I have heard it explained many times that Guzzi V Twins are somewhat inspired by automotive practice...

[Lucky Phil]

10 hours ago, GuzziMoto said:

Luckily, the front wheels are mainly only needed to get the "tractor" lined up to start the pull.

So wheels / tires off a hand cart are all you need.....

I was attempting to be humorous. I won't do it again:)

Ciao

[GuzziMoto]

12 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

I was attempting to be humorous. I won't do it again:)

Ciao

I thought I was too with the hand cart reference.

No worries.

[Chris Wilson]

Haven't seen many automotive V8's with air cooling, front exhausts, rear side intakes, solid engine mounts, off centre drive shaft, no diffential, hand operated clutch, foot operated gears etc.

I know it's tempting to draw parallels but you could do the same with any IC engine of that period.

Chris.

[po18guy]

Well, like adult diapers, it Depends. Here is an air-cooled Tatra hemi V8 with front exhaust (OK, it uses a manifold). Known in Europe since the 30s. And the car into which the ultimate DOHC/fuel injected version of it went in: The little-known Tatra MTX.

And here is a 2.5 liter version with a rope start(!) I must note that this is an option for us Guzzi owners when the starter acts up.

 

[VtwinStorm]

7 minutes ago, po18guy said:

Well, like adult diapers, it Depends. Here is an air-cooled hemi V8 with front exhaust (OK, it uses a manifold). And the car which the ultimate version of it went in: The little-known Czech Tatra MTX.

[img]https://static.imgzeit.com/reduced/aa2b67e5c0a59749/Screen%20Shot%202021-10-02%20at%201.05.22%20PM.png[/img]

[img]https://static.imgzeit.com/reduced/33d251bd261495d2/Screen%20Shot%202021-10-02%20at%201.04.02%20PM.png[/img]

Beat me to it, po18guy! I was going to mention the Tatra.

[po18guy]

21 minutes ago, VtwinStorm said:

Beat me to it, po18guy! I was going to mention the Tatra.

Czechmate?

Sorry...

As to technology, we could say that weedeaters and leaf blowers use Ducati technology - fan cooled, two-stroke, magneto spark.

[VtwinStorm]

9 minutes ago, po18guy said:

Czechmate?

Sorry...

I love puns. Awesome.

[Chuck]

(Settling around the campfire, tamping corncob pipe..) Reminds me of my old friend Bill, that told me of a rescue operation of a DC3 in Mexico. The electrical system was inop, so they knotted a big rope, wound it around the prop shaft, put a bunch of Mexicans on the end, and started pulling.

Dang if it didn't start, but the rope didn't come off, and the knot was hammering the side of the fuselage. Started the second one the same way, and flew it out.

Bill is *quite* a character.. need I say? and has had some adventures in his 97 (!) years.

[po18guy]

The Guzzi and the gen1/gen2 Chrysler hemis were similar yet opposite to a certain degree. The 90º V, the combustion chambers, valve angles and valve gear similar if not virtually identical. Yet, the Chrysler was liquid cooled - great for cooling, but iron heads allowed hotter chambers which are not so good for avoiding pre-ignition. The Guzzi is air-cooled, not so good for cooling, but has alloy heads, which conduct heat away from hot spots better. Methinks they should have gone to liquid cooling way back when and copied Honda's 4-valve pushrod head. Not so good for national pride there.

[LowRyter]

It's a hemi. 

[ScuRoo]

Hmm... so which 90 degree v-twin air cooled engine is better - those glorious Guzzi’s 🏍 or ...er, Kohler garden tractors 🚜 ?? 😳

[po18guy]

22 hours ago, ScuRoo said:

Hmm... so which 90 degree v-twin air cooled engine is better - those glorious Guzzi’s 🏍 or ...er, Kohler garden tractors 🚜 ?? 😳

From This Old Tractor to This New Tractor.

[Chris Wilson]

On 10/3/2021 at 7:18 AM, VtwinStorm said:

Beat me to it, po18guy! I was going to mention the Tatra.

Really don't see the Tatra following the then current  automotive practice.

It's a rare curiousity that has been forced into service.

[docc]

23 minutes ago, Chris Wilson said:

Really don't see the Tatra following the then current  automotive practice.

It's a rare curiousity that has been forced into service.

Haha , even actual automobiles have not always followed "automotive practice" . . .

https://www.lanemotormuseum.org/

 

 

[po18guy]

Lacking the designers to answer such questions, we are left to surmise. "Somewhat inspired" can mean many things. If we go back to the day, many (even most) car engines were longitudinal. Most used pushrods operating two valves through rocker arms. Most used starters which engaged a ring gear on the flywheel and separate transmissions which bolted over the flywheel. Again, most used exposed drive shafts with universal joints (cardans) on them. The "V" with the cam in the valley was a more American things, although not exclusively, obviously. What I seized  on was the nearly identical nature of the combustion chamber, including valve angles, to that of the Chrysler hemi V8. 

For the sake of argument, there are also many features which are not directly automotive inspired - at least autos I am familiar with, and there's the rub.