Topic: Curtiss V8 Replica

[Mikey G.]

I was at the Vintage Motorcycle show in Wauseon Ohio this last weekend, and this bike was a bit of a surprise when I saw it.  Long story short, Glenn Curtiss, before getting into airplanes, was a motorcycle builder back in the early 1900s.  In 1907 he built a V8 motorcycle, basically as a rolling advertisement for his airplane engines.  He managed to set a speed record of 137 MPH (remember, in 1907).  After various changing of hands, the bike itself ended up in the Smithsonian.  There is a replica with a wooden engine at the Curtiss museum in New York, which is what I thought this one was at first.  Nope, turns out it's a brand new, 1-to-1 functioning replica.



It's the brainchild of Dale Stoner.  A few years ago I saw a Curtiss 3 cylinder he built (again, from scratch) run down at Barber, so he knows his stuff.  Still, seeing him tackle the V8 was totally unexpected.  He's a member of the Curtiss museum, and they let him take apart a period motor, in order to 3D scan the parts.  That way he could make molds, get parts cast, and then machined down to a usable state.  Apart from better oiling, a better u-joint, and other small upgrades, it's as close to an exact replica as possible.



I've been in love with this bike as long as I've known it's existed, so seeing it up close was super special to me.  I've linked my full photo albums below, which includes a pair of videos proving that, it DOES run.

https://imgur.com/a/dale-stoners-curtiss-v8-replica-tCPDZVC

https://imgur.com/a/1907-curtiss-v8-replica-running-WX3EgHD

[Kelly E]

That's so cool.

[Ichiban 4]

I was at the Vintage Motorcycle show in Wauseon Ohio this last weekend, and this bike was a bit of a surprise when I saw it.  Long story short, Glenn Curtiss, before getting into airplanes, was a motorcycle builder back in the early 1900s.  In 1907 he built a V8 motorcycle, basically as a rolling advertisement for his airplane engines.  He managed to set a speed record of 137 MPH (remember, in 1907).  After various changing of hands, the bike itself ended up in the Smithsonian.  There is a replica with a wooden engine at the Curtiss museum in New York, which is what I thought this one was at first.  Nope, turns out it's a brand new, 1-to-1 functioning replica.



It's the brainchild of Dale Stoner.  A few years ago I saw a Curtiss 3 cylinder he built (again, from scratch) run down at Barber, so he knows his stuff.  Still, seeing him tackle the V8 was totally unexpected.  He's a member of the Curtiss museum, and they let him take apart a period motor, in order to 3D scan the parts.  That way he could make molds, get parts cast, and then machined down to a usable state.  Apart from better oiling, a better u-joint, and other small upgrades, it's as close to an exact replica as possible.



I've been in love with this bike as long as I've known it's existed, so seeing it up close was super special to me.  I've linked my full photo albums below, which includes a pair of videos proving that, it DOES run.

https://imgur.com/a/dale-stoners-curtiss-v8-replica-tCPDZVC

https://imgur.com/a/1907-curtiss-v8-replica-running-WX3EgHD

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Yeah..very cool!

Al/Ichi

[CycleRanger]

Wow, what a beast! What a project! 
Are those bronze cylinders?

[Mikey G.]

I don't think so?  The bores themselves are turned billet (billet what, idk), and the heads are cast.  Cast iron, I think.  With an aluminum crankcase.

It runs atmospheric intake valves, which is interesting.  It's DEAD simple for a V8.  And only makes 40-48 horsepower, best he can tell.  This is the first time one of these have ran since the 1900s, so he's learning all kinds of stuff.

He hasn't ridden it yet.  He only got it done about 10 days before the show, and has probably less than an hour of running on the engine.  I think he said it's never really got to operating temperature yet, and doesn't really know what that temperature is even going to BE.  Really fascinating stuff.

[CycleRanger]

I don't think so?  The bores themselves are turned billet (billet what, idk), and the heads are cast.  Cast iron, I think.  With an aluminum crankcase.

It runs atmospheric intake valves, which is interesting.  It's DEAD simple for a V8.  And only makes 40-48 horsepower, best he can tell.  This is the first time one of these have ran since the 1900s, so he's learning all kinds of stuff.

He hasn't ridden it yet.  He only got it done about 10 days before the show, and has probably less than an hour of running on the engine.  I think he said it's never really got to operating temperature yet, and doesn't really know what that temperature is even going to BE.  Really fascinating stuff.

Must just be the lighting.

[Stev-o]

Cool!  What are those cylinder shaped objects in front of the seat?

[CycleRanger]

Cool!  What are those cylinder shaped objects in front of the seat?

Batteries.
I assume it has no generator/magneto.

[Mikey G.]

Yup, old telephone batteries.  Non-functional in this case.  The actual battery is in the top box with the coil.

Total loss ignition system.  Once you're out of battery, you're out of spark.  It was only made to make one or two runs, after all.  The motor was pulled immediately after the one run in 1907, and the current engine on the actual bike is a mockup built from defective spare parts.  So this 'model' of bike hasn't run since 1907.  Which is cool.

The discoloration might be from heat.  The last photo was taken immediately after the bike was ran on Saturday, and it hasn't been run nearly enough to "settle" in, would be my guess.

[Stev-o]

Yup, old telephone batteries.  Non-functional in this case.  The actual battery is in the top box with the coil.

Interesting, thx

[scottly]

What's the displacement? Were the airplane engines the same size?

[CycleRanger]

Good lord, I just realized that curly piece of metal near the back wheel is the "brake".

[BenelliSEI]

What a beast! Very cool.

[Mikey G.]

What's the displacement? Were the airplane engines the same size?

I overheard the displacement was somewhere in the 260-270 cubic inch range.  Like 45-48 horsepower, which isn't a lot for a V8, but it ridiculous for a motorcycle in 1907.  No gearbox, but it does have a centrifugal clutch.  He's not 100% sure, but what few photos there are lead him to believe the original bike had one, and the Smithsonian isn't letting him tear it apart to find out.

As an airplane engine, this one wasn't super popular.  It did lead to another Curtiss V8 engine, the OX-5.  It was bigger, had more horsepower, was water-cooled, etc.

And yes, you get one brake, on the back tire.  Literally pressing against the back tire.  Curtiss had two miles of beach to make the run- a miles to get up to speed, and a mile to stop.  As I may have said before, the universal joint grenaded during the first run, so they only got the one run in. 

Which, interestingly enough, makes his speed record unofficial.  For an official speed record, you need two passes, and they take the average.