UK Mark said:
What sort of budgets are we talking here for an engine? Expect £8,000 to £12,000 for a new single or twin over here. That won't include carbs, ignition, clutch or transmission.
Plus, what's the intended frame / chassis?
My idea was an inline 4 ready with all the peripherals shoot for $6,000. Obviously to do that it would require a decent quantity per producton run. As for the frame, why not have one made for the motor also available? Easy to keep the price around 1k. I think from a revenue standpoint, the idea would be to emulate the current market. Assume the greatest revenue stream to be all the ancillaries, since the lowest net revenue would be on the motor. Once someone buys your motor design, they have committed to purchasing at least some additional components. I'm not a patent attorney, but I'm certain a degree of difference can be engineered into it to separate it from current patents without much issue. So yes, I am talking a 7 figure venture.
If I were to actually try to source funding for this kind of project, I'd want to know:
Costs for
Design
prototype
redesign (each time this is done)
final digital plans
patents
Sourcing for manufacture
tooling
Marketing expense
unit production to cover initial investment
That's just to name a small part. Once I know at least that much, it would dictate what strength the market requires for such a venture to reach solvency. For example. If it only took 100 motors/attributed peripherals to recoup the initial investment, I'd wager there is at least 100 people who would have interest. If it took 1000, 2,000,or 3000 units, the risk exponentially increases.
I'm not sure I could even assemble something like this on my own, but I am willing to bet just from this forum and the expertise of its constituents, the attributed number could be determined.
I think I need to clarify who I think the market is. The markets is not someone who WANTS to build the motor on their project. The market is someone who has no desire. Also for all the builders out there, the time to restore a motor vs uncrating a new motor, to some there must be an appeal. From their customers perspective, a new engine brings a lot of merit, not to mention can have a higher price tag/ profit margin for the builder.