5 Seriously Cool V8-Powered Motorcycles

There is a tremendous array of variety in form and function among the motorcycles currently on the road. At the small and simple end of the scale are scooter-like bikes such as the Honda Super Cub, and sitting fairly in the mainstream is Harley-Davidson, which has used a collection of mostly one-and two-cylinder engines on its motorcycles. Many current high-performance sport bikes use four-cylinder engines to achieve remarkable speeds, but that's by no means the upper limit when it comes to motorcycle engines.

V8 engines, with two banks of four cylinders placed at an angle to each other, have long been at the heart of muscle cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs, but it might surprise you to know how long V8s have been used in motorcycles. Forward-thinking and performance-minded iconoclasts have been putting V8 engines in motorcycles for more than a century, and their creations are among the most interesting two-wheeled vehicles ever built. We've taken a slow ride through motorcycle history to dig up what we think are the coolest V8-powered motorcycles ever made. These five were selected for their designs, historical significance, and pure bone-thudding performance.

Glenn Curtiss built his first motorcycle engine in 1902. It had one cylinder and produced just three horsepower, but he followed that up the next year with a V-twin that was good for eight horses. He continued onward and upward, developing four-cylinder engines that made as much as 25 horsepower. In 1906, in response to demand from the budding aviation industry, he started working on a V8 engine. Just a year later, Curtiss had the wild brainstorm to try and mount the V8 on a motorcycle frame, and set his team to the task of building one that could support its weight and power. 

The finished product was almost 8 feet long and weighed a hefty 275 pounds with the motor in place. The seat had to be mounted well behind the engine, so the rider wouldn't get burned, which necessitated the use of absurdly long straight handlebars. The engine was also too powerful for a chain or belt drive, so Curtiss used a driveshaft with two universal joints to turn the rear wheel.  The wonky steering and inadequate brakes didn't stop him from setting a land speed record on the bike in 1907, but the run of 136 mph required a 2-mile stretch to accelerate, another mile to hit the record-setting mark, and two more to stop the bike.

In 1921, Former Italian military pilot Carlo Guzzi joined forces with Air Force buddy Giorgio Parodi and his shipbuilder father Emanuele to form Moto Guzzi. By 1934, Guzzi was the biggest motorcycle manufacturer in Italy, and the company produced the Alce, Trialce, and Airone for the country's army during World War II. The company pivoted to racing after the war, and has since captured 14 World championships in the sport. In 1955, Guzzi unveiled a racing bike with a 500cc V8 engine and massive fairing that almost completely hid the motor from view. It was initially able to run at up to 12,000 revolutions per minute and produce 65 horsepower, but by 1957 Guzzi's engineers had boosted those numbers to 14,000 rpm and 80 horsepower. 

The long saddle, massive fuel tank, and spaceship-like fairing make this one of the most unique motorcycle designs ever, and the 80-horse output was about 10 more than most competing four-cylinder racing engines from that time. Only five of these 328-pound beasts were ever produced, and the model suffered more than its share of mechanical issues. Guzzi V8s won only three Grand Prix races, although it managed to capture the 1957 Italian championship. Sadly, that same year also marked the end of the line for Moto Guzzi's V8 efforts.

[Featured image by Serge Piotin via Wikimedia Commons|Cropped and scaled|CC-BY SA 2.5]

In the same year that Moto Guzzi won the Italian Championship with its V8-powered bike, 16-year-old Michigan gearhead Elon Jack "E.J." Potter was inspired to outfit a motorcycle with one of Chevy's new small-block V8s. It took him three years to make his fever dream a reality, but in 1960, the Bloody Mary 1 was born. It had a 283cc V8 and spawned two more namesake models before Potter rechristened his unholy machines as Widowmakers. He kept the number sequence intact, though, so the fourth and final machine was known as Widowmaker 7. An 8.68-second 1/4-mile run at 172 mph earned the Widowmaker 7 a 1973 Guinness Book honor as "the world's fastest motorcycle," but as journalist Roger Meiners told the New York Times for Potter's 2012 obituary, "E. J. wasn't looking to win anything. He just showed up and tried to make people go, Oh, my God!" 

The Widowmaker 7's 350 cubic inch Chevy V8 had several upgrades that boosted its output to around 500 horsepower, obliterating the line between genius and foolishness. In his 1999 memoir "Michigan Madman," Potter self-deprecatingly admitted that his was an odd brand of genius. "Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time," he wrote, "even, usually, surpassing knowledge." The Widowmaker 7 recently went up for auction in Las Vegas, but the high bid did not meet the seller's reserve price.

Giancarlo Morbidelli was already a successful maker of woodworking machines when he began building Grand Prix motorcycles in 1968. Gilberto Parlotti won the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix on a Morbidelli three years later, and in 1975 Morbidelli's creations won the first of their seven world championships. A subsequent ill-fated attempt to jump from the 125cc to 250cc class to the top levels of racing failed, though, and the division shut down in 1982. 10 years later, Morbidelli made a prototype road bike with an eight-cylinder engine, which he dubbed simply the "V8." The 850cc engine was based on the Cosworth Formula 1 design, and the body was styled by Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina.

The V8 had a design that was far ahead of its time, and a foreshadowing of the form many 21st Century sport bikes would take. The so-called production version that appeared in 1994 had a price tag of $45,000 (equal to almost $100,000 today) that made it the world's most expensive motorcycle and by 1998, only four had been made, including the prototype. Morbidelli claimed a peak output of 120 horsepower, which got the bike up to 150 mph via a shaft-driven rear wheel. The company soon went under, but Morbidelli opened a motorcycle museum in Pesaro in 1999 that remained open until his death in 2020.

[Featured image by Brian Glass via Wikimedia Commons|Cropped and scaled|CC-BY SA 2.0]

Boss Hoss is the latest motorcycle maker to fit Chevy V8s in its bikes. Boss Hoss' motorcycles don't make any attempt to play down or conceal the presence of these beasts, allowing the exhaust pipes to splay out widely on each side and mounting a proper rectangular radiator between the engine and the front fork. Boss Hoss makes a handful of V8-powered trikes with robust bodies that pay tribute to automotive icons like the 1957 Chevy Bel Air and Willys Jeep, but its two-wheeled lineup is equally as impressive.

The cream of that crop is the Limited Super Sport, which has a 496cc big block V8 that produces a borderline unnecessary 600 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. It puts that ample oomph to the road via a two-speed semiautomatic transmission with reverse, and rides on an 80-inch wheelbase. Boss Hoss bikes aren't for everyone, but the fact that they are made to customer specifications at the company's factory in Dyersburg, Tennessee will entice some curious buyers who don't mind the high five-figure asking price.