Alternative engine idea

[Hal Mercier]

I think one of the reasons the Imp engined Davrians seem to spend a lot of time doing nothing is possibly because the engines are, if tuned, 1/ Expensive if broken, and 2/ Thirsty (on twin Webers)

It's not easy to imagine a good replacement unit which could easily mate up with the Imp transaxle, or a VW or other transaxle, for longitudinal rear engined fitting.

One that I have thought about is the BMW 'K' bike engine.

This is not unlike the Imp unit in that it's designed with low centre of gravity in mind, it leans over so the head is on the left side.

It's a robust and light 4 cylinder, twincam, fuel injected and water-cooled 16 valve unit, from 1000cc to 1200cc, with a car type dry single-plate clutch and separate gearbox running to shaft drive (on the bike). I don't know if it turns in the right direction though!

Power is from 90bhp on the original K100 8 valve to 135 on the K1200 16 valve.

There's plenty of scope for tuning.

A friend of mine spent a lot of time in conjunction with RBRacing in the US developing a turbocharger kit for the 1200, and ended up with 3 management chips...for 250, 275, and 300bhp.

I think this engine would be quite suitable for a Davrian.....