Hybrid bikes - Tricati, Ducda, Grumph, etc.

Hi everybody,
A few of you might remember a couple of months back I started a post regarding bikes that used car engines and maybe this is just a follow-on to that post. Anyway, I wonder how many of your have seen or heard of hybrids - aside from the Triton, the Vinton and to a lesser extent, the Beeton - ie, one make's motor in another mfg's chassis? I'm not talking about CB1100 motors in 750 frames or RD200 motors in Twin Jet 100 frames (maybe that could be another thread) but real cross-pollination stuff.
Some examples I've seen:
Tricati - the first hybrid bike I ever saw, in a Brit bike mag, around 1965. Ducati 200cc with jelly mould tank, clip-ons, rearsets and a full-on pre-unit 500cc Triumph twin. About 40 years after I saw that one, got offered a Duke 250 / 500 Triumph unit twin project as part payment for a job, but the deal fell through.
Ducda - the ones I've seen were usually a 250 frame with a 250 / 350 Honda twin, though I heard of - but never saw - a 350 Sebring with a Honda 450 DOHC motor (would it even fit?). I think a 160 Duke with a CB175 / 200 motor would be cool.
Grumph - this was a fairly popular conversion for enduro guys here in Canada in the '60's / early '70's. They used a Greeves chassis (various models) with a 500cc Triumph twin. The ones I saw, were all unit motors and don't know if anybody ever used a pre-unit engine in one. One or 2 kept the leading link forks but most changed to telescopics.
Yawumph - I've seen a couple different spins on these, including a guy in my 'hood who put a 500 Triumph unit twin into a mid-sixties 250 Big Bear. Going at it from the other end, I heard of a drag bike being built that used a couple of Yamaha two-stroke twins in a Bonneville frame somehow (but why?). Never saw it, though.
Hondaka - various small single cylinder Honda motors stuffed into Hodaka frames, both sloper and vertical.
Suzda (or is it Honzuki?) - A friend rode enduros years ago on an XR200 and no matter how tricked out he made it, it always lacked a bit in the rough stuff. His solution was to transplant the XR motor into an '83 RM125 frame.
Yamda (Honaha?) - I put a small Honda sloper motor with the centrifugal clutch and 3 speed tranny in a girlfriend's Yamaha 60 street bike as she was an abject failure with the clutch. Turned out she an abject failure on bikes in general, among other things...
Hocati(?) - 160cc Ducati stuffed into a Hodaka frame. Major frame work but neat looking bike when it was finished.
CZumph - a Triumph 500 twin in a CZ endure / motocross chassis. Probably has a cousin in the MZumph.
Hontaco - CB72 in a Bultaco Pursang.
There must be a ton of other pairings that have been done, some resulting in a great ride and with others, I'm sure the question is still being asked, "Why?"
Update my list with what you've seen, heard about, built or owned.
Pat

I saw a Suzuki GS500E with a built Triumph 750 unit twin in it once.... Had GSXR750 forks, but otherwise no mods to the chassis. Well, other than what needed be to fit the motor. Was for sale in Walnecks or something. It was pretty cool.

PAT :-[.................. good call.

I owned 2 Tricati's - 1 a 350 unit the other 500 unit
1 x Trifield - 500 unit in a Crusader chassis.
A Constellation lump in a Triumph chassis [ don't ask ] - sidecar tug.
2 Norbsa's - one a Rocket in a Dommie chassis, the other my Manx/Goldie
Several Triton's - mainly built for other peeps. and my favourites
Tribsas - 6 in all, including to circuit examples

A pal put a VW engine in a Dragonfly frame [ also sidecar tug ].

Always wanted to do a Connie lump in a BSA chassis.

HOWEVER I "found" an old BMW Airhead chassis when I cleared my old box trailer last week that I had forgotten all about [ !! ] ...........Hmmmmm - just need a sensibly priced Connie lump now. BSA chassis / rolling gear stupid prices now.

My r500
72 r5 yamaha with a t500 motor

Your R500 is a great looking conversion - and a practical bike to boot. Kind of makes you wonder why Yamaha didn't do something similar - though you may remember a thread I posted awhile back about an RD500LC prototype TWIN I saw photos of, a couple of years before the RZ500 (also known as the RD500LC in some markets) arrived on the market.
Another lash up that I remembered seeing at Daytona bike week around 35 years ago was a rat bike Lambretta scooter with a Honda 500/4 in it. I saw it again the next year and it looked almost the same, except for the turbocharger...
BTW, what does your insurance company think about your bike?
Keep 'em coming.
Pat

Pat, I missed out on the Japanese era for engine swaps - engine units were still 20 years away from being plentiful / cheap enough when I packed up the first time around.

