Rikuo Engine Build

[Panuckle]

Hi Dennis; A Rikuo engine was sold at our antique MC meet here in southern ontario(paris) in june.The VIN was Rxxxx.It sold for acouple of hundred bucks.Wish i took some photos........John

[troyce]

You are doing a really nice job Denis! Not to sidetrack your thread (too much anyway), here's a shot of a Rikuo engine that I saw at the Deeley Museum in Vancouver, B.C. last spring.

Turns out this engine is a Kurogane. It reads from right to left クロガネ.
There is some connection between Kurogane and Rikuo, but I think is mostly that both built machines for the IJA.

[Jim]

You're doing a great job! I look forward to seeing more of it. I doubt this is the same as yours, but... don't forget the Rikuo that was on the "I Love Lucy" show that Fred and Ethel was going to ride from CA to NY.

Have FUN!

[troyce]

Ya know, I have for a couple of years now thought that bike (Lucy Show) was a Rikuo Type 97 myself. A closer inspection of the cams cover in the large poster of that scene I have on the shop wall, though, causes me to think it's a Kurigane as well.

The IJA might have used "Type 97" as a spec number for certain military vehicle categories, as I've seen references to a Nissan Type 97 as well.

[cheesy]

Haven't seen much action on this post since I joined so I thought I'd bump this up with two photos I took of a Rikuo 750 at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA yesterday.





Good luck on the restoration. I hope to see more pics of it.

[denismccarthy]

Thanks Michael for bringing this post up again. I finished my Rikuo a few months ago and its now on display in the Museum on the first floor. I took a few pictures for you this afternoon. She really turned out nice! I finished the restoration with the muffler which I found through a friend in Japan, Masaki Tanimura. He also sent me a 1/12 scale model of my Rikuo from his shop in Japan. He was a great help to me in finding the last bits to complete the job. I'm really happy the way it all came together.

I hope you guys can make it out next month for the annual Barber Vintage Festival! Its going to be a real blast this year. Here is a link to the website so you guys can take a look. Myself, Chuck Huneycutt, Mitch Cobb, and the other riff-raft will be there and would really love to see you guys too! Here is the link: http://www.barbervintagefestival.org/

And here are a few pictures of my 1958 Rikuo







Take care

Denis

[hairynob24]

Denis ,great job on the bike ,are they tool boxes at the rear of the oil tank??Rob

[Jim]

GREAT JOB! Looks fantastic! This may sound like a silly question, but what does a Rikuo sound like? Does it sound like a regular "Flathead" engine? Like a VL for example?

[cheesy]

Thanks for posting the new pics, Denis. I was surprised to see the Rikuo in Iowa after reading this thread.

[RedKnuck]

Hi Cory!
I believe that the motor you posted a pic of is not a Rikuo, but a Kurogane. Rikuo couldn't satisfy the Imperial Army's need for motorcycles, so a 2nd factory was put to work to churn out more bikes. The Kurogane (meaning "Black iron") was based on the H-D VLH 80 CID engine and are in many ways different from the Rikuo. Like the timing cover on the depicted engine (the lettering says "Kurogane") which hasn't a tin cover and looks quite different. The Kurogane is a kind of improved copy of the Rikuo.
Regards, Kim Jarre
Oslo, Norway (Born in B.C.!)
Membership #25693

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear All, my digitised copy of the 1953 Rikuo parts book, showing nearly all Harley part numbers for the small twin and big twin versions, has been with the Virtual Library for a while, and I hope will soon be uploaded.