The Yankee motorcycle was a staggering concept.  The builders took two Ossa single   motors and mated them together to a common crankcase.  This yielded a total of 488 ccs capacity.  In 1972 and 1973, the Schenectady, New York based company produced these bikes, but the Yankee ended up dead in late 1973 and the concept ended with their demise.

Not content with a twin, the company decided to let it all hang out and built a four cylinder monster with two Yankee twin motors grafted together.   The result was a huge 976 cc motorcycle!  Yep, four  244 cc motors into one.   In a dirt bike, no less.  This particular bike was owned by Leif Mikkelfen.

For comparison, here's a normal two cylinder Yankee twin.

Front view shows the nicely tucked in pipes.

K & N filters ride on the carbs.

One of the beasts was entered in the 1972 Barcelona Marathon, where the rider crashed out of the race.   Since they were rushed to get ready for the race, a stock Yankee frame was used.  When questioned about the handling, the rider simply said that there was too much power.

Shift side view; note the compression release next to the plug.

Case hangs out a bunch on the left side.

A few of the bikes made their way to the states, but by then, the Yankee project was over.   By the end of 1973, that was also the end of all the Yankee motorcycles.  Now, they're very rare collector's items.

Two pipes run high and two are low.

More strange stuff; a 460 cc Ossa Single motor.

If you want to find out more about them, or even have one built from OEM parts, you can contact Keith Lynas, who knows more about these bikes than just about anybody else.   You can reach him at:  klynas@aol.com  

Dick Mann did a lot of developement work on the original Yankee.

To get a idea of how wide the powerplant is, the view from the saddle says it all.