Where can I get a bike engine from?
Discussion
Me and a couple of mates are looking at building a Locost, with a motorcycle engine. The current choice is a 900cc Fireblade motor, or a Yamaha R1 engine. Any ideas where we can pick up cheap engines, with 'box, wiring loom, ECU and everything? Stuart Taylor Motorsport want £1,100 for a Fireblade engine and 'box with everything you need. Is this a decent price or could we get one cheaper than that?
There are a few bike salvage auctions around the country and some very good breakers in the North West.
One that springs to mind is D&K.
You should be able to get an engine (or whole bike in case of auction) for less than £1k, probably more like £500-700. Obviously not guaranteed, but a fair bit cheaper. Buying from either you should be able to either see the engine running first or be assured it does run properly.
There are also cheaper bike engines. ZZR1100 give you over 125bhp and you can get an early one with an MOT for around £1200.
Check MCN for breakers.
One that springs to mind is D&K.
You should be able to get an engine (or whole bike in case of auction) for less than £1k, probably more like £500-700. Obviously not guaranteed, but a fair bit cheaper. Buying from either you should be able to either see the engine running first or be assured it does run properly.
There are also cheaper bike engines. ZZR1100 give you over 125bhp and you can get an early one with an MOT for around £1200.
Check MCN for breakers.
Yuo might want to think about the Kawasaki ZX9-R, which has better power than the Blade (137bhp as I recall) and a seriously strong gearbox with less shunt than most others... no need to dry sump it either.
Stuart Taylor fits them to some of his cars and usually has some for sale. For my last car the engine install came to £800 inc exhaust, clocks, loom etc from a breaker.
Stuart Taylor fits them to some of his cars and usually has some for sale. For my last car the engine install came to £800 inc exhaust, clocks, loom etc from a breaker.
Jay_w is right about the ZX9R, infact Kawasaki engines in general seem to be very strong, powerful and reliable engines. ZX9R's were restricted to 125bhp at one time. To release full power (around 140bhp) I think you swop the inlet or carb rubbers (any engine tuner will be able to tell you) or something.
Another good bet instead of the R1 engine is a Thunderace engine. The R1 engine is based on it and you can tune 'em just as much as the R1 (for less initial outlay).
If you can find an oil cooled GSXR 1100, they are one of the tuneable engines you can get. Problem is that lots gets used in drag bikes.
Enough food for thought?
Another good bet instead of the R1 engine is a Thunderace engine. The R1 engine is based on it and you can tune 'em just as much as the R1 (for less initial outlay).
If you can find an oil cooled GSXR 1100, they are one of the tuneable engines you can get. Problem is that lots gets used in drag bikes.
Enough food for thought?
Ex-Biker said:There should be plenty of tuned ones around as they have been used by lods of sidecar racers, but the regs have changed for this seasn restricting them to 1000cc
If you can find an oil cooled GSXR 1100, they are one of the tuneable engines you can get. Problem is that lots gets used in drag bikes.
Lots of engines for sale in the classifieds section here www.sidenet.co.uk
MontyPython said:
Ebays worth a look.
There's a ZX9 engine on ebay for £285 with 2 hours to go. Doesn't have carbs or loom etc though so probably not a good choice.
A good way of getting more power out of most carb'd engines is to fit slide carbs instead... usually quoted to release around 10% extra power. Paying for an engine without carbs and fitting high performance ones sounds like the potential for a bargain - or finding you have bought an engine that needs a rebuild
andycanam said:
What about the Ducatti 916 engine?
Less power, less reliabilty, more expensive....... but Ohhh would that sound nice.
Answered your own question there Andy.
A Triumph triple engine isn't a bad compromise though. Reliable, powerful, lots of torque and still a nice sound.
Jay
Do you think slide carbs would work on a kit? Although they release more power on a bike, they also narrow the powerband and make the engine run rough at lower revs. Fine for racing, but not sure I'd want a car coughing & spluttering below 5k revs.
andycanam said:
What about the Ducatti 916 engine?
Less power, less reliabilty, more expensive....... but Ohhh would that sound nice.
We've already thought of a V-Twin. Would make a fantastic noise, and we could have two exhausts, one on either side. As an additional downside, they're about as common as rocking horse sh*t. The Kwacka engine sounds a good bet though. Any more advice greatfully accepted!
Ex-Biker said:
Jay
Do you think slide carbs would work on a kit? Although they release more power on a bike, they also narrow the powerband and make the engine run rough at lower revs. Fine for racing, but not sure I'd want a car coughing & spluttering below 5k revs.
Hey I'll defer to your experience! It was a recommendation to me from a couple of bike tuners - but we never tried it on our engine 'cos we had a ZX12 waiting in the wings - why spend cash on tuning a smaller engine when the extra can buy you more power and torque than the tuning can offer?
I now recall one of the twin-engined Sevens getting a Dynojet kit (well 2 kits
) with the same result - loss of low end power and the need to stir the gears even more. Perhaps I should get my coat...
Try www.cheshiremotorcyclesalvage.co.uk they have an online shop so you can try out different options.
Also keep checking on ebay, there's a breaker in Peterborough who keeps listing bike engines generally as 'buy it now' rather than auction. Some of the more unusual stuff seems quite cheap - what about a Triumph triple, they seem to be going for £400-£500?
Also keep checking on ebay, there's a breaker in Peterborough who keeps listing bike engines generally as 'buy it now' rather than auction. Some of the more unusual stuff seems quite cheap - what about a Triumph triple, they seem to be going for £400-£500?
www.sidenet.co.uk/cgi-bin/class/class_ad.pl?VCC
Lots of ex-sidecar engines for sale, excellent prices and most of them with cams and a bit of porting already done. Can usually get the ecu/loom too.
Lots of ex-sidecar engines for sale, excellent prices and most of them with cams and a bit of porting already done. Can usually get the ecu/loom too.
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