When I published the all new 998 cc Musket V-Twin engine, you were unanimous in expressing your admiration for this beautiful looking and sounding engine and for his creator Aniket Vardhan. But a successful attempt at building such a motor (using 500 Bullet top ends) required a full custom chassis to demonstrate its possibilities. Aniket kept his promise to send me the first pictures of his completed Musket 998 and I must say it’s also quite cool looking. Congrats to him. The Musket V-Twin.
The Musket 998 V-Twin Bike Unveiled
Published by February 8th, 2013 in Accessories, Builders, Chassis and Electrical.33 Responses to “The Musket 998 V-Twin Bike Unveiled”
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Kewl.
I like it , very cool
I am a pretty good backyard mechanic, but this… WOW… Congrats Aniket… I like what you did with the Brit like exhaust.
Fantastic! Beautiful bike!
That …. is beyond cool IMHO .
This thing sounds awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTKfvb6p6Lw
Cyril,
And the video of him riding it in the parking lot, great sound. Now he needs a big loan and a facility to make these bikes. I would get one. This and a 2013 BMW GSA and I am in heaven.
Laurence
Nice but with all the work that went into it already I wish he’d also find a way of incorporating a standard gear shifter – on the standard side and in the standard pattern rather than on the right side and apparently in 1st-up pattern (unless he started in 2nd gear).
LOL, more about the gearbox: I just found out on his blog the gearbox actually started out as left-shifter and he CONVERTED it to right side! I don’t want to be rude here and well, it is his bike… all I’m going to say is that if I were buying this bike, it would be only on the condition he’d convert it back.
Anyone know where I can get that taillight or one like it?
Absolutely brilliant! What a beautiful looking bike to match that gorgeous looking engine. The fact the gearbox is right side shift just ads to the appeal, having it back on the correct side. Well done Aniket you’ve designed, engineered and built a very impressive machine.
Cool bike. Sounds great and I wish him well with his endeavors. I learned to ride on a ’67 Triumph that was right shift. Never had a problem with it or any subsequent bikes that were left shift. Just get on and RIDE!
I hope the folks at Polaris are watching this guy, not that I want this to be the new Indian of course. Rather the passion of this fellow as he realizes his dream motorcycle, true to the brand in appearance and feel, while creating something totally new.
I really dig this bike and appreciate the skill, time, research, & dollars spent to create it.
Even if nobody wants to bring it to a mass market, it is an achievement to celebrate on its own merit. But I hope he gets filthy rich and enjoys much success, he has definitely earned it.
Take note people. This guy is a true builder.
Not like the masses we’ve been subjected to believing. Due to their big wallets and image egos.
Bravo buddy !
Andrew,
RE:
“…the gearbox actually started out as left-shifter and he CONVERTED it to right side! …”
Actually, all Foot-shift Enfields using Albion tyrannies shifted on the right, until they Enfield closed op shop (in like 1970). I believe Albion is still in business.
However, i suspect that the surviving Indian Enfield enterprise had to switch to left hand shifting to meet DOT requirements. And since this custom twin was base on a late model Indian Enfield i suspect that’s why it started out as a lefty shifter.
The culprit here is DOT and their mania for conformance.
Making perfectly good right shifting boxes re-rout their linkage through the left side primary drives was an abomination. Whoever made that decision should have their ass kicked. Only bed-wetters need the security blanket of conformance.
One would think a call for “conformance” would be out of place on a Custom MC blog…. (i would think). More to the point, moving this twin back to a right-shifter is not only appropriate, but also eliminates a bunch of unnecessary linkage.
