Hi Don,

I have been thinking about this for a couple of years now. There are
two problems with a HD engine in a bus or vanagon. One is that you
would have to fabricate a cooling system for it, as the airflow in
the engine compartment would not be adequate to cool it with the
workload it's being asked for. The second problem is price: A VW
factory engines is WAY cheaper than a comparable replacement HD engine.

  A V-4 100cc engine from a 1985 Honda Magna or Sabre would be
excellent.... it produces a nice flat powerband and has more torque
available than any baywindow engine. If I were installing one I would
use a chain or belt to connect the transmission's input shaft to the
bike's crank, that way you could double the available torque through
2:1 gearing. Tune the bike engine to idle at 1500 RPMS and you still
have a 750 RPM take-off speed at the transmission, a little low but
manageable. Since the V4 redlines at 11,000 RPM, you have an
effective top end of 5500, which is virtually the same as the 2L
aircooled engine.

Would it last? Hard to say. If I had access to a crashed bike for
cheap I would probably consider trying it.

The Honda Valkyrie engine would be perfect in a vanagon or bus, but
when you consider that the bike costs $30K it kind of diminishes the
financial incentive for the conversion.

Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato
www.pottsfamily.ca
www.busesofthecorn.com

On 2-May-07, at 2:30 PM, Don Hanson wrote:

> Has anyone ever tried a two cylinder motor in a Van?  Or maybe two
> Hardley Davidsons, for adequate hp?  Seriously, some of the bigger
> "Metric" V-twins make big power and are very light..I think there
> are some opposed 4 motorcycle motors out there also...Wonder what a
> Goldwing uses?  They have to weigh as much as a Vanagon or a Hardley..
>   Kidding, I kid the Hardly 'non-conformist outlaws'...by the
> thousands..
>   Ducking,
>    Don Hanson