When we feature bikes in the ‘Criminal Customs’ category, we’re typically looking for monstrous builds that showcase impressive specs…or, at the very least, break some kind of law of physics in the name of effort. You know, something like the Dodge Tomahawk we popped into our supercar-inspired bike list, that V10 muscle-cycle we covered last month…even the clumsy Batcycle whipped up for the upcoming DC Film “The Flash” (2022).
Though it may look otherwise, today’s bike o’ the day does none of the above – but it DOES do exactly what it was built to do.
Simon Whitelock, the mastermind behind this veritable Hulk of muscle, says that he built his ‘Tinker Toy’ not for speed, not for power, but to “get in the Guinness Book of world records.”
With ‘The Engine with the Most Cylinders’ now a shiny trophy standing proud in Whitelock’s possession, we get to lean in and gawk at the particulars…and wonder whether such a chimeric build should even be allowed to exist…
But let’s break away from the Frankensteinian plot to take a look under the hood, shall we?
The Tinker Toy, among other things, boasts a mind-numbing 48 cylinder engine…well, technically 49, if you count the cute little 125cc thumper Whitelock popped in there to help start the dang thing (the 50cc wasn’t big enough, apparently).
“The headers were built in sections; they’re so long that they would otherwise warp during the welding process,” continues the report from The Drive.
“There’s a 24-into-1 system on each side, finishing in a standard 4-stroke muffler can (the original KH250 tank with an extra section welded in is actually just a dummy cover for ignition hardware and electronics). The fuel tank is buried deep in the bowels of the engine at the bottom of the bike.”
As for the translation of all that juice, Whitelock outfitted the Tinker Toy with a small car alternator, hooked to a BMW K100 gearbox.
Finish the whole caboodle with Honda Goldwing brakes/forks and an extra spring shoved in there to take the weight as she clocks in with the massive personality of 1300 lbs, and you’ve finally got a piece of power that answers the age-old adage: Whose is bigger?
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