Supercharged Centauro???

[Weegie]

I don't know if it's allowed and besides I don't want to start posting pictures of somebody else's bike

However on the COG forum I just noticed a thread opened up by a new member of the Group.

Thread title "New Centaurist Says Hello"

Somebody at some point has Supercharged a Centauro!!!

This is just a link to the forum index, easy to find the thread.

http://www.centauro-owners.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=1

I can't get my HiCam to run standard without frying, I'm feeeling SOOOO inadequate

[footgoose]

really nice motorcycle. I love the owner comments

[guzzler]

Geez.

That's the best looking Cento I've seen..

Must be an exciting ride !

Cheers Guzzler  

[docc]

6 minutes ago, guzzler said:

Geez.

That's the best looking Cento I've seen..

Must be an exciting ride !

Cheers Guzzler  

[Twin AH]

Holy CRAP

Those motors are pretty violent as is............. cant imagine the torque ##s with that monster in full song.  

 

Ciao

[Camn]

Quote

Holy CRAP / that's the best looking Cento I've seen

I have not met the owner, but I know that he is technically skilled and has had his California also supercharged earlier.  But I have seen this Centauro at the previous owner & builder.  "Power-wheelies were always at hand", I remember him quoting.  He has also a blog, but in Finnish (google translate helps...).

http://www.motomatti.fi/search?q=centauro

Here are some lines of that blog:

"

Max constant boost pressure approx. 0.25 bar, momentary 1.7 bar. Exhaust pipe diameter 38 mm.

·         Footpeg- and pedal transfer kit, rear fender (carbon fiber) self-made

·         Ride Height adjustment, stepless, rear frame made of carbon fiber/steel structure, self - made

·         Rear cover, carbon fiber, design and structure, own design, seat has a carbon fiber frame, covering self-made

·         Marchesini rims, polished

·         Charging controller and audible signals moved to be located under the headlight, headlight raised, own design

·         Battery transferred to a separate housing behind the gearbox, housing made of carbon fiber, self-made

·         Mirrors at handlebar ends, normal accessory, exhaust system partly original, partly self-made

·         Mechanical supercharger Eaton M24, mounted to the left side of the motor, belt drive from the crankshaft, transmission approx. 2x

·         Pressure piping and pressure vessel, self-made, carbon fiber

·         Intake bodies original but with two pairs of nozzles (other pair from Ducati 996)

·         Cast pressure-resistant hoses from urethane for the intake bodies

·         Second injectors and their second ecu with pressure- and motor rpm  -detection, connectors, relays and fuses MTA, waterproof

·         Display for the lambda value in additional instrument panel, instrument panel self-made, splash water-proof, in the same panel also a boost pressure gauge

·         Re-cirulation valve Forge, adjustable, temperature gauge for the charged air

·         Vacuum gauge, measures suction duct pressure

"

https://ibb.co/pXJGTyp

https://ibb.co/MsLgZNk

 

[Lucky Phil]

But why? I can understand people wanting to give expression to their mechanical/design skills but surely that needs to be tempered by some rationality. So you add weight and complexity to an already overweight combination and introduce extra heat and cooling issues to an engine that already suffers in that regard. The compromises made are pretty outrageous. I haven't even sat down and looked at it in real detail but the air filter mounted where it is and the acute bends in the pressure ducting makes me not bother continuing any further examination. 

Modifications need to have a little more to offer than the "look at me" factor in my view. Irrational engineering is a pointless exercise.

Ciao  

[fotoguzzi]

To me it's the "don't look at me" factor, that thing is ugly.

[Lucky Phil]

1 hour ago, fotoguzzi said:

To me it's the "don't look at me" factor, that thing is ugly.

Well either way, I guess. There is the "nobody else's got one like this" factor which I don't get either personally. It's a big deal for some apparently and for those that it is rationality doesn't seem to come into it. Being "different" overrides everything else. Maybe I'm just weird.

Ciao 

[pete roper]

Forced induction on spark ignited engines is a first class ticket to misery on steroids! 

[Lucky Phil]

1 hour ago, pete roper said:

Forced induction on spark ignited engines is a first class ticket to misery on steroids! 

Yes unless they are designed for it from the drawing board. Both my cars are Turbos but they are designed for torque not top end like days gone by. It's quite amazing when you drive a new 3.8 litre V6 and it feels like you need to rev the tits off it compared to your 2.0 litre turbo SUV daily driver which thoroughly out grunts it.  

Ciao

[pete roper]

Did those fork measurements come through Phil?

[Weegie]

4 hours ago, pete roper said:

Forced induction on spark ignited engines is a first class ticket to misery on steroids! 

Wow Pete that's quite an generalization, interested in your reasoning

A long time back I had a VW Corrado G60, which was a 1.8 2v/v engine supercharged engine, not terribly powerful (circa 160bhp). The engine wasn't designed from scratch but a modified Golf engine.

I loved the way that it rode on a wave of torque at mid range RPM, it just felt so pratical, real power when it was needed.

I do agree with Phil it's something I'd never consider doing, especially to that engine. However I can't get the standard lump to run properly, so when I see somebody supercharging one I'm fascinated.

Pratically, supercharging motorcycles (especially air cooled lumps) has never had much sucess and I'd have thought the weight penalty outweighs the potential benefits

As to my reasons for posting it up, I thought it was an interesting concept and would have liked some detail on the mods, the performance, the pressure made by the supercharger etc: How it is to live with, does it run hot for example?

It seems an absolutely outrageous thing to even attempt, but rather than pour iced water over it, I thought others would want to know more.

I'm fascinated by folks who throw the manual out the window, then do something that no sane man would consider and then get it to work.

More power to them and long may they continue

John

[Pressureangle]

9 hours ago, pete roper said:

Forced induction on spark ignited engines is a first class ticket to misery on steroids! 

Before the fight starts, can we all just agree that forced induction as an addition demands an order of magnitude more development and tuning to the point that you've equaled the engineering of an OEM?

[Lucky Phil]

9 hours ago, Pressureangle said:

Before the fight starts, can we all just agree that forced induction as an addition demands an order of magnitude more development and tuning to the point that you've equaled the engineering of an OEM?

What makes you think a fights going to start, but since you mentioned it. I know pete had in his mind the context of modified automotive/motorcycle engines here but because I'm a front bottom I'll remind him anyway that without the Supercharged/turbocharger spark ignition engine we'd all be speaking German now, lol. Mind you without it there probably wouldn't have been WW2 to start with. The supercharged spark engine was fitted to aircraft, tanks, patrol boats plus probably other stuff I can't recall.

Ciao