Friday, April 24, 2009

Pretty pipes bring out V-twin look

When Aniket Vardhan created a 700cc V-twin motor from two Royal Enfield 350s, most would have expected him to test it, if at all, in a cobbled up "mule" of a motorcycle.

Nothing of the sort. Vardhan, a Columbus, Ohio resident originally from New Delhi, had dreamed of creating a Royal Enfield V-twin. It turns out his dream included mounting it in a fine looking motorcycle and actually riding it.

He keeps improving the appearance of the slightly stretched Royal Enfield Bullet he has nicknamed "The Musket." His latest modification are classic and very classy twin mufflers. He writes:

"Here are a few pics of the bike with the exhaust added. I had to do the 2 into 2 double-stacked mufflers for the vintage Brit V-twin look! This is as close as I'll get to the poor man's Brough/Vincent/BSA Y13."

I wasn't able to find an exact parallel in my limited library, but this 1938 AJS 38/2 has a bit of the flavor. If anything, The Musket, with both pipes emerging forward, is prettier. The AJS is seen here in the book Classic Bikes by Peter Henshaw.

at 7:00 AM
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9 comments:

  1. That looks really great David, I reckon it will sound tremendous, good post Sir!

    Malc
    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Malc. Yes, Aniket has done a great job, once again. I don't know all the advantages and disadvantages of having the exhausts exit to the front, but they do make a nice appearance. To me, the back exit on the rear cylinder of most V-twins sometimes looks a bit cramped.
    ReplyDelete
  4. Aniket VardhanApr 24, 2009 09:31 AM
    Hi David!

    It's astonishing- the pic of the AJS you posted happens to be one of those that I stared at for long hours while dreaming of this project. I have that same book too!
    ReplyDelete
  5. David,
    Aniket already described why he kept the exhaust on both cylinders at the front.
    Quote:
    --- In Bulletech@yahoogroups.com, Tue Feb 3, 2009 10:52 pm "aniketvardhan" wrote:
    >
    > Hi Robert!
    >
    > These are all great points, and I really would have liked the
    > simplicity of one carb, but here's the main problem- if the rear
    > cylinder were reversed, (in the way i think you mean, with the exhaust
    > port facing backwards and the inlet forwards), then we have to deal
    > with the fact that the rear cylinder now must have the cams, pushrods
    > etc. on the LEFT side of the engine, while the front one has them on
    > the RIGHT...you see, this would make things really complicated in terms
    > of using the existing primary case, cam drive, oil system and greatly
    > compromise overall simplicity.
    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, Aniket, amazing that we both saw the same picture! Anonymous, thank you for pointing out the explanation for front exhausts. That's the advantage of this layout, I suppose, and the disadvantage I gather would be that it needs two carbs since the inlets are too far apart to share one. Actually, I suppose some might consider that an advantage. Certainly gives you something to talk about at the bar.
    ReplyDelete
  7. when we will have a v twin RE musket to buy and ride?
    ReplyDelete
  8. hey Malc, it does sound awesome! check out the videos here:

    http://big-diesel.blogspot.com/2009/04/kneeslider-features-musket.html
    ReplyDelete
  9. hi justa question what type of frame did u use? is it off the bullet its self or another bike? thanks
    ReplyDelete

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