Yamaha 750cc Swapped Isetta Seems as Good a Way to Die as Anything

isetta with yamaha swap We love to upgrade our cars for more power. How many of us have sextupled the original power figure of our cars? Such is the case with is 1957 BMW Isetta that’s had a 750cc Yamaha twin swapped in. Quoth the seller:

The guy I got it from thought it needed the protection of a rollcage because the stock engine was only 13 horsepower and would do 50 mph. so with about 80 hp. maybe it was a good idea.

See? Perfectly safe. The seller says this project is close to completion, but based the photos it appears to have the motor dropped in place and the body, paint and interior sorted. Thankfully, the leftover parts from both the Isetta and Yamaha appear to be in well sorted and bagged, rather than just piled in the back seat/truck/nearest bucket. Induction/exhaust? Engine cooling? Shifter? Pedals? Linking the chain drive up? These are but minor details.

Still, the idea of that big V-twin thrumming beneath your seat while you obliterate golf cart tires at every stop light is an attractive one. Not sure it’s the current bid’s $5100 worth of attractive, but attractive nonetheless.

1957 BMW Isetta with Yamaha 750 swap – eBay Motors

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

  1. mdharrell Avatar

    “Not sure it’s the current bid’s $5100 worth of attractive….”
    Isetta prices are so high that this figure is still modest for a generally complete and sound candidate for restoration. Judging from the other photos in the listing, this one includes quite a few parts, too.
    Personally I’ll stick with the cheaper alternatives.

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Hard to understand the value of some particular models. These are neither particularly rare, drivable or…good, really.

      1. mdharrell Avatar

        Speaking from experience, they are at least easy to push.

    2. mve Avatar
      mve

      “Personally I’ll stick with the cheaper alternatives.”
      I believe this is what they’re going to put on your tombstone.

      1. mdharrell Avatar

        Have you priced those things? More likely it’ll be a small plaque on a repurposed cigar box full of ashes.

        1. mve Avatar
          mve

          Coffee can on the back shelf in the garage?

          1. mdharrell Avatar

            No, coffee cans and shelf space are both too valuable for that.

  2. jeepjeff Avatar
    jeepjeff

    A different motorcycle engine swapped Isetta would show up a Second Saturdays a couple times. I didn’t get to see the engine bay, but that one must have had the headers going right under the seat, as it had problems with melting the plastic. The V-twin could have much better exhaust routing.

  3. spotarama Avatar
    spotarama

    and not only do you have to connect up that chain drive to the rear axle, you also have to make some sort of adapter/sprocket to attach to the shaft drive stub hanging out the back of the motor

  4. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    Get back to me when you have the 800cc two stroke snowmobile engine in place.

  5. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

    HCOTY 2016 will be epic at this rate!

  6. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    Tanshanomi should buy this. I will provide transpo/tow vehicle to and from Hutchinson, gratis.

    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      Hmmmm… What does it take to set up a GoFundMe? Lol.

  7. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    It’s at $5300 with nine hours to go, so this should be interesting. The roll cage looks like it’s simply screwed to sheet metal, so who knows how effective it will be. I’m assuming the stock motor has some kind of fan or blower behind the louvers on the right, so the buyer is going to have to figure out a cooling solution. Also, do Isettas have a reverse gear? Not many bikes do (the Gold Wing is all I can think of).

    1. mdharrell Avatar

      Every version of Isetta I’ve seen has reverse, although I wouldn’t presume to say it must be true of all the obscure variants.
      https://kamikazebottlerocketscravert.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/isetta-shift.jpg

  8. Van_Sarockin Avatar
    Van_Sarockin

    Really should have a BMW twin shoved in there, don’t you think?

    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      Or a refrigerator motor…

  9. OttoNobedder Avatar
    OttoNobedder

    At the final price, I’m guessing this will be restored to original drivetrain.