Motus V4 motorcycle, 140-HP, pushrods

spinningmagnets

spinningmagnets

100 TW
Joined
Dec 21, 2007
Messages
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Location
Ft Riley, NE Kansas
Not electric, but I couldn't help myself, I am drawn to mechanical oddities. Pushrods allow a shorter engine, still can make 7,800 RPMs. Displacement is about 100-cu in / 1645cc. Torque is a broad and flatter than usual curve, 122 pound-feet at a low 4,500-RPMs, V-block/one-cam is actually lighter than an inline 4-cyl with 4 cams...

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_1109_v4_motorcycle_engine/viewall.html

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What's even goofier is that they use all GM/ available components. I think I heard the pistons were a Cadillac part number.

It is a well designed sport tourer, but I don't know how I feel about my bike only being able to rev to 8 grand... especially for the price they're asking.

I can't fault them though, great design in the US, which is more than I can say for many other US gas bikes.
 
So, engine alone is 140lbs. Trannys are often >40lbs alone, and it can't be packaged as well with the engine because they aren't sharing a casting (meaning they need otherwise un-needed bell housing flanges with bolts and/or brackets etc).

A GSXR1000 engine AND TRANNY are 130lbs... and make 40-50hp more with 647cc less displacement, and all cheap reliable race proven parts/electronics etc. And you can buy 3 of them for the cost of the ECU alone on that machine.
 
Honda made a series of 1052cc V4 motorcycles with similar specific power starting in 1983. They were oriented with their crankshafts at 90 degrees to the frame, which made them package better than what we see in this new bike.

It's not clear to me how this new bike improves on the V65 Magna and V65 Sabre, engine-wise, except by being bigger.

Chalo
 
http://motusmotorcycles.com/kmv4.html

Isn't that actually the SCAT? 320hp if wrung out completely at 166ci? Definitely NOT my area, but I'm thinking this will be the high torque version of an engine that was found in midget racing, offroad, etc.

Not sure if the SCAT is current. Chevy came up with this 3 years ago:

http://www.circletrack.com/enginetech/ctrp_0810_chevy_midget_engine/viewall.html

Some people think pushrods ain't all bad. When they were running stock block Chevy engines in Indycars in the 60's, (Not so much out front) these were pushrod engines. I believe the F5000 cars of the 70's were 302ci (The Z28 engine, right?) with pushrod Chevys, over 500hp.
 
Oh, why shouldn't I mention the grand coincidence that the original Ford Motor Company car (That's the current Ford car company) was called the Model A with a 100ci 2 cylinder engine, topping out at 8hp. By the time the Model T came along 5 years later there was a 4 cylinder 177ci with a screamin' 25hp. When Ford brought back the Model A name in 1927 the 201ci engine claimed 40hp. Think of what engines of that displacement are expected to do today.

1903-ford-model-a-2-opt.jpg
 
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