7 replies to this topic

[Denzeldude]

I've always loved the sound of a 1000cc twin engined motorbike. Honda VTR1000 bikes are a relatively cheap option, although a Ducati engine could be a possibility.

The project is only in the idea stage at the moment. I know there are kits available for R1 and Hayabusa engines, but I've decided to try something a little different and throw a twin in the front of a mini. If this project is too ambitious then I may have to settle for a R1 kit.

I've heard R1 and Busa engined minis are not the most drivable on the road, although great for the track, due to having to rev them so high for suitable power to cope with the greater weight of the mini. I'd be interested to know the experiences of owners of these minis.

I can only guess that the twin may provide more torque down low in the rpm range and possibly make this a good road car, which is what I'm after. Your thoughts?

So, the idea is to take a Honda VTR1000 twin engine (note this is not a Honda in the picture but a custom bike using the engine):



Mount it in the front of the mini just behind the grill in an "east-west" configuration rather than "north-south" like some R1 or Busa kits, and connect the output shaft through universal joints to an ATV gearbox (taken from a large ATV which hopefully will be able to take the strain of pulling a mini, 800cc ATV gearbox below as en example):


This will be a direct drive rather than use of a chain like most kits available due to the output shaft of the twin running down the axis of the car. It would be a lot simpler to take advantage of this and run the driveshaft all the way to the rear of the car and thus make it RWD. However, this would be a complete headache to have registered in Australia. The hoops to jump through for approval for registration would make it prohibitive. Therefore it must remain FWD.

Reverse gear can be sorted out after weighing up the pros and cons of this project.

My plan is to use this car registered on the road in Australia (tough job I know). I'm not aware of any motorbike engine conversion minis in Australia but if there are, I would love to get in touch to know engineering approval aspects. Anyone else know of any?

Your thoughts on the project?

[brad-the-bear]

coool! if you go ahead with the project... am watching close. am always thinking of ways to put different engines in a mini, its gonna be a challenge because there's no room!

[Denzeldude]

Hopefully this video works. It's the sound of the VTR1000.

Edited by Denzeldude, 07 July 2012 - 10:17 AM.

[clovus]

There is at least one bike engined mini in Australia that I know of. The guy put $40k into it and sold it with a few little things to do to finish it off completely. Have a look at the dept of transport requirements for your state. We have argued the bike engine option fairly comprehensively in the ausmini forum and the general consensus is it is almost impossible to get road rego.

Cheers!

[Magic jason]

Nothing like the sound of a 1 litre V twin with no baffles

[Denzeldude]

There is at least one bike engined mini in Australia that I know of. The guy put $40k into it and sold it with a few little things to do to finish it off completely. Have a look at the dept of transport requirements for your state. We have argued the bike engine option fairly comprehensively in the ausmini forum and the general consensus is it is almost impossible to get road rego.

Cheers!

Is that the matt-black one in Sydney that had been sitting at Mini and Moke World?

And thanks for pointing me towards ausmini. I'll have a read.

Edited by Denzeldude, 13 July 2012 - 06:04 AM.

[clovus]

that one was in The Mini Experience mag issue 23. I think there was another one, a green one. Search r1 mini at Wakefield on you tube.

[SukiDawg]

V twin is a poor choice for bike engine cars due to the peaky torque output from only two cylinders. They work well in bikes because this peaky torque makes the tyre work better out of corners, improving traction. As you are driving against a much larger inertia in a car (heavier vehicle), and also you have a much greater tyre contact patch this effect isn't carried over to the car.

Most likely outcome is that you will give yourself driveline durability problems.

I wrote that in a similar thread a few weeks ago. It may or may not work - nobody I know of has attempted a large V twin into a car. The fact there are only 2 firing events per cycle (i.e. one per rotation of the engine) does mean that the torque output is not smooth like it would be on an engine with more cyclinders.

Bearing the fact that you want to use an ATV transmission also, you are going to need to put quite a bit of compliance into the driveline to damp this out and protect the transmission.

Out of interest how old are you?