Random pix

Dam! Hot!! Shiny!!! COOL!!!!!

Radial engines are a thing of beauty. Must take a substantial mount to support the weight. I've seen pix of radial engine motorcycles. I want one!
Yeah... it was a 14ft ceiling with a very small crawl space that I had to drag 4x6s into for cross bracing... then I assembled it piece by piece on a ladder... a little sketchy...lol
 
Is the radial fan a Conti?


I've seen a few different motocycles with radial engines, both inline and transverse, modern and old.
My favourite is the Killinger & Freund FWD circa WWII...

front-wheel-drive-motorcycle-german.jpg


... which is quite similar to the Megola, another radial in the front wheel type bike from the 30s.


Here's an old Plymouth you might like, CDB:


It's also featured on Jay Leno's Garudge.


I've always thought a large RC radial engine to power a Messerschmitt KR200 would be cool...

messerschmitt-kr200-super-record-car-1955-310235.jpg


Or stuff the RC-radial into a Boardtracker frame (more my style than the modern chopper stylings with radials):

ab5d0a39b943ef933968eb06359633c9_cropped.jpg


There's a guy who handmade a radial engine that spins, about the size of the one above, but can't find the link again though.

Another guy took a single cylinder from an aeroplane radial to power a bike, the NSU BISON 2000 — a 2L thumper!

Some random radial...
150bhp, nine-cylinder Rotec Radial R3600
Rotec 2800 is a 7 cylinder, lop out 3 cylinders and you’ve got a 1200cc W engine, NOICE! In fact, the spacing between the cylinders could be further reduced.
Use an Egli Vincent frame (mono-shocker even better), hang the engine off of it…
VW-based W or V ::
inline or transverse ala Motoguzzi
18-cylinder 700cc !! https://www.heilemann-sternmotoren.de/en/ THIS WOULD LOOK GREAT IN A 192x LOOP-FRAMED BOARDTRACKER but it’s an RC meth-head, could it run on gas?
Evolution Seven Cylinder Radial model airplane engine 35cc, 77cc, 260cc
WWI Gnome engine…
VALACK VM RF - 800cc 7 CYLINDER RADIAL


Sorry about the lack of original photos, all these were swiped from the Etherwebs.
 
I saw that '39 Plymouth on Jay's. Strictly a show car, it was not particularly fast. Looks very cool though!

I like that Peugeot bike with the tiny radial eng. Probably sounds like bunch of angry hornets.

That Killinger & Freund looks way cool. I gotta believe that putting that much rotating mass on the front wheel makes steering a challenge.
"So you vant to make turning, ja? Vee are not turning, vee are only straight going."

The hand-built VW cylinder radial is amazing. Gotta be 100x louder than it is on YaoTaob. How is the exposed gear train lubricated?
 
I don't know how the radial-VW's lubricated, I'm just a huge VW (aircooled) fan. I suppose some of the later VW water-pumpers are cool, too. Certainly the Oettinger flat-6 (H2O-pumper) is very cool indeed.


Re Radial rotating mass in the front-wheel (keeping in mind I never took physics, too much math) — at low speeds I can see it being a problem, but at most operating speeds you're just leaning the bike anyway, no?

Certainly my Guzzi-inspired Honda CX-650E had some interesting handling characteristics when you pore on the coal in a corner — sit up and beg forgiveness to your maker. Nonetheless, 'twas a great medium-sized all-rounder bike that's physically big enough (too many mid-range cc bikes are 1/2-hour rides before leg-cramping-stoppage-stretchage).


It's a stupid idea, but I still like the thought of a spinning-radial within the boardtracker frame — would be much easier and safer if it weren't spinning, but for the shear "WTFudgsicle" factor... There's a reason the early spinning-radial aeroplanes went to fixed radial, probably several good reasons...
 
The rotating mass turns the front wheel into a gyroscope. It resists tilting or twisting. The fast it rotates, the more it resists. It won't want to lean either.

The tiny radial in the bicycle is very cool. The exposed chain drive is hazardous though.
 
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