1956 Moto Guzzi V-8
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A friend of mine shipped his Norton Manx over to Pukekohe, New Zealand from Idaho to compete in a few historic races a couple of years ago. One of the featured attractions was Sammy Miller riding a Moto Guzzi V8 that had been shipped over just for the event. Mike took a bunch of very cool & detailed pics of the bike & engine. He also shot a couple of short movies with audio, which I think you will find more a bit more interesting than the brief audio clip in the article.
Heres a link to a simple little web page I set up for him. Scroll to the bottom & you'll see a couple of hypertext links to the movies.
http://www.onewest.net/~ckirk/Bikes/Pukekohe2003/pukekohe2003.htm
Enjoy - Chris
BTW - Mike won 5 out of 5 of his races on the Manx!
Heres a link to a simple little web page I set up for him. Scroll to the bottom & you'll see a couple of hypertext links to the movies.
http://www.onewest.net/~ckirk/Bikes/Pukekohe2003/pukekohe2003.htm
Enjoy - Chris
BTW - Mike won 5 out of 5 of his races on the Manx!
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Wow, the thing is gorgeous.
And that sound!... It sounds downright ghostly, other-worldly, supernatural. I love it!
Maybe when you see it and touch and sit on it, it's enough. But from where I'm sitting right now, I agree with Buzz. You musta runa la macchina! Ride that thing. Let it wail.
And that sound!... It sounds downright ghostly, other-worldly, supernatural. I love it!
Maybe when you see it and touch and sit on it, it's enough. But from where I'm sitting right now, I agree with Buzz. You musta runa la macchina! Ride that thing. Let it wail.
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Nice vids. Thanks for posting.
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Words cannot do the Guzzi V-8 engine justice. The sound of the engine under load reminds me of the Can-Am cars of the late 60s and early 70s. Just raw animal sounds.
The Guzzi V-8 surpasses even the sound of a V-Max with a 4-1 pipe at about 5,000 RPMs. (Listen to a Max with a pipe, you'll understand).
Thank you for the article. I remember reading about the project of the replica bikes a few years ago. (maybe 8 years ago?) The fellow that built them is considered a master machinist, and is kind of a national treasure in vintage racing circles, and if I remember correctly, he built those V-8's with all manual machines, NO CNC equipment of any kind.
It is worth looking up the articles on the replication of the V-8s.
Regards,
Mark
The Guzzi V-8 surpasses even the sound of a V-Max with a 4-1 pipe at about 5,000 RPMs. (Listen to a Max with a pipe, you'll understand).
Thank you for the article. I remember reading about the project of the replica bikes a few years ago. (maybe 8 years ago?) The fellow that built them is considered a master machinist, and is kind of a national treasure in vintage racing circles, and if I remember correctly, he built those V-8's with all manual machines, NO CNC equipment of any kind.
It is worth looking up the articles on the replication of the V-8s.
Regards,
Mark
Really nice article. Yup, that guy really should run AND ride the Goose....
For MOrons who give a rats rear about heritage, check out "The Superior Sound of Classic Racing Bikes" Red Loft Records, 1997. Methinks -and I may be remembering wrong - but these recordings mostly took place at a Historic Bike Race at Assen in the mid 90's. Stereophiles take note: pretty ok recording, but nowhere near state of the art.
Narrated by Phil Read - hey, you get to hear Phil Read interview Phil Read, nudge nudge.
50 cc Honda & Suzuki twins, Kreidler's. 125cc Honda twin, four & five (!!!), 250 NSU Rennmax, Bianchi's, Jawa's, Gilera's, MV's, the mighty Honda 350 6 cyl, Norton Manx (blat!!), BMW sidecar twins...interviews with Ago.
Pretty cool stuff. Worth a listen if the CD is still current and available.
For MOrons who give a rats rear about heritage, check out "The Superior Sound of Classic Racing Bikes" Red Loft Records, 1997. Methinks -and I may be remembering wrong - but these recordings mostly took place at a Historic Bike Race at Assen in the mid 90's. Stereophiles take note: pretty ok recording, but nowhere near state of the art.
Narrated by Phil Read - hey, you get to hear Phil Read interview Phil Read, nudge nudge.
50 cc Honda & Suzuki twins, Kreidler's. 125cc Honda twin, four & five (!!!), 250 NSU Rennmax, Bianchi's, Jawa's, Gilera's, MV's, the mighty Honda 350 6 cyl, Norton Manx (blat!!), BMW sidecar twins...interviews with Ago.
Pretty cool stuff. Worth a listen if the CD is still current and available.
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1,521 Posts
The guy is talking about "passion" and then refuses even to start the engine. Passion my a$$. Its like marrying Nicole Kidman and then refusing to... well you know.
- cruiz-euro
- cruiz-euro
I have to agree with the others that say this thing needs to be ridden. There is an old Ducati/Norton dealership near me that has some really rare stuff. One of two John Player Norton's that raced the Isle of Mann (forget the year) as well as a Wankel Norton racer. Unfortunatley, these just get dusted as well. I suspect the cost (and downright ability) to replace is the driving force, but it is still a shame.
Oh, not to be overly technical but 500cc Divided by 8 cylinders = 62.5cc per cylinder, not 50cc.
Oh, not to be overly technical but 500cc Divided by 8 cylinders = 62.5cc per cylinder, not 50cc.
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The guy should have done some wheelies and stoppies, that would have been impressive.
- cruiz-euro
- cruiz-euro
I can't quite put a finger on it etiher...but you are right about the master machinest thing....actually I think that there are a couple of them. One in England has build a Honda 6 - I think it was in Motorcyclist a few yrs ago. The Britbike Mags such as Classic Bike write about these occasionally....
I also vaguely remember that Sammy Miller has more than a few of the various replicas.
Methinks I'd go mad trying to assemble a Guzzi 8 or Honda RC 148 - a 5 cyl 125 cc!!
I'd go even MADDER trying to shim a 14 speed gearbox from a Suzuki 50 cc twin...the mind boggles!
I also vaguely remember that Sammy Miller has more than a few of the various replicas.
Methinks I'd go mad trying to assemble a Guzzi 8 or Honda RC 148 - a 5 cyl 125 cc!!
I'd go even MADDER trying to shim a 14 speed gearbox from a Suzuki 50 cc twin...the mind boggles!
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But do these replicas really run? Why wouldn´t the owner start the engine? Maybe its all die-cast alloy crankshafts and stuff. You start it and it turns ectoplasma in five seconds. So this guy forked 300k for this?
- cruiz-euro
- cruiz-euro
Why a Honda CB160 of course.
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