The British genius Allen Millyard never ceases to surprise us with some of his peculiar creations. All of them far from the common conventionalism that usually occurs within the two-wheeled sector. Among them is this “The Flying Millyard”which was recently exhibited on the occasion of the 29th edition of the Kickback Show, held just a few days ago.
Although this incredible preparation is not new, it has not been seen in an event of this type for quite some time. A completely handmade contraption that stands out, mainly, for being equipped with a 5,000 cc V-twin engine of aeronautical origin. At least as far as its cylinders are concerned, coming from a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine radial type that was mounted on airplanes between 1925 and 1960.
“The Flying Millyard”: Much more than numbers
If there is something that stands out in Allen Millyard’s projects, it is undoubtedly the figures that declare some of the frames that the English engineer has designed and manufactured almost from scratch. For example, the Kawasaki Fives, 5 cylinders and 2 strokes wildly beautiful, or the Millyard Viper V10, a curious artifact that produces a whopping 500 HP.
Also the Velocette V-twin powered by two single-cylinder engines from the 50s or the Honda RC374 Six made from photographs and with a six-cylinder engine manufactured thanks to the union of two FZ250R engines. Each and every one of them shows us what Allen Millyard is capable of and how imagination, in the world of motorcycles, is key when creating frames of this level.
That is why “The Flying Millyard” could not be less, as demonstrated by the elements that shape parts as important as the engine. Allen built the crankcases from scratch and designed a specific carburetor kit to power such a beast. Of course, the chassis is also an exclusive design by Millyard itself, as explained in detail by Bike Bound.
Furthermore, “The Flying Millyard” project was born after winning the Best in Show award at the Privé Concours Hall in London thanks to presenting the smallest V-twin in the world mounted on its Honda SS100. To do this, he combined two engines from each Honda SS50. After this milestone, Millyard comments: “I thought that if I had won this year with the smallest V-twin in the world, I would come back next year with the largest in the world.”
So he got to work and after seven months of work, “The Flying Millyard” was born. There are truly curious facts about the construction, such as that Allen bought the two cylinders on Ebay for only 100 pounds, about 120 euros. With a final cubic capacity of 4,880ccthe motor is associated with a 4-speed gearbox and reverse gear. It is estimated that it can yield a final power of about 100 HPwith a top speed of about 120km/h approximately.
In order to get it started, as detailed by MCN colleagues at the time: “Put the ignition on full retard, the mixture on six, turn on the oil and gas, put the throttle at about a quarter, crank the engine twice using the kickstarter to prime the cylinders.”
Millyard concludes on this project: “I built this bike not with performance in mind, but so that it sounded crazy and could be ridden calmly, sitting down and honking from time to time.”