-nicker-
Cheers nicker, thanks for the explanation and I get your point re: authenticity but to be honest, I am lazy and couldn’t be bothered to learn a new (for me) habit just to be authentic. However since I am neither making or buying this bike it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference one way or another. I’m just making conversation,
By the way, it might be worth mentioning there is another similar project around, run by one Paul Carberry in Australia. He also makes 1000cc twins based on Enfields, he’s been at it for a few years and he’s built a handful of such bikes. His gearboxes seem to be on the left side however π
Andrew is right on check it out: http://www.carberryenfield.com.au/index.html
Cool engine….I like it…
the machine and the engine are for the real one
Aniket is a engineering badass, and a hell of a nice guy too. I have a similar pet project running round in the meat tween my ears and he was happy to spend an hour with a perfect stranger on the phone shootin the bull about my idea. I have made many custom parts, foundry patterns, and done many of the multitudes of industrial design and fabrication that a project like this takes and belive u me its a real mona alsop to pull off. Its a small group of people that can do what he has done. Good on ya Aniket!
I love the look, the Profile, the Stance, the Motor and the Presece of that Bike. It is a classically appointed and Understated in the design. This bike is Happening Now and looks like it happened 40 years ago as well. This looks like it could be a Modern version of a “Vincent”.! Go Dude, You got a Winner. If Jesse is looking for his start up and wants (Needs) a fresh Start, Fresh Bike and a Fresh new Idea This Guy should be on your Team by the end of the Week!!!!!!!!!
P.S. The Rear Tire & Wheel need to support a 100 Hp performance.
izadore007,
Tire & wheels are fin as long as they have rim-locks.
But that Albion box will have a tough time holding back 80HP.
As i recall, the lay shafts in the older boxes were carried on bushings.
-nicker-
1951vsb,
Ya Carberry has been at it a while longer.
Can remember pictures of his prototype on-line some years ago.
RE:
“… gearboxes seem to be on the left side however…”
Looking at the picture of his motor on his web-page banner, it shows a stock early (up to 1970) Enfield Interceptor primary cover. No shifter……. ???
-nicker-
Re: Looking at the picture of his motor on his web-page banner, it shows a stock early (up to 1970) Enfield Interceptor primary cover. No shifterβ¦β¦. ???
Look at the pictures of the finished bikes in the gallery – he uses standard (left side) arrangement on all but one of them.
Very cool! I’d ove to race him with my Raven.
Footshift bikes started out on the right side so they could shift easier during flat tracking which is a constant left turn. The bike is correct for shifting on the right just like all period English and most American bikes. Right side was the standard and anyone who’s got bikes can do it either way. My hat’s off to the fellow who put this together. Just the patternmaking alone is a lot of work.
Andrew,
Ya, that right side MC pic shows a brake peddle.
Moreover, that isn’t a classic Albino gear box.
Looks almost like it’s part of an all new lower end.
Left shift it must be………… π
-nicker-
Lyle,
RE:
“…Footshift bikes started out on the right side so they could shift easier during flat tracking which is a constant left turn…”
What……….???
-nicker-
Hi there guys!
Once again, from the piston in my heart and the rockers in my head, THANK YOU to Cyril and all of you for your encouraging comments, they are *deeply appreciated*. Believe me, remembering how this started out, it still feels like a dream that it got written about here and you guys appreciate my efforts.
The gear shifter was put back on the right for the only reason that the stock left side shifter, as installed by the factory for USA exports (DOT and all) uses a rather sketchy linkage with a lot of play. They did this because the original Albion box on the Enfields was always a right shift as typical for classic Brit bikes, as correctly mentioned by some of you above. The factory had the tricky job of getting the shifter on the left, clearing the frame and cases and also *reversing the shift pattern* from 1-up-3-down of the right shift to 1-down-3-up for the left. Yup, things are a bit Rube Goldberg down there. Hence I made something very simple with minimum pivots to remove the sloppiness.
The good part is that in the past few years, Enfields also came with a much better and completely redesigned 5 speed box with a clean and tight left shift, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
There isn’t really a lot of dollars spent on this project, thanks to doing everything yourself, but it has thousands of hours of effort.
Thank you very very much guys,
Aniket
its a mind blowing machine…. π keep it going..
That ends the shifter saga, beautiful machine Aniket as I look forward riding one in the future.
mind bloing machine……………….
but i also want the engine.
i have bullet 350 to change the engine
please……….please………