This radial chopper is patently absurd—and it's awesome

[Grace]

The motorcycle world embraces a far more diverse range of engine layouts than the automotive world does. A bike's packaging is more flexible, and its demands for cooling and heat management are lax compared to even a basic car. Just how wild you can get in the two-wheeled kingdom? Take a look at this JRL Cycles Lucky 7 and its radial powerplant.

Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorcycles/this-radial-chopper-is-patently-absurd-and-its-awesome/

[cdkrek]

powering one wheel, not two

[Sajeev]

No doubt! I am making the change now. 

[Rockem]

This amazing piece of art goes way,way past a motorcycle. 

[RokemRonnie]

"Yeah, radial—not rotary."  As cool as this bike is, an aircraft rotary (shaped like a radial only the entire engine spins around a stationary crankshaft, with the propellor fixed to the crankcase) would be even cooler.

[RobertLLR]

Nihil novi sub sole.  Jesse James did a much prettier radial-engine-powered bike in the early 2000's  Google it.

[drhino]

Absurd, yes.  Awesome, no. 
Would love to see someone attempt to take this contraption around a corner. 

[bhankinsonn]

yep, it's wierd, but you can bet I will be checking on that auction just to see where it goes

[shepherds2]

Absolutely beautiful piece of rolling art.  Question :  normally being air cooled by propeller , how is this engine efficiently cooled?  And how does the rider avoid burning his right leg off? Love the pipes though!

[farna]

The Jesse James bike is more rideable, with the engine placed like it would be in an aircraft (same engine as this bike) with the riders legs behind the cylinders. There are photos of it being ridden, but I bet the riders legs get hot after a while! Good winter bike? I wonder how much it torques over when you hit the throttle hard too...

https://www.cycleworld.com/2007/04/01/radial-hell-cw-exclusive-feature/

[misterelwood]

that is just tar did

[Pioneer27185]

No video of it running or tearing down the road? Typical Hagerty

[BillJfromAustin]

I understand and appreciate the thrill of accepting and overcoming an engineering challenge - for decades my thing has been building motorcycles for riders with disabilities - but I'm not sure there will ever be a useful application for the ingenuity deployed here.

But I could be wrong.  If folks are willing to spend stupid money for these things, I guess that's a 'useful appliaction' for the builder!  

😄