look what followed me home...REeeeeeek!

[gbw]

I got curious after reading this and went on over to YouTube. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqIboqfIE-Q

Thats a great movie! Love the groovy music. Seems Suzuki was pretty sure their rotary engine would change motorcycling forever.

I actually saw one in person at a recent motorcycle show. Would love to have heard it run. In the movie it sounds like a prop airplane buzzing by.

[850 Combat]

OMG, now i have seen everything. pardon me as i am young to alot of you old timers but i never knew that there was factory Rotary bike. this is very cool, but i can see that anyone who owns one getting some horrible gas mileage. Please if you do decide to make a project out of this keep us posted. and if you have any questions on Rotary in general let me know. I have rebuilt many Mazda series Rotary engines.

Additionally if you have a great fabrication shop near you.. try and get a intake build for that motor and place a small weber carb on that sucker and i bet you would get some great performance out of that motor. good ol Wankel..

If you do make a project, please take note of the coolant systems. Rotary motors are notorious for cooling problems and blowing those apex seals.

-Eric Smithers

Norton Rotary:

It was air cooled, and started with a BSA prototype. It used the intake air to cool itself. Later was a version that used exhaust pulses to move cooling air that made more power:



This is the racing version, which actually won British Superbike one year.

Road version:



Hercules made one too:



The Norton had Police versions, and tourers too. Not many sold.

I bought a Ford Cortina from a guy in North Vancouver BC. He had a Hercules in his garage.