First published in the June 2007 issue of Street Machine

Like having a V8 under the bonnet? How about a 5.7-litre Chev V8 between your legs? It’s the most intimate experience of internal combustion you can get, short of installing a petrol-powered pacemaker. And it’s absolutely insane fun.

Blip the throttle of the Barbarian V8 and it rocks violently to the right with the torque reaction. Back off and it instantly rights itself. Citizens look around for the hoon in the noisy Monaro, then stop in their tracks when they realise the truth.

“The sound of the thing gets people’s attention most of the time,” says Warren Katz, the man who conceived and built the Barbarian and then, quite remarkably, battled bureaucracy until he had full ADR compliance for his wild ride so that it is now a fully homologated production motorcycle.

This blue Barbarian — Warren’s prototype — looks like a Harley Fat Boy. Everything is bigger, yet it’s all in proportion. The surprise is that it’s not gargantuan, unlike the Boss Hoss. The American bike, built around the same Chev V8, was enormous. The Barbarian promised better things.

Feeling little bulkier than some of the biggest V-twins or a Triumph Rocket III, the Barbarian is definitely heavier. And solid — it’s a big lump of steel. The wide handlebars, wide-set footboards, broad saddle, fat engine and wide tank form a well-balanced whole that’s familiar to any rider despite the exaggerated size.

The Chev fires first hit and the torque reaction rocks me right. I doubt you’d fall over from the rev-and-rock thing but you sure know it’s happening.

It’s no big deal when you pull away, though. The low-slung mass of the Barbarian is a cinch to balance at walking pace — or the jogging pace that its idle speed dictates. There’s just one ratio and no true gearbox, just a clutch to engage drive, so once you’re moving you’ve only got the throttle to worry about.

Away we go, snaking through a Gold Coast hinterland 80km/h zone. The Barbarian burbles along, the exhaust note from the short, non-standard mufflers competing with the rush of wind past my ears and the big machine showing its supreme stability. The handlebars need force when a corner comes but two or three bends later you’re used to it and despite the long 1840mm wheelbase, rakish 32-degree steering-head angle and fat tyres, the Barbarian obeys when you show it a line.

You take graceful lines, of course, especially on Warren’s lowered machine. For actual riding you’d leave a Barbarian on its high settings but for posing — well, how cool does this ground-hugger look?

Before I try the throttle, I test the brakes. Like just about every part on this bike, they’re Aussie made, in this case by Dragway, which also supplies the wheels. The twin four-piston front calipers stop the 430kg Barbarian pretty well, though they lack feedback and need a hefty fist. I’m satisfied with that, and impressed at how planted the bike feels under hard brakes.

Now it’s time for fun.

The V8 makes 246kW, reinforced by 542Nm of torque! Power to weight works out to a hefty 572kW per tonne.

The Barbarian takes off like a berserker into battle. As quick as you can get the clutch out, it’s away, pulling unstoppably. It is speed-limited, however — in this case by my non-wraparound shades threatening to go AWOL over 160km/h, still shy of the maximum power at 5000rpm.

Throttle response is terrific. From any speed, it leaps forward. The weight dulls the full effect of the power and the best litre-class sports bikes would outpace it, but it’s still damned fast. Your arms strain and the world becomes a violent place when you hit the gas.

I wanted to pack a swag and take off, menacing highways and back roads all over Australia, parking outside country pubs where slack-jawed locals would be speechless in front of my Barbarian. I’d be bulletproof on the V8. It’s that kind of bike.

Warren, originally from South Africa, touches on this: “When I came to Australia, I rode around on my Harley and thought: ‘Gee, let’s get something Mad Max would like. I saw the movie and that’s why I came here, although I didn’t realise there were this many cops!”

Fortunately, if you can resist your primal urges, the Barbarian is a pussycat at 100km/h, purring from horizon to horizon. It’s also fine in traffic but I’m pleased that Warren’s production bikes have a clutch that’s 25 per cent lighter than the prototype’s because my scrawny arms couldn’t handle the job.

Warren’s added a heel-assist system for the clutch, so you can disengage it with your left foot as well using the hand lever. Holding the clutch pedal down with your foot allows you to engage a clutch lock-up with your left hand. This is, in effect, neutral for the one-gear drivetrain.

Warren’s a solid bloke and fits the Barbarian well. I felt more like a praying mantis riding a pit bull, though it wouldn’t stop me buying one if I had the money. Warren reckons the appeal is wide and his first two customers underline it. One’s a heavy-set truckie while the other is a millionaire businessman.

“They’re into bikes and maybe V8s,” says Warren, “but not everybody has the balls to ride these. You need balls and bucks because it’s an expensive item — 60-grand plus tax. Today, in the custom bike world, that’s not that much. People are paying 85-grand for a chopper that everybody has.”

THE DEVIL WITHIN

The Barbarian is as Australian as possible. Warren went out of his way to source Aussie parts, so companies like Dragway, Zap Electrical, John’s Customs and PWR feature in the Barbarian’s design and development.

“Most of the stuff is made on the Gold Coast,” Warren says. “The frame is made here, from chrome-moly. The gearboxes are made here too, with the bellhousing. We designed all that and it’s cast here.”

Warren reckons the biggest challenge was getting the clutch and transmission to fit into a compact space and that’s a major part of the Barbarian’s success as a rideable motorcycle, because it keeps the dimensions reasonable.

Getting the suspension right was hard too; Fournales air shocks made a big difference.

“The whole thing has been a challenge, with the government stuff on top of it all,” adds Warren.

The authorities almost laughed him out of the building when he first tried homologating the Barbarian but Warren wouldn’t let go and even though it took him two years longer than anticipated, he finally forged through the red tape.

“We’re starting to get orders from the USA and Europe,” he says, “and we’re looking for a possible investor in order to increase production capabilities.”

BARBARIAN V8