The motorcycling world is replete with mechanical oddities that by no means actually caught on. Think hub heart steering, two-wheel drive, and even computerized transmissions. But prime of the checklist has acquired to be the rotary engine. Despite its restricted success within the mainstream automotive world, there are many people who’ve tried to make a Wankel-powered bike.
Suzuki might be the perfect identified, with the RE5. But across the similar time, the Dutch firm Van Veen was additionally experimenting, and so was the German outfit Hercules—with its imposing W-2000.
This is the primary time we’ve seen a {custom} Hercules, but it surely was constructed by a person who will probably be acquainted to common guests of this web site: Greg Hageman. Greg made his title with Virago customs, however nowadays, he can flip his hand to absolutely anything with two wheels.
That made him the right selection for consumer Alessandro Bonomi, who was intrigued by the thought of a first-of-its-kind rotary restomod.
Alessandro is especially fascinated by the story of Hercules: “There’s something magical about forgotten automotive dreams and relics,” he ruminates. “One notion was the idea that rotary engines could have been the future of motorcycles.”
“On paper, the thought appeared to be genius. A system that would reduce vibration and provide uniform torque, while providing considerable weight savings. Unfortunately, it was the right idea but not the right time.”
Finding the precise donor bike was paramount, as a result of resuscitating or repairing a poor situation rotary engine from the 70s could be tough. As luck would have it, Greg’s father-in-law occurred to have an ultra-rare Hercules W-2000 in his assortment. And believing in what Greg and Alessandro have been getting down to do, he was prepared to half with it.
“This human and emotional connection made the build that much more special,” says Alessandro. So I devoted the bike and construct to my very own father, titling the journey ‘Project Andy’.”
Alessandro pitched his imaginative and prescient to Greg, with concepts round design and efficiency upgrades. Because even by Seventies requirements, a Hercules W-2000 is kind of rustic—and the 294cc Sachs air-cooled single rotor engine is a fairly fundamental mill, regardless of the weird know-how.
“I saw this as a positive, because we had a ‘pure,’ early industrial rotary engine, undisturbed by unnecessary complexity. It was the parts surrounding the engine that needed the most attention.”
The Hercules had predictable if considerably sluggish dealing with, so Greg has upgraded the suspension with Yamaha XS650 forks. These have been overhauled with new tubes and seals, plus innards from Race Tech—together with Gold Valve cartridge emulators.
The hubs are XS650 too, each entrance and rear, and laced as much as new 17-inch rims from Buchanan’s. They’re 3.5 inches huge on the entrance and 4.25 on the again, and laced up with heavy responsibility stainless spokes. The tires are Avon MKII, with a period-correct tread sample matched to fashionable development.
There’s no scarcity of braking energy although, as a result of Greg has put in the entrance calipers from a 2003 Yamaha YZF-R1 utilizing billet adaptors, together with 320 mm Brembo rotors. They’re fed by a Magura HC1 radial grasp cylinder.
At the rear, there’s an XS650 drum—upgraded with new footwear from EBC—flanked by a pair of custom-spec Hagon Nitro shocks.
The finishes are top-notch, from the steely glint of the CNC-machined Motogadget grips to the newly-plated {hardware} and the beautiful metalflake paint, which was shot by Tampa-based Moe Colors.
The graphics on the inventory tank are impressed, mirroring the form of the aspect covers, and all the things else has been neatly refinished in powder or Cerakote by Schwarz Powder Coating in Illinois.
In manufacturing unit kind the Hercules seems somewhat stodgy, however Greg has neatly lightened the aesthetics with a brand new seat upholstered by Tuffside, and a waspish little tail unit. He’s additionally added a basic quarter-fairing on the entrance, which homes a Custom Dynamics ProBEAM LED headlight behind a transparent dome.
As all the time with builds like this, a variety of the work is hidden. That consists of the brand new electrical system, which ought to banish any vestiges of classic unreliability. The hidden goodies are principally Motogadget componentry, with an mo.unit Bluetooth management field feeding out to a speedo, switchgear and switch alerts from the identical producer.
This W-2000 is a type of builds that would have gone horribly flawed, however Alessandro could be very happy with the end result.
“It’s like no bike I’ve ever ridden,” he enthuses. “She’s light, nippy, and unexpectedly fast. But more than anything, there is a different energy when you hit the throttle … the bike almost disappears from beneath, there are no real vibrations, and you simply find yourself gliding effortlessly.”
We’d give something to swing a leg over this one and see what easy rotary energy looks like in a light-weight, up to date chassis. Alessandro is the primary to confess that the Hercules venture is ‘idealistic,’ however his {dollars} and creativeness have additionally turned the highlight again onto a misplaced second in bike historical past.
More like this, please.
Hageman MC | Facebook | Instagram
Source: www.bikeexif.com
