Source: Bike Bound
[[{“value”:”5.0-Liter V-Twin from a Living Legend…
Allen Millyard is nothing short of a living legend, an engineer and custom bike builder best known for his mind-blowing multi-cylinder motorcycle specials that defy mechanical belief. The first time we witnessed his work in person was at the famed Barber Museum in Alabama, which includes several of his builds, including his 1976 Kawasaki 850/5 two-stroke, 1974 Kawasaki 1600cc Kawasaki V8, and his 2300cc V12 Kawasaki Zed…each a staggering work of engineering, built in Millyard’s single garage!
Earlier this month at the 29th annual KICKBACK Show, Millyard turned up at Sammy Miller’s Moto Museum on one of his most famous builds, “The Flying Millyard” — a completely bespoke special powered by a 5000cc V-twin. Yes, you read that right, a 5.0L / 302ci engine — the same size displacement as the small-block Ford V8 that powered the Mustang for generations.
The two cylinders come courtesy of a Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial aero engine, mounted at 60 degrees in scratch-built crankcases, fueled by homemade carbs, and wrapped in a chassis that Allen fabricated himself.
You might assume that Millyard must spent half a lifetime to create such a machine, but you’d be wrong. The impetus for the build came when Millyard won Best in Show at the exclusive Salon Privé Concours in London for his Honda SS100 V-twin, the world’s smallest V-twin.
“I thought, if I’ve won this year with the world ‘s smallest V-twin, I’ll come back next year with the world’s biggest!” -Millyard via MCN
Working out of his ordinary single garage, Millyard built this monstrous V-twin (and the motorcycle to house it) in just seven months. He reportedly bought the cylinders for £100 on eBay, only to find out they’d been planned for a different project altogether…
“The guy…had bought them as war surplus in 1965 and planned to make a Morgan type V-twin car engine. I thought it was so cool that I was going to make it happen – in a way my project was started half a century ago.” -Millyard
The engine displaces an actual 4888cc, the bike has four forward speeds plus reverse, and machine is said to be capable of around 75 mph. Though the throttle, brakes, and clutch controls are in the expected locations, the rest of the controls are closer to something you might ride more than a century ago.
The bike is hand-shift with the gear lever on the right side, and there are neighboring levers for ignition advance and mixture adjustment, which have to be tuned according to throttle, rpm, and load. No ECU here — your own brain has to perform the on-fly tuning!
What’s it like to kick-start the behemoth? Surprisingly easy if you know the proper procedure.
“Set the ignition to full retard, the mixture to six, turn on the oil and petrol, set the throttle to about a quarter, turn the engine over twice using the kickstart to prime the cylinders.” -MCN
The Flying Millyard is known to start on just one kick if properly prepped, and then you’re off. The bike’s sheer size and weight are quite unlike any other two-wheeled machine in existence. Racer, bike tester, and journalist Bruce Dunn describes the experience thusly:
“I feel like a runaway freight train – the size of the bike and the swell of power from the incredible engine make me feel like king of the road.”
The Flying Millyard certainly isn’t Millyard’s fastest creation — that honor goes to the Millyard Viper V10, an 8-liter / 500-hp special that’s been clocked at over 205 mph (330km/h). Given the specs of the original Wasp engine, north of 100 hp could be expected from the engine, but outright power wasn’t Millyard’s intention.
“I built this bike not with performance in mind but to sound wacky and to be ridden sedately, sitting right back and occasionally beeping the horn. It has a very low power-to-capacity ratio – I reckon it’s making about 80bhp.” -Millyard in Bike Rider
Mission accomplished! For if you’re interested in another bike built with cylinders from an old radial aero engine, check out Al Hackel’s 1700cc single-cylinder “Hackel-Wright” chopper.
More Photos
Flying Millyard: Details Video
Flying Millyard: Ride Video
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Photography: Roberto Garagarza (@roga______)”}]]
