Chris Barber sent in a few photos of the now completed DesmoHarley, his own unique Harley Davidson engine with Ducati heads, and it is a beauty. A few weeks ago when we introduced you to his project, the drawings were all we could see. Since that time Chris put it all together and it’s the kind of thing that gets a motorhead all twitchy just looking at it!

Here are the specs:

Displacement:

80 cubic inches/1340cc

Compression ratio:

10.3:1

Carburetors:

2X38mm flatslide Mikuni

Pistons:

Keith Black flat top (8.5:1 in a stock 80 inch Harley)

Chris says:

The heads are the early large valve 900ss type, both the heads are rear heads with the front turned around 180 degrees and running a front head cam, this gives me two heads with horizontal fins and orients the carbs and exhausts in better positions for the 45 degree layout. I didn’t need to do any head work to get a 10.3:1 ratio because the Ducati has a fairly low ratio with domed pistons, so by going with flat top pistons with the extra displacement, the ratio worked out perfectly.

Chris had to engineer his own gear drive system for the cams and it came out great. Specially made Axtell cylinders have their own bolts to attach to the cases plus bolt holes in the correct pattern for the Ducati heads.

Since Chris had earlier put an Alfa Romeo V6 in a Harley frame for his Alfabike, I can’t wait to see where this engine ends up. Excellent work, Chris!

See larger photos below: