John Renwick and Ed Wallbank testing Epimetheus, the 1665cc Vincent, on the dynamometer. Nitrous oxide, air operated auto gear change, 7,000rpm and 180bhp from a 1950s British V twin.
i realise i took pride in assembling a british bike back to original with the company supplied Ammeters & spokes etc etc, now i realise that this kind of creation of John & his other friend have a very different meaning to "Performance"oriented build of great classic vincents- how nice it is to see when they run like a true angry fire bird- John if you are reading this message- you are a treasure not only in UK but you are a STAR to the community of all classic biking & racing enthusiasts- my salutations to you !!!!
the spirit of ingenuity taken to the max, lovely bike and I like lots the shots of the dyno in action with them switching in and out the starter with mechanical clutch and the big lever to stop the roller drum etc, and the graph is only in torque so he calculates the hp in his head for the camera. Would love to see what that dyno looked like with the floorplate lifted...
Being in that room must have been something else. I recently acquired a 1951 Comet with much patina to the point of having its original Burges silencer with lots of its chrome still present I chased after for 35 years. This man along with many other vincent legends lets me makes me feel I'm only playing around, though my Comet is now a prisoner and I'm proud to own it.
Dear old John passed early 2021. I must say he was a real gentleman, always ready to talk if you met him at a track. Ironic last words from John in this video.
That is incredibly impressive, I would give anything to own a Vincent but seeing as I would have to sell everything I own in order to still not be able to afford one... I guess I'll have to wait! Great video though guys, nice work :)
Brilliant. Would love to know a bit more of what you've done to the engine and gearbox. It can't simply be bigger than standard. How powerful without the nos? If stock was about 50 bhp, surely 130bhp of nitrous would break just about everything that was made in Stevenage. And, I love the name. Although being a wipper-snapper I had to google the meaning.
We'll be there, murdering them ! I love this, good dudes, you guys kick ass ! I race a 57 norton Domi in the NZCMRR in New Zealand. I love seeing the old bikes being worked to within an inch of their life then flogged mercilessly. Awesome !
