It’s rarely that I have a weekend like this last one. A book signing event on Saturday, 28th September, at Motorcycles of Dulles (courtesy of John Tisch), followed by a visit to a friend’s house on the Sunday to see his recent, and most unusual, two-wheeled acquisition. Promoting my motorcycle books in a showroom full of brand-new motorcycles and enthusiastic motorcyclists, will never be a chore. Listening to other people’s stories about motorcycles and learning a little about their background and what genre of motorcycle they ride, is always a pleasure. The motorcycle community must be one of the most diverse recreational communities out there. All age groups seem to be represented yesterday, and I even got to meet a fellow Kiwi whose name was Nigel! What were the odds of that happening in a motorcycle dealership in the USA? Several riders were starting out from scratch, whilst others at the other end of the riding scale were returning to motorcycling after taken a sabbatical for a couple of decades to raise a family. Sunday was also special, I was invited to a friend’s house who introduced me to a motorcycle I had never even heard about, let alone seen one. The bike was a 2001, Feuling W-3. A 150cubic inch (2458cc) three-cylinder Harley Davidson lookalike. This monster of a machine weighs in at around 635lbs. Of the 25 engines that were produced, only 18 made it into the W-3 motorcycle. The idea back in the day was that the bike would be sold in kit form. This one is complete but has never even been registered. It is basically a 45-degree V-twin with a third cylinder attached on the front, also set at 45 degrees. Harley Davidson had contracted Feuling to explore this unique concept of a third cylinder, but it was never adopted by Harley Davidson. So, the owner, Jim Feuling and his team, went ahead anyway and produce a running prototype. The W3 is the result. With over 170ft/lbs of torque, and around 150bhp at the rear wheel. The bike looks like a dragster! The engine uses a patented connecting rod/crankshaft design like an aircraft radial engine where two connecting rods are fitted either side of a master conrod. The rear cylinder fires first, followed by the front and middle cylinder. The bike is not running at the moment, but apparently is sounds like two Harleys next to each other when it does fire up. Quite a machine. Quite a weekend.
Comments