PGM V8: A Rs 1.15 crore masterpiece on two-wheels

The pursuit of power has taken mankind on many adventurous paths in the automotive and one such out of the box creation comes from Down Under. Meet the PGM V8, the motorcycle that takes the love affair between Aussies and V8 powerplant to the next step. Powering the PGM V8 is an eight cylinder motor that essentially started life as two separate in-line four cylinder mills that powered the Yamaha R1. On paper, it seems an easy bolt on job to mate two in-line four powerplant to form a V8 but the reality was far from that. The pair of motors is availed from the 2006-2008 Yamaha R1s that showcases the fact that how much hard work and time was invested in the motorcycle. The project was started in 2008 and the first motor was completed in 2009 and for the past six years the engineers have been honing and fine tuning the motor.

The engine uses standard Yamaha R1 heads and pistons mated to sand-cast aluminium crankcases and a single-piece, flat-plane crankshaft, driving through a six-speed gearbox which is also taken from the R1. But all that time invested hasn’t gone waste as the end result is plain spectacular. The 1,996cc, eight-pot motor pumps out an astounding 340PS at 12,8000rpm and peak torque of 214 Nm at 9,500rpm. These numbers make the PGM V8 an absolute beast and even the supercharged and track only Kawasaki Ninja H2R falls short by 10PS in comparison. The PGM V8 is the labour of love of former Loctite Yamaha superbike race engineer Paul Maloney. Customers will get the option of street-legal carbon silencers from Akrapovic or MotoGP-inspired titanium ones for closed circuits.

The bike employs a steel chromoly trellis that uses the V8 motor as a stressed member. The PGM V8 has been loaded with top-shelf cycle parts like Ohlins suspensions, 48mm FGRT301 USD forks and a TTX Mk2 rear unit along with Brembo sourced disc brakes. It has a fuel tank capacity of 16.5 litres and despite this the bike tips the scale at just 242kg (wet weight) which is hugely impressive. The carbon fibre bodywork and the use of lightweight components can be credited to keep the weight of the bike in check. Coming to pricing, like all things magnificent in life it isn’t pocket friendly to say the least. The PGM V8 has been priced at Rs 1.15 crore in Australia (yes this isn’t a typo) which means it will be limited to wealthy collectors and seeing one in flesh will be similar to spotting an UFO. Having said that, the PGM V8 is a fantastic example of engineering and Paul Maloney and his team need to be applauded for their effort.