Even if it doesn’t make any sense, we like seeing motorcycles using car engines. There are some examples that made it into serial prodution but most of these machines are cool one-off customs that cought our eye. Here are five of the best car-engined motorcycles from the last 50 years that made the best fist of it. You can read the first part here.
06. Münch Mammut
Münch Mammut
Münch was a German motorcycle manufacturer founded by Friedel Münch. He actively participated in motorcycle racing but after a crash, he devoted himself entirely to the design and construction of high-performance motorcycles. Münch started to sell self-developed racing brakes in 1964. In 1966, he presented the Mammut, an enormous bike around the engine of the NSU Prinz car. The Mammut was the fastest superbike at the time: the 1,177cc inline-four in the second version (from 1968) put out 90 hp at 6,000 rpm and was capable of doing 220 km/h (137 mph). A four-speed gearbox connected to a gear primary-drive and enclosed-chain final drive, and the front brake was one of Münch’s famous 10 in (250 mm) units. The bikes were hand-built to order from Münch’s workshop in Nieder-Florstadt, West Germany. The Mammut, being a hand-built machine, was very expensive: it cost $3,995 in 1969, while you could take home the BMW R69S for $1,695. This led to financial difficulties and the last Mammut was built in 1975. According to estimates, less than 500 machines were produced.
07. Olson’s V8
Olson’s Flathead
Have you ever ridden a Ford? Well, thanks to Olson’s Performance, you actually can. They build motorcycles with ancient Ford V8’s and when we say ancient, we mean it. They use pre-World War Two engines like the 135 cubic-inch V8-60 (60 was for its horsepower rating). The engine is mounted to a five-speed Moto Guzzi gearbox. To keep the wheelbase short, they snugged the transmission right up onto the Ford’s flywheel. Another thing that keeps it short is mounting the radiators in the “saddlebags”. Because the engine had no oil filter, the guys at Olson had to mount one and they replaced the carborettor and mounted a Mallory electronic ignition. The front end is from a ’48 Indian Chief, the controls are from Harley, and the fenders come from Moto Guzzi. More than 50 of these beasts were built but the guys at Olson also created a V12 version using a Lincoln engine.
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08. Corvair Six Pack
Grabowski’s Six Pack
This is an epic bike, a machine straight from hell. It was built by actor Norm Grabowski whose motto was „We build anything, it just cost money”. He took a ’41 shaft drive Indian frame, and transplanted a Corvair flat six into it. The Chevrolet Corvair was powered by an air-cooled flat-six boxer engine that became popular with amateur aircraft builders. (Chevy made the Corvair from 1960 to 1969, the only mass-produced American car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine.) The hand-built motorcycle didn’t even have a transmission, just a clutch. Norm used to go to LA Roadster club meetings on the Six Pack and he had no problem kick starting the bike, when it was time to leave. The Six Pack had no electric starter. Norm actually built two Corvair-powered “Six Packs” — the other mated with H-D tranny called “PP ‘n’ Vinegar.
09. Track T800-CDi
The Track T800-CDi
The T800-CDi is the Dutch doppelganger of Yamaha’s Super Tenere, except it’s diesel. The adventure tourer features long travel suspension, upright ergonomics, Brembo brakes and an engine stolen from a Smart car. The 800cc three-cylinder turbocharged engine delivers 45 hp and – more importantly – 81 lb-ft of torque, funneled through a CVT transmission. 0-60 takes just 3,75 seconds. The diesel engine is very economical – the unique drivetrain manages an impressive 112 miles per gallon at 55 miles per hour. The Daimler-built engine is held in a custom tubular steel trellis frame and supported by top-shelf WP suspenders front and rear. The Dutch company, EVA started to sell the bike in 2009 in Holland but production has come to a halt in 2012. An estimated 20 motorcycles have been put on the road. The T800-CDi proved that the idea of a diesel motorcycle is fairly viable.
10. Von Dutch XAVW
The XAVW
What’s so special about this bike? It’s that his creator, artist and pinstriper Von Dutch (a.k.a. Kenneth Robert Howard) wasn’t a motorcycle builder. But working with a Harley-Davidson XA, a World War II shaft drive machine that’s relatively rare now, some Moto Guzzi components and a 36 horsepower flat four Volkswagen engine he joined some cool components and built a complete motorcycle. At the heart of the XAVW is a flat-four 1200cc Volkswagen engine. It’s made up of a shaft-drive Harley-Davidson XA with Moto Guzzi parts and a Honda CB450 tank. While a bit dirty and a little rough around the edges, its legend and ingenuity rank high for us in moto-folk-art status. Besides, the bike features a shaft drive and that’s part of what makes it unique. It was well ahead of its time.
Check out this Van Dutch Trucker Hat: Von Dutch Originals Unisex-Adult Trucker Hat -One-Size Black/Black
+1 Red Baron – the motorcycle with a plane engine
German motorcycle builder Frank Ohle took the ide of building a car engine into a motorcycle frame a bit further when he built the Red Baron. The Red Baron is a custom chopper motorcycle powered by a 150 hp, nine-cylinder Rotec Radial R3600 aircraft engine. He spent 18 months bringing the Red Baron from concept to reality and the result is an astonishing bike and lots of noise. This type of engine was most commonly used as a replacement engine during the World War I-era airplanes. All in all, it looks and sounds impressive.
