This madness is the work of Simon Whitelock and was baptized Tinker Toy (name derived from the Duxford Air Museum, where several flying fortresses are located), already known for having made some other motorcycles from engine combinations. It is a motorcycle, or rather, an engine around which a motorcycle was built, which is truly incredible. It reads well, 48 cylinders, a record not only in the field of motorcycles, but also in the field of motor sports. To achieve this, Simon, a passionate engineer, used 16 engines from the old Kawasaki KH 250, that is, 16 units of the two-stroke, three-cylinder engine used in the 1979 KH. To achieve this madness, he connected six cylinder banks, three rows of 16 cylinders each, longitudinally superimposed and connected by racks and distribution chains.
In fact, there is a forty-ninth cylinder, a 125cc, which serves as a starter motor for the entire set of heads, cylinders, and pistons that make this object worthy of a museum dedicated to science and technology. Amazingly, the machine works and, although it must be admitted that it takes some courage to ride such a motorcycle, with its friendly weight of about 600 kg, to take a ride, permission has now even been granted to ride it in England.
Feeding the air and gasoline thirst of a good 4.2 liters of total cubic capacity is a set of six carburetors positioned at the front of the motorcycle and equipped with the classic mesh filter of the most common specialties. As for the rest, the “motorcycle” has a gearbox and a final drive shaft of BMW origin, a robust steel tube frame, and the front wheel of an old Honda Goldwing. Additional springs were added to the fork on the outside of the clamps to support the weight of the motorcycle, but the motorcycle maintains a classic line, decidedly from the seventies.
Perhaps in terms of ergonomics, the motorcycle may not be very successful, but as a display piece, it could make a good impression in your living room. If you are interested, it seems that the motorcycle will be for sale at the Bonhams auction house in April, at the next International Classic Motorcycle Show in the spring, with an initial bid of $51,000 USD.
