Italy is a long way - what engine ?

[TrackTen]

So if you had no engine and fancied riding all the way to Italy next year, with no back up van following you, what engine would you build ?

You have a decent smallblock engine case but would buy a 200 uni case if you felt you had to

You have to actually pay for it with your own money , your lotto numbers have not come up yet and Elon isn't answering your texts

The engine has to be as good at slow speeds as well as faster speeds

Spares have to be easily available for anything you choose

It has to be reliable

It’s going in a series 3 Li

So what would YOU build to meet this criteria ?

[Covboy]

My standard GT240 with TSR evo didn’t miss a beat on the way to Austria
But was a bit thirsty in France - 8 miles to the litre but 10 miles to the litre on the motorway

If it ever blew up I’d probably replace it with a large RT kit

Also if your riding in a group I’d consider what kits they are using
Sharing spares means less to carry . 3 out of our 6 riders had Rt235s
At every stop they put in less fuel than I did

Having said that I’ll probably go on my GT186 next year. It’s made it to Italy before no problem

[nastro azzurro]

When you say spares have to be readily available, do you mean components you can purchase en route or spares you can easily buy before you go?
I’ve been running an RB 22 for 19 years and have ridden it to at least 10 euro rally’s as well as many events / rally’s at home. Have never had a back up van with us. It’s been utterly reliable and any problems have been fixed at the side of the road. It meets all your criteria and then some.
But, would I build one today? Probably not!
There is so much more available these days we’re spoilt for choice; in a good way!

[TrackTen]

My standard GT240 with TSR evo didn’t miss a beat on the way to Austria
But was a bit thirsty in France - 8 miles to the litre but 10 miles to the litre on the motorway

If it ever blew up I’d probably replace it with a large RT kit

Also if your riding in a group I’d consider what kits they are using
Sharing spares means less to carry . 3 out of our 6 riders had Rt235s
At every stop they put in less fuel than I did

Having said that I’ll probably go on my GT186 next year. It’s made it to Italy before no problem

Thanks for the reply

RT235 ? - does that use a 61mm stroke then ?

[TrackTen]

My standard GT240 with TSR evo didn’t miss a beat on the way to Austria
But was a bit thirsty in France - 8 miles to the litre but 10 miles to the litre on the motorway

If it ever blew up I’d probably replace it with a large RT kit

Also if your riding in a group I’d consider what kits they are using
Sharing spares means less to carry . 3 out of our 6 riders had Rt235s
At every stop they put in less fuel than I did

Having said that I’ll probably go on my GT186 next year. It’s made it to Italy before no problem

Interesting that you mention the Gt186 , that kit is on my ‘maybe’ list

[Storkfoot]

The GT186 has got me to the Euros in Davos and Adria, and others. With an MB/bgm Clubman and a PHBH30, it pulls from low revs and will cruise at 60 plus with plenty of luggage on board. The GT186 was a joy to ride. I had it many years and miss it now. I never fitted an expansion pipe to mine but I did try a Ron Moss Avanti. I found that pipe better suited to the TS1 I had at the time. The MB/bgm Clubman was better suited to the GT186.

I never had a reed petal fail on mine, perhaps as I didn’t fit a high revving expansion. But do carry spares and Allen keys cut down to so has you can get access to the reed block without dropping the engine.

Spare pistons are pretty cheap and it is cast iron so a seizure wouldn’t necessarily be terminal.

The GT186 has a unique, or at least untypical, exhaust flange design. It stands proud to, I believe, allow better cooling. But, if you crack the exhaust uBend on a kerb for example, the sacrificial part is the exhaust flange and not the uBend. This happened to me in Italy in 2017.

That said, I’d still recommend the cast iron GT186 rather than lashing out in a new casing or using a nicasil lined barrel like a Casa or RT. I have a CST Stage 4 tuned 200 now with the same carb and exhaust. It probably beats the GT186 for top speed but it isn’t as torquey low down in the rev range.