When Yamaha launched their R-series quarter-litre motorcycle, YZF-R3, they were sure that they had made a very powerful and refined engine that was capable of pretty much everything. 321cc, parallel-twin motor and an output of 42 PS @ 10,750 rpm and torque figures of 29.6 Nm @ 9,000 rpm seemed pretty much powerful. No, it’s not!
For Mr Nicola Bragagnolo, a guy from Europe, this ‘minimal’ power output was nothing considering the motorcycles of Moto3 of which he had been a fan forever. So he got an idea – he turbocharged it. Using IHI RHB31, world’s smallest turbocharger that is mainly used for 125cc to 600cc engines, into his R3 which gave him an added 18 horsepower to the stock motorcycle. A report in Motociclismo.it reveals that the maximum power output has been limited to 60 PS at 10,000 rpm!
Leaving the crazy figures behind, the surprising and pleasing fact is that, he can use this motorcycle for daily usage. Meaning the motorcycle is road legal too. Also, the total cost of the build was about 9,900 Euros transforming that would make around 7 lakhs!
Such crazy builds and such crazy people take technology forward. Kudos to Nicola.
[Image Source : Motociclismo.it]