Great Eight!

GREAT EIGHT!

V-EIGHT MOTORCYCLES ARE nothing new, even if all the ones you see running around the streets of Daytona during Bike Week are fitted with small-block Chevys whose sheer size seemingly makes them unsuitable for two-wheeled use.

But Moto Guzzi’s legendary 500cc V-Eight GP racer of 40 years ago inspired a number of imitations, from the British Marsh V-Eight of the mid-1960s to the Italian Morbidelli 850, currently nearing production with a Bimota-built frame.

So, it’s maybe only a little surprising that another eightcylinder sportbike is currently being developed by Britishbased RS Performance. Even better, the project is far enough along that it may actually beat the Morbidelli into the hands of customers-except that with an initial production of only eight bikes, the RS V-Eight will be even more exclusive than its Italian counterpart.

The man behind the project is British development engineer Russell Savory, best known for his series of innovative Yamaha motorcycles such as the supercharged XTZ660based Tramontana Single and YZF750 Four, and for converting the FZR1000 motor for use in the Rocket road car.

Savory began developing the V-Eight five years ago after he saw two slant-block FZR1000 motors lying around his workshop and figured that they’d mate quite nicely on a common crankcase. Working with designer Tony Flart (brother of Formula One engine builder Brian), Russell developed a 2004cc, single-crank, 40-valve, 90-degree V-Eight, seven examples of which have been built for car use. “It exists already, and it works,” says Savory.

But now, in response to an initial order from a Japanese customer, RS Performance is building a batch of V-Eightpowered bikes that will give new meaning to the term “Streetfighter.” Using a Nico Bakker chassis with the engine positioned crossways in the frame, the RS V-Eight will be fitted with the best of everything: Öhlins 46mm inverted race fork and rear shock, 320mm front discs with sixpiston calipers and Marchesini wheels. But the unfaired bike will allow the surprisingly compact engine to star visually; converted to dry sump lubrication, it develops 310 horsepower at 10,000 rpm, running on eight 38mm Mikuni carburetors, with maximum torque of 170 foot-pounds at 7500 revs. This makes the specially built Nova five-speed gearbox almost superfluous, especially since, with a target weight of 550 pounds, performance should be scintillating in every gear.

Savory plans to complete the first V-Eight streetbike later this year, when his commitment to running the Sanyobacked Yamaha Thunderbike race team permits. With the engine (less transmission) retailing for just under $20,000 for car use, the RS V-Eight Streetfighter isn’t going to be cheap, but it will be exclusive. And fast. Very, very fast.

Alan Cathcart