hours ago, ballpoint said:

 

There's a single cam, with matching drive pulley dead centre.  The cam is run off of a drive belt linked to a drive box behind the second cylinder. 
The timing belt looks like a very small toothed drive belt, a lot like the drive belts in photo copiers.

 

 

 

Built by a German guy called Dieter Hartmann-Wirthwein.

Some more specs:

Bore 35mm, stroke 32.4mm, 125cc, inlet valve 13.5mm, outlet valve 12mm, valve angle 60°, 12mm original carburettor, power about 5-6hp at 7500 rpm.  Most was hand built, except for valves and pistons, which came from from four Honda GX25 engines - typically used in strimmers.

Have a listen to it:

 

Thank you. I couldnt see a chain/belt tunnel between cylinders 2 and 3 in the fifth photo. Germanys answer to Allen Millyard.

Manx Superior .. JAP/Brough engine in a Norton frame and from the days when chain guards and silencers were for cissy's .. 

Longstroke Veetwin at its best .. 

1935 Galbusera 350 single sprinter .. don'tcha' just love those exhausts .. 

Galbusera are probably better known for their magnificent mid 30's 500 V8 supercharged stroker .. it has been put up before but these are two new pic's that have surfaced .. 

 

4 hours ago, ballpoint said:

I can just imagine what our own, sadly departed, 'Guzzi purist would have said...

 

I seem to recall he was less than impressed when a pic of one was put up before .. 

" on my tail is a low rider " 

as War once sang .. 

Radical yes .. practical , not very .. 

 

7 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

 

I seem to recall he was less than impressed when a pic of one was put up before .. 

Certainly didn't mince words.  I still laugh when I see the first of his posts in the "popular posts" section at the top right of the page:

 

Miss his posts also !

 

 

Ural combo with extra ground clearance and farm truck exhaust .. 

 

A German bike, the Imme R100, made by Riedel AG.  Powered by a 99cc piston-ported two-stroke single, they were built from 1948 - 1951, and featured some pretty advanced tech for those days.  Unfortunately, because they were made cheap to help Germany's post war recovery, the profit margin was low, and reliability was poor.  Resulting warranty claims bankrupted the company.  Still, a bit of a looker.

 

Another from Germany, the Megola.  Built from 1921 - 1925.  The prototype featured a 5 cylinder, 640cc radial engine built into the back wheel, but it was moved to the front wheel on production models.   It came in a couple of configurations; 

The Sport:

 

 

And the Touring:

Early 50's Aussie Tilbrook rotary valve single .. rather than poppet valves actuated by an OHC or rockers this had a hollowed shaft rotating within the head with apertures machined into the outer surface that lined up at the cyl ports at the relevant timings to allow the incoming charge in and spent gas out .. 

Not a new idea ( Norton experimented with it also ) the crucial aspects of it were the width and height of the apertures in much the same way as valve lift and duration after a cam begins to open the valve until closed .. various shapes were experimented with looking for the optimum one .. 

 

Magnat Debon 750 complete with art deco inspired exhaust and a Terrot 500 both mid 30's .. 

 

Great stuff here. Really enjoying this thread. Thanks to all for the contributions.

On 5/25/2021 at 10:59 AM, canthai55 said:

Miss his posts also !

 

He's into mountain bikes now.

The frational horse-power kind.

On 5/26/2021 at 2:45 AM, Justgrazing said:

Magnat Debon 750 complete with art deco inspired exhaust and a Terrot 500 both mid 30's .. 

 

Wow just wow two fantastic looking bikes what an era.

3 hours ago, Randell said:

Wow just wow two fantastic looking bikes what an era.

 

Here's a couple o' more shots of the 750 Randell along with a couple of a 350 Magnat Debon .. 

There are loads of old French bikes way back in this thread but I'll put together some pic's of some faves again when I get abit of time .. 

 

The part in the Funniest Motorcycle Commercials starting at 9:11 is way out there.

Motorcycle runs on charcoal:  https://www.britishpathe.com/video/charcoal-motor-bike-aka-charcoal-motorbike/query/motorcycles

11 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

The part in the Funniest Motorcycle Commercials starting at 9:11 is way out there.

 

Was this supposed to have a link?

19 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

 

Here's a couple o' more shots of the 750 Randell along with a couple of a 350 Magnat Debon .. 

There are loads of old French bikes way back in this thread but I'll put together some pic's of some faves again when I get abit of time .. 

 

The artistry is fantastic 

Take six BT200X mini bikes, top speed 20 mph:

 

Hand them out to some crazy customisation houses and these are what you get back:

 

 

 

 

 

I'll take the red one, third from top (or bottom). You guys can fight over the rest, I'm off.

 

who says art deco is dead? A 2005 Yamaha Gen-Ryu hybrid concept bike.  Fitted with a YZF-R6 600cc petrol engine, plus an electric one added as well for the hybrid part of the name.  Sadly, it never made it into production.  So, perhaps art deco is dead after all.

 

 

Turn all those lights on at once and melt the car in front.  Worth buying it just for that.

 

 

At the same time as the Gen Ryu hybrid above, and at the risk of attracting the PCX fan boys to this thread, Yamaha also displayed the Maxam 3000 "limousine scooter".  Perfect for Bangkok, at just 3m long.  Yes, the 3000 isn't cc, it's mm:

 

Unlike the Gen Ryu, Yamaha did release a version of this bike.

The Maxam CP250 (And this time, the 250 is cc. Still looks a bit long though, but that grab handle is a work of art).

 

Customisation is an option:

 

 

A solution for those who still thought it was too short...