The Elio Engine

[RUCRAYZE]

No I have no desire to convert my UK speedometer from mph to metric to please those pesky Europeans.

Perhaps you don't know ... but in UK we are only partly metrificated. We still drive in statute miles, not kilometers.

I do prefer metric bolts though; far easier to understand.

thanks
btw- are you old enough to remember wentworth wrenches? (say that 3x fast) I needed them for my BSA

 

[skygazer6033]

I thought it English Whitworth.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

I thought it English Whitworth.

could very well be. my only memory is not positive, I almost broke my ankle on a 441 BSA single cylinder, and with compression release, was still a beast starting the thing!

 

[skygazer6033]

Oh yeah! I remember the BSA 441 Victor. Big single would definitely kick the hell out of you. So would an XLCH Sportster. The XLCH didn't have a compression release but instead the left grip had a manual spark retard. That was 1968. Before the days of all bikes having electric starters.

 

[W. WIllie]

Talk about Harleys, My old 55 KHK would catch fire almost every time it was started (Backfire through the carb).
Reach down, choke it and kick it through to extinguise the flame. (Gas station guy seen running for cover)
My favorite was the Matchless 500 thumper. Engine would fire, a telephone pole would go by, again and again. Nothing like a torque thumper.
Willie

 

[John Painter]

They still use those old Matchless thumper singles (and Ariels, too) on the classic trials. I don't think I've ever seen one fail a section. They have exactly the right characteristics to pick their way up off road hills, be it a mud or rock surface.

I prefer "old" engines. Sometimes I think around the mid 1990's virtually every motorcycle manufacturer decided to over engineer their bikes.

 

[Kuda]

They still use those old Matchless thumper singles (and Ariels, too) on the classic trials. I don't think I've ever seen one fail a section. They have exactly the right characteristics to pick their way up off road hills, be it a mud or rock surface.

 

[John Painter]

Sweet! Hare scramble guy here, but love trials.

 

[ScarecrowRepair]

TTAC has another interesting tidbit:

First the bad, well, so-so, news. Not long ago Elio released video of their purpose built IAV designed three cylinder engine being tested on the dyno. I asked Paul Elio if it met their power and torque benchmarks and he gave me a straightforward, “No.” Elio, who perpetually smiles, continued that everything was within 5% of their targets, within normal developmental range as he described it. Translated to numbers, 5% means that they were less than 2.8 horsepower shy of their 55 hp projection.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...ve-startups-city-elio-motors-lyons-motor-car/
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...ve-startups-city-elio-motors-lyons-motor-car/

 

[eliothegreat]

If it is true that the IAV engine is within 5% of the targets on their first dyno pull, Paul should be shouting it in the streets. That would be fantastic news for all the faithful. The official total silence on the engine makes no sense.