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John, here's what can happen when you start playing with a Merlin Engine.
Check out Guy Martin's (famous British racer and all round nutcase) love of,and exploits with his Merlin engine. So funny when he explains how it all goes wrong - He's a real character !


Cheer sTim

A Hugh Jackman Look a like complete with the "Wolverine Look" LMAO !!

Within 2 seconds of watching Guy pull that machine out of the barn, my mind spun to "what a great add on for Bill's KZ750 trike.
I know Bill wanted to Rat out the trike . Love to see it buzzing down the road with the Merlin pushing it.

Thanks Tonto for sharing !! Helps warm up the atmosphere in Bobcaygeon. -2 cel. at the moment. Feels like - I've had enough of this .......

wonder how one of those things would go in a micro lite?
or one of those flat bottom boats on the Florida everglades with the big fans pushing them round
hot digidy damn
Dion

Aircraft engines -especially those of this vintage, have great similarities to motorcycles engines. In my case , the founding Italian family of MV Agusta were also helicopter engine manufactures - assuming that the air cooled engines of helicopters had some really worth while technology transfer to the very fast motorcycles they were also making. We are talking late 1940's thru to the mid 1970's.
Last summer, after a 6000km ride to Laguna Seca for World Super Bike, on the return journey we stopped of for a few hours at the Evergreen Museum to view the "Spruce Goose " - also called the Hughes H-4. Looking at the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 - this thing is massive. Each engine was 28 cylinders. - made up of 7 rows of 4 cylinders ,with each cylinder slightly off set from the one in front to aid cooling. With eight engines ( 4 on each wing ) giving a total of 224 cylinders. Each engine had a mechanical super charger producing 3000 hp.
One big reason for developing a flying boat during WW 2 and being this size was to move large numbers of soldiers or equipment to inaccessible places by landing on the water , taxing up to the beach , opening the large nose door to unload, reverse pitch the 4 inside engines and back off the beach , then fly back to America and do it over and over. Well, if you have watched the movie "The Aviator " starring Leonardo DiCaprio , you will know the rest of the story.

here is a pop quiz for all!
tackelhappy just touched on a interesting subject i recon
so who out their knows of motorcycle manufacturers that originated from the aircraft industry ??
BMW was one
Aermacchi, latter sold its bike business to Harley
Martinsyde a english company ventured into bikes
even Showa had its routes in the aviation industry, only moving first to cars then bikes after WW11
Kawasaki Aircraft, bought its way into the motorcycle industry by buying out Meguro
any one else have some interesting bike start ups
Dion

Well, Aermacchi is a bit of a give away -it's almost spelt out in it's name of today vs Aeronautica Macchi.
Good question actually , because in days of old it seemed to make a lot of sense.