Hello Peoples,

I was having a brain storming session with a couple of fellow builders and the discussion turned to bike engined vehicles.
We got thinking about using a v twin in a ariel atom / warner r4 type exo vehicle.
Engine wise was thinking like a ducati 1198 or suzuki v storm, or something similar.
One idea was to mount it east west and connect vehicle diff to output, make it nice and compact, and light.

Has anyone had an experience or thoughts??
Currently we are just kicking around ideas and would like to get some thoughts.

Thanks.

No experience of putting one in a kit but they're a cracking engine in a road bike.

You might want to consider the Aprilia v-twin too, had one in an SL1000 Falco and it was ace.

Whatever you choose I'd imagine you'll want to uprate the clutch as even in a bike the Aprilia one is marginal.

I've thought it a lot myself, figuring the V-Twin packaging would suit a middy maybe more than a front engine layout batter.

Would think the RSv4 aprilia would be a better bet or the VFR1200 Honda

Check out the sdr v-storm, basically an atom with an aprilia v twin, sounds like it fits the bill. Not sure who owns the kit at the moment though. Also has mclaren three set arrangement too. Iirc the aprilia motor (rotax) is dry sumped so no need for baffles etc. that some bike engines need if you turn it longitudinal.

Two ways of fitting a mid/rear bike engine, keep it the same was as the bike and use a chain to drive a diff or turn it longitudinal and connect it to a car diff with a very short drive shaft or Cush drive. The fomer is used In Radicals and the Sylva riot the latter in the MeV atomic and the fisher menace.

For chain driven diff you can get ideas from the west wales trike shack site.

Also iirc Stuart Taylor put a tl1000 in their seven at one stage and also the pan European v4.

You could start with one of the MEV chassis, the mevabusa is nice or use the riot.

Bit of inspiration -

Sdr v storm



Mevabusa



Superlite cars nemesis (from the us but looks nice)



R1ot engine/chain drive



[Edited on 4/12/16 by Ugg10]

The Australian Spartan V originally used a Ducati V-twin, but abandoned it after lots of problems and fitted a Honda car engine instead. The dry multiplate clutches on some Ducatis have a reputation of being much more fragile than even the normal wet multiplate bike clutches.

They don't rev enough to get decent gearing , at 10 mph per 1000 rpm you'll want another 4 gears to use one on the road .

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Originally posted by froggy
They don't rev enough to get decent gearing , at 10 mph per 1000 rpm you'll want another 4 gears to use one on the road .

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Originally posted by Ugg10

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Originally posted by froggy
They don't rev enough to get decent gearing , at 10 mph per 1000 rpm you'll want another 4 gears to use one on the road .

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Which is why the sdr storm uses the chain drive system so you can easily vary the final drive to be more like the bike rather than making do with the 3.something car diff (Sierra or freelander).

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Found this, twin aprilia MeV atomic, engine in passenger seat




Picture of the Ducati spartan



Very similar to the Sylva j15/16/17/vectis



Also pretty shire you could fit a twin and chain drive in the back of a spire gtr, that would make a nice track car combo if you want to stray from the eco car look.



[Edited on 4/12/16 by Ugg10]

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Originally posted by Sam_68

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Originally posted by Ugg10

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Originally posted by froggy
They don't rev enough to get decent gearing , at 10 mph per 1000 rpm you'll want another 4 gears to use one on the road .

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Which is why the sdr storm uses the chain drive system so you can easily vary the final drive to be more like the bike rather than making do with the 3.something car diff (Sierra or freelander).

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Yep, I did the gearing calcs on the Aprilia for a chain drive Middy (which is what the OP is talking about), and it all worked out reasonably enough, if you use the right sprockets.

Arguably, the fact that they are only firing half as many times, at any given revs, and don't rev quite so high as inline 4 bike engines is an advantage for those of us who find the scream of a 4-pot BEC with its ultra-short gearing offends our sense of mechanical sympathy!

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Originally posted by froggyAt 14 mph per 1000 my 530 kg car struggled to run mid 14 1/4 mile at 90 mph

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Stay away from Ducati engines the service interval is short, and cam belts ar difficult enough, access wise, in the bike.

I'm building a mid engine car using a Honda VTR1000F motor. The car will be left hand drive because the engine encroaches into the passenger space. The car will be just for local motorsport events, hill climbs, sprints and track days. Progress is at an early stage, and moving ahead rather slowly I'm afraid. I have made a chain-drive diff and am using Honda Civic axles and hubs for the rear and MX5 hubs for the front. I have the geometry worked out for the rear end now (using sticks of timber) and have started building the chassis in 25 x 25 x 1.6 square tube. I'll post a picture or two if I can work out how to do this, but not a lot to see st this stage. Also .. interested in getting comments on some options for the build. I am a bit shocked to realise that by using regular car parts for hubs and brakes I'm looking at over 30% of the car being unsprung weight. In this situation, is it better to go for a stiffer than usual suspension (say 3 hz) , or softer (say 1 Hz). The car needs to handle OK on poor standard tarmac (typical hill climb).








[Edited on 5/2/17 by Ratman]

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Originally posted by froggy


Which is why the sdr storm uses the chain drive system so you can easily vary the final drive to be more like the bike rather than making do with the 3.something car diff (Sierra or freelander).

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