Rover V8 bike

[Hambone]

Hi some photos of my bike I live in the North Island

[stevieturbo]

Quite a work of engineering.

[FBW]

Not everything worked out perfectly on the first try there, either.
I see some beautifully executed solutions—some of which clearly involved a lot of effort.

Thanks for sharing.
Frank

[scudderfish]

The dizzy drive is excellent!

[FBW]

I'm wondering how the transmission is set up.
Or is there no transmission at all? That large housing behind the engine might just contain a torque converter...

Frank

[Hambone]

Hi Frank,
you are correct it has 10" torque converter highly modified unit out of a 6 cylinder Holden car( power glide)
It is reversed to suit the drive from the primary chain.
There is a pump in the primary cover and an oil tank under the converter housing for trans fluid.
The engine is a 1986 SD1 and was near new when I purchased it 8000K.
I'm running a 390 CFM 4 barrel Holly Carb, offenhauser manifold,Ford Sierra twin cam oil pump, Nissan N13 water pump and the distributer I machined up the housing and fitted a Mallory unilite internals from a chevy style Distributor.
I make the frame ,petrol tank,side covers and mudguards along with all the machined parts.
The bike took four and half years to build and i've done 30,000 ks on it so far.
Performance is good can run a 131.5mph at the end of a standing quarter mile but I don't have a time for the run.
The bike is old now like me so i'm really careful riding it these days!
I cant understand why people put all that tin and glass around a perfect V8 Ha Ha

[stevieturbo]

So no actual gearbox at all ? just the TC for drive ?

[FBW]

Fantastic! Huge praise and much respect for the work.

It's a shame that SU carburetors probably won't fit. I think the smoother throttle response achievable with them would fit the concept very well.

I have very good experiences with the 123Ignition. You can do a tremendous amount with it. I'm not talking about maximum power, but rather throttle response and engine running.

Without any glass and metal around it, the V8 will certainly shine... with all its perhaps undesirable quirks.

Regards Frank

[FBW]

...I noticed something else. The engine doesn't have a flywheel or a starter ring gear.

I think the starter motor is located in the primary cover?

[Hambone]

Hi
The Starter motor is under the seat drives onto the torque converter!
the alternator is driven off the torque converter as well.
The Holley works fine no space for SU carbs!
the ignition is Unilite optical trigger works great!
I think that the biggest thing with these engines is to run Full synthetic engine oil .

[FBW]

Oh, and you really ought to have an alternator, too!

I think that the biggest thing with these engines is to run Full synthetic engine oil .

I don't entirely share that view.
The engine's design dates back to a time when mineral oils were the standard, and it was engineered with that in mind. The Rover V8 doesn't like oil that is too thin. The primary drive and distributor drive receive very little oil directly from the lubrication circuit and rely on oil mist; however, modern oils hardly mist at all.
I use 15W-40 or 20W-50 oil in my cars with Rover V8 engines.
The widespread camshaft wear is largely due to usage patterns. Cars (or motorcycles) with the Rover V8 that are rarely driven and often sit idle for long periods suffer from severe camshaft wear. Over time, the oil drains away, so it takes quite a while for oil to reach the cam lobes after startup, leading to a lack of lubrication.
The outer cylinder head bolts are another critical issue. The heads tend to tilt, causing the head gasket to blow into the cylinder valley. The inside of the engine ends up looking like a smokehouse, and the resulting carbon deposits do the bearings no good either.

Regards Frank

[Hambone]

Hi,
My bike has a alternator under the seat!
The lousy rover gear oil pump is the biggest killer of these engines!
Holden V8 engines had gear pump on the side of the block and Traffic cops use to blow them up by doing hard U turns to chase people!
They would suck air and run the crank bearings I new one did it!
Really funny.