yea... have a google for the Geico Bike. It doesnt actually run properly.. it could never have run... It appears as though it was all a front
2 blokes been trying for 6 mths to get it going. They've had professionals on the job and all!
When I retired, I greatly reduced my cable TV subscription because I didn’t want to live the dream sitting in front of the boob tube pursuing mindless entertainment and being brainwashed by the media. I lost all the channels that featured the “build shows” including OCC. That said, I didn’t follow OCC past my retirement. Although I saw the beginning of the OCC family infighting, I wasn’t watching it anymore when it got really bad and the show self destructed, and I didn’t see the Geico machine under construction.
OCC used a crate long block for all of their builds. It was built as a high end replacement for the HD V-twin. Although probably lighter in weight, it was an equivalent in form, fit and function, which meant the crate engine had the same inherent limitations as the HD stock engine. The guys at OCC used to put these crate engines on and set them up very quickly, the initial starts were always sweet and they had just the right pleasing rumble for a chopper.
I think they tried to tweak the performance of the engine of the Geico machine with bolt on stuff. ‘Hot Rod’ magazine suggested back in the early 70s that you can only go so far with bolt-ons. I don’t think that any of the OCC boys, or their consultants, had the depth to undertake what they were trying to do.
One would need a clear understanding of the time-history of the engine’s enthalpic reaction, through all 4 cycles, to engineer a specific valve porting scheme and a tuned port induction system necessary for the kind of performance the boys at OCC were seeking. Also, It is questionable whether such an effort would even be worthwhile in the first place, for such an archaic engine design with its inherent limitations.
After the boys at OCC shipped the bike off to others to fix, One consultant was on the phone with another consultant who were both watching the output traces of an engine analyzer and speculating where to go next. I am sure this analyzer took multiple inputs off the engine and applied an algorithm to plug and chug the mass-balance equation, and display an output trace over the rpm range. They then started to rule out probable causes of the anomalous and unexpected results. I think what these consultants were missing was the analyzer’s algorithm presumed that the engine had an optimized valve porting scheme and a tuned induction manifold, which it didn’t.
I got a kick out of the OCC boys’ attempt to use Avio fuel (100% octane leaded gas). It was a trick used by old time hot rodders to add horsepower. The trick worked fine in the big ol’ V8 engines of yesteryear and I am sure the valves were lavishing in the fuel’s lead content. It makes me think of Compo’s bath in “fragrant essence of ferret” from ‘
Going to Gordon’s Wedding’. Based on the awful noises the engine on the Geico bike was making with Avio fuel, it was a bad idea. I won’t even speculate what was happening internal to the engine.
Now, I use Avio fuel in my old lawnmower and snowblower engines. The ethanol in the fuel we now have was digesting the elastomerics in the soft seats of the carburetor needle valves every couple of years. The ethanol was also digesting the Buna-N O-ring fuel bowl seals This would result in fuel leaking out of the primer bulbs and the engines not starting. I found I could get the old soft seats out with my Mother’s crochet hook and press the new ones in with the end of a pencil. The Avio fuel ended this biennial nuisance. The engines run a bit rough, but that is OK. As Wesley put it “it all comes down to the naturally skilled bloke with an hammer”.
Overall, I liked the Geico bike. It looked like a remake of the V Rod with a cafe racer like soft tail, with some kind of chopper-like fork scabbed onto the front. The seat would have been unbearable. I loved the color. It will make a great display unit adorned with some pretty girls.
