Video! Homemade Enfield V-twin hits road

Aniket Vardhan's homemade Royal Enfield V-twin motorcycle is running and on the road. The young man in Columbus, Ohio built his own Royal Enfield 700cc V-twin motor from two 350 motors. Now, he writes:

"I'm utterly thrilled to finally be able to show you the almost complete bike. Still needs mufflers and a few odds and ends but I have been riding it every day. First ride on Friday night, did a 40-mile ride on Saturday, she's running perfectly well! Hasn't skipped a beat, no signs of overheating, no pipe bluing on the long ride, (did a very short burst heavy on the throttle -- saw the needle hover between 140-150kmh), still had some throttle left.

"I have a 20-tooth output sprocket right now (Ed: standard is only 17 or 18!), for a final ratio of 4.22/1 and I think this may be a good choice. She feels like she could do a bit taller still.

"Torque is really nice -- she pulls smoothly as low as 40km/hr in top gear and accelerates right from there without any snatching. Idles steadily regardless.

"It feels really mellow and almost hypnotic to hear the steady rumble at around 90 kmh (55 mph), when the engine sounds perfectly relaxed and unhurried, cruising along. Engine revs have dropped 25 per cent below the 350.

"Had some major clutch slippage first time round (expected), that seems to have gone with new plates and heavier springs. was thinking of trying the five-plate clutch but seems to not be necessary yet."

Here's his walk-around description of the motorcycle, which has a frame he stretched six inches.



Vardhan is originally from New Delhi. He came to the U.S. in 1999 for a master's degree in Industrial Design. He left his job as an assistant professor of Industrial Design at an art and design school in Columbus in July, 2008. He says his dream has been creating a Royal Enfield V-twin. He first showed the world his V-twin in a YouTube video posted in February, 2009.

Now he is on the road. A terrific accomplishment.