And in reality, by the time I got into Japanese bikes - they were pretty well sorted as a package. Apart from the will to tinker, there was not much point. They [ Japanese bikes ] were also pretty soul-less compared to Brit / Italian / German machines.

Hey Manfred,
A valid point, to be sure - though there are still a few neat Japo swaps being done - 4 stroke singles into GP 2 stroke chassis, TZR250 and RG250 chassis with a couple of different engine swaps, stuff like that.
I was involved with a Rotax 600cc single in an RZ350 frame and there was someone in my area putting a BSA single - either a 441 or a 500 - in an RZ350 chassis. The Rotax got sold before completion and I don't know the whereabouts of the Yambsa.
Sportster motors in Featherbed frames is another one I first saw back in the very early '70's - a fire breathing XLCH in a real Featherbed frame (I think someone is offering these with replica frames and brand new Sporty motors now). Are they Norleys or Hartons?
I do have to agree that the heyday of the hybrid was probably the '60's, though, kind of why I posted this thread - to find out what everyone else has seen or done.
Pat

couple i can think of....

stock looking lambretta with RD350LC motor in it, bloke in england was making them for sale for a while, seriously (dangerously) quick

GTS 500 Ducati (short lived vertical twin best known for blowing up in fairly spectaular and expensive fashion) received the XS650 motor with minimal frame work and gave you the reliability of the yamaha motor with the sweet handling of the Ducati

another that doesn't really fall inside your rules is the Vmax motor into the Yamaha XVZ1300 Venture full dresser thing. it's where the Vmax stole its motor from in the first place but when it goes back in it takes all of its 130+ BHP with it instead of the 80ish (on a good day) the Venture brought to the party in the beginning

They think it's a r5 yamaha

I dunno Brad,
Remember, the insurance company is not your friend.
I can think of a number of times recently, the first words out of their yobs were, "Well, we don't cover that", or "why would you put better brakes on your motorbike(?), is it for performance reasons?".
The ultimate best was, when insuring a little two stroke, 100cc bike... "it's not turbocharged, is it?"
Honestly, the only reason I carry bike insurance in Ontario is the fact that it's required by law, a cozy little circle jerk called, "no fault insurance".
Don't know what your 'hood is like, but if they can find a reason not to pay up or support your ass when it's in a sling, they'll do it.
Paco

Not sure if I'll get it done before I wind up in a nursing home, but on my one workbench now is an H2 kaw motor sitting in a featherbed frame. Parts from two completely different cultures.

farmerdl said:

Not sure if I'll get it done before I wind up in a nursing home, but on my one workbench now is an H2 kaw motor sitting in a featherbed frame. Parts from two completely different cultures.

Click to expand...

I'll be watching for that one !!!

Pat, not so much I didn't think early Japanese stuff warranted swaps - just that I was heavily into car design and manufacturing by that time.

One of mine I overlooked, was a 500 Dommie lump in a BSA chassis [ Goldie'ised B33 ]. That was a sweet combination. Only had it on the road for a week when some guy up the lay-bye offered me an obscene amount of money for it ! Was nice though.

"MatchUmph" or "TriumpLess"

67 Matchless G15CSR frame, late 50s Triumph "pre-unit" engine

Never got around to de-raking the frame (sad), but still have it (and the engine). Got better forks, a better tank, 3 trannys to chose from, 2 sets of jugs, and a better seat, but have NO time for this mess.

At least is a big bearing bottom end and slickshift box. How far ahead of the curve were Triumph with that idea?

Slickshift era box, no slickshift inside, too bad.

That was common back in the day. People didn't like/understand them and with the way the clutch was adjusted, it wasn't always perfect, but there is still no equivalent design that lifts the clutch slightly as gears are shifted.

Combine that with a temporary ignition cut out and it would be perfect as a quickshifter.

I had a Greeves chassis with a BSA 441 Victor motor in it. The bike was built by Gary Bailey as a desert runner back in the 60s. I found it in a pile of brit parts in the early 70s. The 441 motor was built up and I got tired of kicking it, so it was sold or traded. I always wanted a Tribsa, Triumph motor in a BSA frame, as such I've held on to a BSA A65F frame for 15 years. It may end up being a Honbsa since I have several Honda motors available. In 96, I built a Harley/BSA hybrid. I used a BSA A10 frame I was given by Jack Wilson of Big D in Dallas and a 53 Harley 45 motor with a triumph transmission and rear wheel. Forks were from a 1975 Honda CB750 complete with disk brake. I called it a "bitsa". I rode it to a show in Dallas once and had at least a hundred people tell me they had one just like it! I'm a big fan of oddball constructions.