This Custom-Built Kawasaki Is a Bonkers 48-Cylinder Guinness World Record Holder

Of all the oddball vehicles out there, a motorcycle is the last thing you would expect to be powered by such a massive engine. Yet, this bonkers contraption exists, and according to its builder, it's also road legal in the UK.

Simon Whitelock is an engineer, and before creating this crazy bike in 2003, he had worked on several other projects, including a nine-cylinder bike with three connected Kawasaki triples and an inline-7 design. The man really loved Kawasaki Triples, the mighty two-stroke bikes that were unrivaled in terms of performance at the time of their arrival in 1968. Whitelock even had a motorcycle workshop called Hertfordshire Superbikes. The business is now defunct, but his most ambitious project lives on and is now being offered for sale.

Tinker Toy, which got its name from a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber from WWII, is based on the Kawasaki 250 S1, but the project actually started with the engine, with all the other parts built around it.

The beating heart of this unusual machine is the world's most complex motorcycle engine. The 48-cylinder unit has a whopping capacity of 4200cc. (4.2 liters or 256 cubic inches) and is made from 16 Kawasaki KH250 three-cylinder two-stroke engines arranged into six banks of eight cylinders each.

Building the engine, the rest of the parts, and assembling the whole contraption was no mean feat. Most components were custom-made, from the frame to engine internals and the 6-way throttle splitter that runs a line to each carburetor. The exhaust system was also handmade, while the headers were built in sections to prevent warping during the welding process.

The original bike's tank was stretched and widened and acts as a cover for the Luminition ignition system and other electronics, and the actual fuel tank is concealed deep in between the engine banks at the bottom of the bike. The front end, comprising the forks and brakes, is borrowed from a Honda Goldwing, while the rear end was custom-made for this build. Even the parts that were taken from other motorcycles had to be extensively modified to fit this specific project.

The one-off motorcycle has a total weight of around 600 kg, or around 1300 pounds, and it rolls on heavy-duty wheels with stainless steel spokes. Both rims are made by Hagon.

Now, if you are like us, you might be curious about this bike's performance, as we all know that the more cylinders an engine has, the more powerful it theoretically is. Sadly, Whitelock has never mentioned the power output, saying that the Tinker Toy is not made for power; it was specifically built for the Guinness World Record. But he did mention the bike should be able to reach speeds of 120/130 miles per hour (193/210 kph).

Considering each of the Kawasaki engines produces 32 hp, simple math tells us the total output for 16 of them could reach 512 hp. But it's highly unlikely the whole assembly produces this figure, as the individual engines can't run at optimal power levels in this configuration.

Another interesting fact about this bonkers two-wheeler is that the huge engine does not start like a conventional motorcycle engine because an electric starter motor was not enough to get it going. While all 48 cylinders are connected to a single transmission sourced from a BMW motorcycle, the engine has a single-cylinder 2-stroke engine acting as a starter motor. Initially, the builder used a 50cc two-stroke "donkey engine," but he later replaced it with a more powerful 125cc two-stroke single. This means the Tinker Toy actually has 49 cylinders in total.

With that huge engine in the middle of the bike, the riding position has been compromised. It takes some long arms and legs to reach the handlebars, and the rider needs to be careful of their legs' position at all times to avoid touching the exhaust headers.

As mentioned, the Whitelock Tinker Toy is a Guinness World Record holder, having been named the land vehicle with the most amount of cylinders. Though its maker stated he wouldn't want to ever sell it, the motorcycle is set to roll across the auction block in April via Bonhams with a price guide of £40,000 – £60,000, or approximately $51,000 – $76,000.

I know you've been dying to know how the engine works, and especially how it sounds, from the moment you read the title of this article. It has been compared to the roaring of a four-engined Avro Lancaster WWII heavy bomber, but you can hear it for yourself in the video below.