1600cc street engine?

[maicojoe]

Just wondering if anybody on here has ever built a 1500-1600cc street engine? Not a race engine, but something that will live mostly on the street, using 92 octane pump gas? If you have built something like this, how many street miles have you gotten out of her before a rebuild was needed? Lastly, what was your basic recipe? Would like to use a core 1150 engine I have and build the biggest street engine I can that will live for at least 20,000 street miles. I am more interested in peak torque. Just let the HP fall wherever it does, the HP will be plenty.
Thanks, Joe

[Dogma]

I don't have an authoritative answer to the question, but I'm thinking heat will be the enemy of a GS with so much displacement. So, I'm wondering if anyone has ever built a water cooling jacket into a set of cylinders for a GS.

I do know that Chef1366 has used 1150 GS motors of 1366 cc in a street and even sport touring bike.

RapidRay or Blowerbike should be along in a bit to tell you what the real limits of a GS motor for street are.

[Nessism]

Here is the link to a recent thread with over 100 responses about building large displacement GS engines... http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=212374

I agree with Dogma; heat is a problem. It will cost a LOT of money to build a large displacement GS engine, and there is real risk of damage from overheating if the mixture goes lean from an air leak or if you get caught in a traffic jam where airflow over the engine is not what it should be.

[blowerbike]

nope...not me.
not a fan of large engines myself.
i removed a nice 1465 kit to replace it with a 1260...well this was on a turbo application.
i will say you need some deeeeeeep pocket's to do anything worth while...

[rapidray]

Call me at 714--356-7845. I would NOT recommend 1600 for the street other than a street race engine. A 1400 will go 20,000 miles if ridden & cared for CORRECTLY! I cannot overstate this! A big motor has to be built AND ridden & maintained correctly to make it live. I had a 1400 daily driver in Hawaii for 2 years that was trouble free. Ray.

[rapidray]

The TORQUE is the FUN part!!! Ray.

[maicojoe]

Re: 1600cc street engjne

From my limited research, heat is what most guys are worried about. But it is usually second hand info, have not seen or talked with anyone yet who has actually built and ran one of these on the street and had issues. On the APE web site, they talk about a "street" 1500 big block. There is also a guy on the GSR site who has a 1500cc street bike, some sort of custom special framed bike, think he is in Denmark or Holland?
As for combating heat, I have personly used custom aluminum nikosel liners in big bore two stroke motocross engines, like Maico 490's that came from the factory with cast iron liners. Wonder if anyone has tried this in a GS engine? Big oil cooler, bigger oil pump, oil squirters for the pistons, good top end oiler kit?
Ray, will try calling you when I get back home from work in about 10 days.
Thanks all, Joe

[Bevo]

In my research to do the same I found the blocks did not have anywhere near the ventilation of the stockers. The pistons are so big the distance between them makes the sleeves pretty much touch.
Those big block barrels are also pretty much for racing and cooling is secondary.

A strokes could help if one is available if not go 1400 or turbo!

[Chuck78]

On the APE web site, they talk about a "street" 1500 big block. There is also a guy on the GSR site who has a 1500cc street bike,
Wonder if anyone has tried this in a GS engine? Big oil cooler, bigger oil pump, oil squirters for the pistons, good top end oiler kit?

At the VJMC Club show here in Columbus, Ohio this past summer, a guy rode up on a nice looking GS1100E. I commented "hey, nice bike! Is that a GS1100E?" He said it's actually bored out to 1500cc's (1532cc's he said????)... Wow, I thought. As I got up closer, I noticed his grey metallic paintjob on the the tank actually had a black and white (or black and grey) confederate flag mural aurbrushed on it. A very repulsive image, but I'll save that for the off topic forum or better yet real life conversations.

[Chuck78]

I might add that this guy I mentioned above was running it as a street bike. I believe I remember seeing a big oil cooler.

I'm going to swap out my 65mm-bored-to-69mm GS750 cylinders for some 69mm-bored-to-72mm GS850 cylinders and drop in some MTC Engineering NOS 10:1 pistons. I was a little worried about having only 2.5mm wall thickness on the sleeves and having heat issues due to the larger bore and higher compression, but a lot of people on here told me that I will be fine. I was considering an oil cooler, still am. I know, 920cc is no where near 1400cc's, but I'm sure a very well plumbed oil and large oil cooler would be necessary.

[49er]

I might add that this guy I mentioned above was running it as a street bike. I believe I remember seeing a big oil cooler.

I'm going to swap out my 65mm-bored-to-69mm GS750 cylinders for some 69mm-bored-to-72mm GS850 cylinders and drop in some MTC Engineering NOS 10:1 pistons. I was a little worried about having only 2.5mm wall thickness on the sleeves and having heat issues due to the larger bore and higher compression, but a lot of people on here told me that I will be fine. I was considering an oil cooler, still am. I know, 920cc is no where near 1400cc's, but I'm sure a very well plumbed oil and large oil cooler would be necessary.

You'll have 1.5 mm wall thickness with 72 mm pistons in the 850 sleeves.

I'm running 71 mm 10.5 pistons and don't have any overheating issues without an oil cooler. I don't hammer it at air temps over 35 C and avoid slow moving motorway traffic. I slightly increase the fuel octane during the hotter months as an insurance against detonation.

[isleoman]

I had a 1600cc in my VW Super Beetle. No problems on the street.

[bellucci]

Ran a 1327 10.5 to 1 with top end oiler, and a cooler for 2 years on the street. It is now in the dragbike. It had a propensity to not want to start hot. Other than that, no issues. Well built by a local guy in the early ninety's. Not a 1600 but it did make some heat.
Curt