This Is A Brand New 2.62-Litre V-Twin Engine For The Bike Drag Racing World

What you’re looking at here is a rendering for a brand new V-twin engine designed for motorcycle drag racing. Developed by US company Vance & Hines, it displaces a whopping 160 cubic inches ( 2.62 litres).

To anyone not familiar with the motorcycle drag racing world, that might seem bonkers, but the NHRA Pro Stock category has used V-twins of that size for a while, alongside 1850cc inline-fours. As seen in the video below, the valves and cylinders found inside the former are mind-bogglingly huge.

As with the giant twins currently used in the category, the Vance & Hines ‘VH160VT’ is a pushrod, 60-degree twin that can rev beyond 10,000rpm. Engineered at V&H’s Racing Development Centre in Brownsburg, Indiana, the powerplant is designed to be used in NHRA-approved bodywork derived from the Buell 1190RX.

It’ll be possible to buy the engine as a complete unit, or as a “builder’s kit” for any teams wanting to go for different camshaft and cylinder head configurations. No power figures have been revealed, but we do know that existing Pro Stock V-twins develop around 400bhp while tipping the scales at about 100kg.

Once installed in a Pro Stock bike, the engine will be capable of delivering seven-second, 200mph quarter-mile passes. We’ll likely have to wait until the 2022 season before seeing it in action, though, with the engine not available for purchase until June.

Vance & Hines’ new Suzuki-derived inline-four is already up and running, however, making its debut run at the NHRA Gatornationals last month in a Hayabusa-bodied bike ridden by Angelle Sampey (above).