Maserati Barber
The objective for this bike was to build something more compact and rideable than the Alfabeast, although the Alfa V6 is a superb engine it is a bit messy with all the belts and exposed ancillary parts.
Maserati Barber, in the tradition of many Maserati, takes it name from a wind, that also happens to be my surname. The V6 engine was used in the Maserati Merak and Citroen SM and was designed by the brilliant Guilio Alfieri, the very same person who designed the Laverda V6 engine. The cylinder heads are only 13" long due the the cam chains coming up the side of the cylinder bores and over the top of the heads rather than at the end of the head or in between the cylinders, also the positioning of the internal water and oil pumps has resulted in the engine being very compact for a V6 and ideal for putting in a motorcycle.
I've designed the bike to have no external belts, pulleys, chains or sprockets; there will be no visible moving parts except the final drive chain.
Maserati Barber, in the tradition of many Maserati, takes it name from a wind, that also happens to be my surname. The V6 engine was used in the Maserati Merak and Citroen SM and was designed by the brilliant Guilio Alfieri, the very same person who designed the Laverda V6 engine. The cylinder heads are only 13" long due the the cam chains coming up the side of the cylinder bores and over the top of the heads rather than at the end of the head or in between the cylinders, also the positioning of the internal water and oil pumps has resulted in the engine being very compact for a V6 and ideal for putting in a motorcycle.
I've designed the bike to have no external belts, pulleys, chains or sprockets; there will be no visible moving parts except the final drive chain.
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Machining drawing of casting
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Aluminium casting
The first casting ready for machining
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Wooden pattern
Finished pattern made from layers of marine ply. I made the pattern by taking 12mm sections through the 3D model and printing templates from each layer, that I would glue to the ply and then cut out
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Pattern making
Building up layers for the next component, this part will house the alternator and support the swingarm.
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Design
The Maserati Barber will have a wheelbase of 1640 mm and I hope will weigh less 700 lbs. Transmission is via a 6-speed Baker Frankentranny, fitted with a kickstarter, the clutch assembly is S & S, driven by a custom made 58 link primary chain. Oil in the transfer housing and primary drive case is shared with the sump oil; oil blown from the rear crank journal will enter the transfer housing and flow out to the sump, maintaining the same level as the sump.
A Ducat ST2 alternator and rotor are housed in the case on the end of the transfer box.
A Ducat ST2 alternator and rotor are housed in the case on the end of the transfer box.
Clutch, primary drive and 6-speed Frankentranny gearbox
Click to set custom HTML
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The original V6 Laverda, in a state of undress....sexy isn't she?
Not my engine. Youtube video of a bloke table testing the same engine as mine
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