Into a 914? Has it been done? Do you think it can be done? What kind of performance do you think it would have?

Answers coming soon but I wanted to hear what others have to say about it.

Just think, 200HP that revs to 11 to 12k. Lightweight, quick and you could turbo it.

How much torque does even a high hp motorcycle engine put out?

I'd guess that even in a 1600 lb car, even a high hp motorcycle engine wouldn't perform well because of a lack of torque.

In a 1600 lb car (a Smart Car) a 500 HP Hayabusa motor works phenomenally well. There's a video on Youtube of one disappearing from a Ferrari at a drag strip.

-Tony

it's actually a gsx 1000 tuned to 180hp

What about the flat six in the Honda goldwing?

"The heart of the Wing has long been a horizontally opposed 6-cyclinder engine with the cylinders arranged flat and boasting a large displacement. The entirely new engine retains the familiar layout but with the size increased to 1832 cc producing an unprecedented 118 bhp and 125 lb./ft. of torque all."

Well, the Goldwing and 914 weigh about the same too

The torque is a concern, but setting your final drive up a LOT lower, would help alleviate that problem. As it is, most big sport bikes are geared to 200+ MPH. The bigger concern in my book would be the gearbox. If you're planning to use the stock sequential gearbox (a WHOLE LOT of work not to), I'd be concerned about it grenading under the extra weight of a 914. If I were to do this, I would probably go with the Busa or the ZX14 motor, and then get all the beefed up tranny pieces that are on the market.
The Goldwing motor actually is an interesting idea since the motor is somewhat similar to an automotive motor. However the performance is not there in stock configuration, and I'm not sure if there is a lot of performance parts available. It would probably be lighter than a Porsche 6 though. Might be nice with a blower.
Mark D.

IIRC, early Honda 600's had an aircooled motorcycle engine with a belt drive trans...

Theres a growing community of bike engined lotus (or locost ) 7s out there.

The 7 is quite a bit lighter than a 914, but I don't think that's a deal breaker.

The primary issues seem to be:
1. Bike engines scream, but there's no bottom end torque. This means that they don't make very good daily drivers, but are wicked on the track. The PCA will hate you.

2. Transmission/linkage issues. I believe the linkage in the 7 involves maybe a chain and a reverse box thingo (bike transmissions don't have reverse). These things break reasonably frequently and I think they also introduce some driveline shunt. You will probably get a sequential shifter out of it, and you should be able to use this in reverse (gah!).

3. Presumably you'd go watercooled, which comes with it's own issues (see V8, Subaru) - but nothing unsolvable.

All in all - I think this is all solvable, and you'd end up with a total screamer. Do it .

BTW: There was a 4 wheel drive 7 built once with 2 busa engines - one powering the front wheels and one powering the rear. I'd like to see this done to a 914 before I die

These guys use them in a variety of applications. I love the Saxo.

http://www.zcars.org.uk/index.htm