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I saw the below link posted on the Aprilia Forum last night.  I’ve somewhat lost track of the project over the last couple of months with things of my own to do.  Anyway, click below to view latest posted video from their blog:

http://www.motoczysz.com/club/?p=54 (blog article)

http://www.motoczysz.com/videos/revv2.html (direct link to the video)

A techie quote from the article:

<blockquote>“When Adrian and I first heard about the MotoCzysz project our interest was piqued on a number of fronts but primarily the engineering challenge that was involved in bringing the twin crank configuration to life with a competitive power output.  The most recent racing engine to run twin cranks to my knowledge was the BRM H16. Tony Rudd, BRM’s Chief Engineer, states in his book that he was at first unconcerned about coupling the two cranks together but that this would later be a significant issue.

We initially fought hard to modify the original design concept to something more conventional but Czysz was firm on his decision and reasoning behind it and so with some trepidation the engineering process was started.  Being fully conversant with torsional vibration issues having worked almost exclusively with high speed flat plane crank V8’s the task of joining the two cranks was undertaken with cautious assumptions for the torque characteristic the overall engine concept would generate.  Though uncharted territory, the current and successful single drive point was calculated and drawn for the triple overhead cam design with the intakes between the cams to further compact the engine packaging.  The cam drive on its own represents a significant engineering challenge and to be cautious a compliant element has been used from the start to isolate crank and cam torsionals.  The cranks are coupled across the shortest distance possible and are designed such that the loads are transmitted through the best possible locations for mechanical integrity; it also employs a hunting tooth configuration to the gearing to reduce repeated high stress on any single tooth.

There are any number of alternative solutions that the engine layout required with shafts running in shafts and many packaging difficulties.  That being said, with all the difficulties presented the engine came out of the box, went together without incident and fired up first time on the dyno and looked and sounded like nothing before it.  It is a testament both to the original design and the engineering content that it has run with only minor issues since that first firing.  That is not to say the specification has remained static.  Many areas have become the subject of close scrutiny with a view to improving the original design of components for weight, reliability, ease of assembly and cost.  The development of any engine is a time consuming business that in reality never ends.  We have been working methodically through a matrix increasing speed and load, stripping the engine to assess loading conditions and wear, checking interference and backlash to ensure that the best possible use of our resources is made.

The engine has become part of the core of MotoCzysz and represents a true testimony to Michael’s original concepts.”

Simon Jackson
MotoCzysz Chief Engineer-Powertrain</blockquote>

Anyone who knows about the project has to be wondering what this year will bring as far as racing goes.  Will they compete in at least part of a season and with which series?  Will they get some sort of wildcard status if not directly in a series?  Will they need or take another year?  These are the questions that I am wondering.

Sometimes its tough to sit back and wait.