Speed Read: a 48-cylinder Kawasaki two-stroke and more

This might just be our most eclectic Sunday round-up yet. We start with a Guinness World Record-holding 48-cylinder Kawasaki two-stroke, then look at a Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 café racer from Mumbai. Rounding out our list are an untouched 1995 BMW R100GS PD and an MV Agusta go-kart (yes, really).
Whitelock 4.2-liter 48-cylinder Kawasaki Simon Whitelock has a particular penchant for Kawasaki triples and has been building one-off motorcycles since 1985. Like any drug, vice, or level of insanity, Whitelock started easy and casual, by first building an inline four-cylinder Kawasaki two-stroke from other engines. After that, it was a nine-cylinder ‘triple-triple’ and an inline seven-cylinder.
They were all Kawasakis and all two-strokes. But this addiction needed feeding, and this is what led to the Guinness Book of World Record-holding 48-cylinder Kawasaki two-stroke you’re looking at here.
Nicknamed ‘Tinker Toy’ after a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber from WWII, Whitlock?s creation is built from six banks of eight cylinders each. All the engine parts are from Kawasaki KH250 donors, which Whitlock chose because parts were plentiful and cheap. (Our math yields well over $100 in spark plugs alone.)
The bike satisfies all legal requirements in England, where it holds a full license. It?s running a one-off engine block with custom fuel and ignition systems, along with a BMW K100 gearbox, and an alternator borrowed from a car. It?s a hefty bi...
-------------------------------- |
|
2025 BMW M 1000 RR, S 1000 RR, M 1000 R, and S 1000 R Preview
31-10-2024 07:22 - (
motorcycle )