Morbidelli – The ExhaustNotes Blog

By Joe Berk

Eight-cylinder motorcycles are rare. The first was the 1907 Curtiss V8, another early one was the 1950s Moto Guzzi V8 racing bike, there’s the the Chevy V8-powered motorcycles made by Boss Hoss, and the Morbidelli V8. Most recently, there’s the new Chinese Great Wall Souo S2000 GL (it has a 2000cc flat-eight engine).

The Curtiss V8 motorcycle was the first eight-cylinder motorcycle. It dates to 1907. If you want to see an original Curtiss V8, get yourself a ticket to the Smithsonian. If you want to see a reproduction of one of the Curtiss V8s, look no further than Jay Leno’s collection:

The Moto Guzzi V8 was built for the 1955-57 racing season; it was never a street motorcycle. I didn’t know too much about that bike (other than that a drawing of it adorned the cover of Melissa Pearson’s outstanding motorcycle book, The Perfect Vehicle : What It Is About Motorcycles). I found a YouTube video that tells us a bit about the Guzzi V8:

My first exposure to an 8-cylinder motorcycle was the Boss Hoss. I saw these bikes at one of the Laughlin River Runs back in the 1990s. The Boss Hoss company had two or three of these bikes on display in the parking lot outside one of the casinos. I sat on one at lifted it off the sidestand. That was enough for me. I’ll bet that bike weighed a thousand pounds. It was an absurd approach to motorcycling, and my 10 or 15 seconds of stationary seat time convinced I could easily live without one. Somewhere I have a photo my friend Dick Scott took of me on the thing, but I didn’t think enough of the bike to bother looking for it for inclusion in this blog. These bikes go for around $70K (maybe less if you can find one used). Boss Hoss offers these in both a small block Chevy version, and a big block Chevy model. Save your money, folks. But if you want to see more, here’s a video on these ridiculous machines:

The short-lived Morbidelli V8 motorcycle was offered in the mid-1990s. Even though I’d see some of the world’s most exotic sports bikes here in southern California (especially on the Angeles Crest Highway), I’ve never seen one of these bikes in person. To me, the name is of-putting enough, and it was billed as the world’s most expensive motorcycles. Thanks, but I’ll take a pass. I found a YouTube video on the Morbidelli. Check this out:

And finally, there’s the the Chinese Great Wall SOUO S2000 flat eight, a bike that takes the boxer engine concept to octopusian extremes. I’ve never seen one of these, either, but in keeping with my approach to his blog, here’s yet another video: