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Message started by Dave on 10/05/20 at 15:09:28

Title: Heron Head
Post by Dave on 10/05/20 at 15:09:28

Those of us who are certified gearheads enjoy this kind of stuff.

MMRanch has a Guzzi with a Heron Head........so now I know what that means!

http://www.italian.sakura.ne.jp/bad_toys/heronhead/

Title: Re: Heron Head
Post by MMRanch on 10/05/20 at 20:00:45

That looks really simple to build . I can't help but wonder if the pistons are cast with the recess cast into it (they look like they do) - instead of having to machine it in ?
Low cost is Very Good the way I see things ! Especially with my own $$$ .
:) Keep it simple ! 8-)

Looks kinda perty too , all shined up like that . I understand the Hemi head puts out about 10% more HP and has better fuel millage too , at least in the Guzzi V7 World ...

Title: Re: Heron Head
Post by Dave on 10/06/20 at 02:24:57

I would imagine the pistons are cast......not forged. Cast pistons are common in production engines not designed to be high performance.

Evidently the pistons become overly heavy as the size of the engine increases, and that may be why Guzzi went to a different head design when they went "Big Block" for the V9.

Title: Re: Heron Head
Post by MMRanch on 10/06/20 at 19:20:11

There I fixed the cast word.

The V9 its really only an 850 , its still a small block - the biggest small block .
Guzzi has some big block stuff also , there's a 1000 , a 1200 , and a 1400 . But they are all heavy machines , not as heavy as similar Harleys but the 1400 looks like two Wheel Cars too (815# filled-up + ready to roll). The 1200 is a sport bike - looking thing.

So , whats the Hemi - Head all about ? You can Dodge that Question if you need too ! ;D

Title: Re: Heron Head
Post by Dave on 10/08/20 at 04:22:33

The hemi head has the combustion chamber up in the head.....like most "normal" engines.

https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/moto-guzzi/moto-guzzi-v7-iii-series-coming-for-2017.html

Title: Re: Heron Head
Post by Armen on 10/08/20 at 07:23:13

The small block Guzzis stuck with a Herron head about 50 years longer than they should have. Has to tell you something that almost no one else in the bike biz (Except Moto Morini) used the design. When they went to a Hemi head on the V7, power went up, and emissions went down.
They also stuck with a way short connecting rod for decades too long, because they had a ton of them leftover from the dead 250/4 motor a sister company was going to produce.
Guzzi has suffered from insufficient R+D $ for most of it's life.
Now that Aprillia owns them, they are moving forward.
When I used to write tech articles for bikes magazines, they gave me one of their big twins to test ride and review (early 90s?). I came back and told them "You don't want me to write about this one. It's the worst new bike I've ever ridden." Sure they had a cult following, but so what?
I really hope they make a LeMans style retro bike out of the new V9 platform. One of the prettiest bikes ever made, but mechanically a bad tractor.