Aircraft engines are sometimes chosen by modifiers to power unique cars. However, one Czech shill built a motorcycle around an aircraft engine!
Pavel Malaník once “looked” into an engine from the British company JAPrestwich and Company, which was founded in 1985 by designer and inventor John Alfred Prestwich. The company had a relatively broad scope, it began to focus on aircraft engines in the first years of the 20th century.
Among other power units, Prestwich also offered a 4.4-liter V8 for airplanes and airships. And that is precisely the aggregate that really fascinated Malaník. He even decided to build a motorcycle around this engine room.
But one significant problem soon appeared: of course, you can’t just pick up this very old V8, you can’t even buy it. In addition, Pavel estimates that only three pieces have survived to this day. Therefore, in addition to the motorcycle itself, he also had to design a complete drive train.
It helped him significantly that, after an arrangement with the curator of the exhibition at the London Science Museum, he was able to thoroughly inspect one of the surviving engines in 2017, take pictures of it and measure everything important. In addition, someone once made a teaching aid out of the eight-cylinder engine and cut it up, so Malaník also studied its guts and their processing.
And then he went to work at home in Luhačovice. He actually built the engine himself, except for the crankcase and three-ring pistons. He also couldn’t do the nickel plating himself. The result differs from the original in several practical matters, for example, the new eight-cylinder engine has its own ignition, which is supplemented by a modern lithium-ion battery – the engine can be started with just the foot lever when the pedal is pressed briefly -, and the lubrication of the camshaft is also new. The original V8 didn’t have that.
Of course, the engine has parameters that are very different from the aggregates that normally drive motorcycles. From a volume of 4.4 liters, it provides a maximum output of around 35 kW at around 1300 revolutions per minute. This is very little for a classic motorcycle, almost at the level of idling. At the same time, the torque reaches about 250 Nm! And that in just 1000 revolutions…
The motorcycle has two transmissions (implemented by two rosettes of different sizes and two conical clutches at the rear hub) and the two-speed engine spins only a thousand revolutions per minute at a speed of around 100 km/h. Nevertheless, the machine is able to start even on the second gear, which has a very heavy gear.
The brakes are also interesting. There is no brake at the front, the deceleration of the motorcycle weighing about 260 kilograms is taken care of by belt brakes on each clutch drum. That’s why Pavel had to equip the machine with two foot brakes – there is one for each footrest.
Malaník built the frame and chassis with his own hands. He was inspired by motorcycles from the 10s of the last century. The rear wheel is rigidly attached, the front one has a suspension of its own design. The wire-braided steel rims are 26 inches in diameter and shod with Ensign tires. The beautifully shaped, slim tank can hold not only six liters of gasoline (it needs to be adjusted before driving), but also two liters of oil, which is used to lubricate the internal parts of the engine.
What is also amazing about this beautiful motorcycle is that Pavel did not build it as a work of art, but as a machine that will give him pleasure to ride. In other words, the motorcycle was created for Malaník to ride.
We applaud!
