A long-travel Gold Star? You bet, and it works!

THE BIG BEEMER!

BMW decided to take advantage of the Open (over 750 cc) Class at the 1973 International Six Days Trials (ISDT) held in Dalton, Massachusetts. They entered three huge 375-pound-plus Boxer twins, piloted by three equally huge German riders. The smallest guy was 270 pounds and was six feet four inches tall. The biggest rider looked like he could wrestle in the WWF with no sweat.

However, their plans were thwarted by Husqvarna and Maico, who quickly put together some over-sized two-strokes. Husky had three starters and three finishers, Maico had one 760 cc beast start and finish, while the huge Beemers had five starters and only three finishers. The Huskys and Maicos weighed in at a mere 240 pounds (dry) and ate the hefty BMWs alive in the special tests.

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A BSA GOLD STAR WITH AN ATTITUDE!

Slim and trim, Len Miller’s BSA is capable of pulling holeshots on XR-600s.

You’re supposed to leave Gold Stars stock, right? Not if you’re Len Miller (Torrance, California) and you want to make the good old iron competitive.

His BSA Gold Star has received extensive modifications, including lay-down Ohlins shocks and late model YZ forks. The exhaust system was hand-fabricated and features a megaphone with a Super Trapp silencer on the end to reduce the roar of the big single.

Disc brakes handle the rear end, and double-leading shoes provide stopping power up front. Modern plastic looks at home on the Goldie, and Len has somehow been able to retain the basic good looks of the BSA. With a foot of suspension travel at both ends, this is one Gold Star that will run neck-and-neck with the modern iron.

Yes, it’s a V-twin, but not like one you’ve ever seen before! This engine is carved from the back two cylinders of a V-8.

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CHEVY V-TWIN?

An amazing variety of motors have been used in motorcycles over the years, and a number of them have evolved from small car engines. But here’s one that ought to blow your mind!

One fourth of a 350 cubic inch Chevy small block. With minor modifications, it should easily produce over 100 horsepower.

This "v-twin" started out life as a standard small block 350 cubic inch Chevy motor found in zillions of trucks and cars for decades. The builder (no, we don’t have a name for you yet) simply cut the back two cylinders off and created his very own v-twin. The back cylinders are used because that’s where the distributor is located.

Naturally, a timing cover and crank damper had to be added to the front of those two cylinders, and the shortened valve covers had to have capped ends fabricated. Note that the stock starter and flywheel assembly are retained.

In the world of off-road buggy racing, we’ve seen builder Doug Fortin cut a Chevy- V-8 in half and make one of his super SCAT motors. Oddly enough, they sound just like a V-8 and are very powerful.

The plus side of starting with a small block Chevy is obvious; parts are dirt cheap and very reliable. Plus, there are scads of hop-up parts available for low bucks.

Big inch/snow bird hybrid: all you have to do is give the Yamaha Big Wheel some big horsepower.

We have no idea how this unit will work, or what kind of motorcycle it will be put in (perhaps a hill-climber?) but we’ll keep you posted as we find out more about it. While this may not qualify as a "wild bike," it certainly qualifies as a wild bike motor!

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BIG, BIG, BIG WHEEL!

White stuff on the ground? If you’ve got a big-bore single spinning the tire, it’s no sweat!

We’ll let Marc Bottessi’s letter tell the story of this Wild Bike to you. And the next time deep snow stops you from riding, just use your imagination, like Marc did.

BW/XT conversion looks like it came right out of the factory’s doors.

"Enclosed are pictures of my 1989 Yamaha XT 600 which I converted to a BW (Big Wheel) for the winter. A bunch of us dirt riders love to ride BWs on the snow, but because my BW 200 didn’t have enough motor or suspension, I decided to make a BW 600! My friends thought I was crazy, but this bike goes great!

I started with an XT 600 because of the engine and the 41 mm forks, with little underhang. The front wheel and brakes are Tri-Z 250 with a Tri-Z front fender. I drew up plans for the triple clamps and my friend, Harold Bowen, made them for me. The clamps are 1.5" thick.

Rear suspension travel is variable, and can be set from 8.5 inches to 16.5 inches. Wild!

I bought a conversion swing arm, mostly unassembled, and made swing pivots, shock mounts, and brake caliper mounts and welded it together. I used a mechanical caliper in the rear, which works well.

Super long swingarm lets the fat rear tire move through a variable arc; rear disc brake is actuated by a simple steel rod

Suspension travel in the front is 10.0 inches, and in the rear there’s a three-position no-link system that gives from 8.5 inches to 16.5 inches of travel. I run the shock in the middle, for 12.5 inches of travel.

The bike can be converted back to a normal motorcycle in about two hours, then next winter, it’s back to a BW for some more winter fun!