1997 Merlin XLM Mountain Bike Showroom Condition
13. Jan, 2011 
36 Comments
My Merlin XLM….built around 1997 and un-used ever since.
Just a fun project since the original 2-stroke engine keeps braking down , i decided to strap a gas turbine engine on it. It has a fuel capacity of 4.25L it uses a purified diesel or Jet A-1 (preffered) mix with turbine oil , and using a servo tester to throttle the engine , instead of using a bulky radio transmitter As you can see at 1:51 i was testing how fast the turbine can spool up and down well dont know what to say more.. nothing serious , just pure fun project but danger aswell lol!
mega old school
why buy and not destroy?
how much $?
cool bike……..
like downy: very , very , very goood
Those pace forks are probably the best looking forks ever. As was that xtr groupset. Hopefully the 2011 group will be back to best.
The brooks saddles got to go though. Think most people were still racing on original Flites in 97. Im sure i was Get one of those on.
Apart from that, absolutely stunning!
I have 91 Merlin mountain, with the vintage XT and cook cranks…its a fantastic bike
Very nice! i have a merlin Ti mountain bike, one of the very original with “u brake” rear brake braze ons and the press fit bottom bracket. i have a suntour roller cam on there, no where near mint though i don’t think it has any original components.
and I ride it every day, its still my favourite.
State-of-art frame with classic components as the syncros and a rare fork. Envy! Just miss a Selle Italia Flite Alps. I want one!
very very very nice bike
That’s my kind of bike. I am just doing a rebuild of my Ti mountain frame. XTR 965 shifters, brakes, hubs, r. derailleur–RT-97 rotors–Thomson seatpost and stem–King headset–world cup carbon fork-80mm.–sellw Italis fliteTT saddle, and Stans Olympic ZTR rims w/DT 1.8-1.6 spokes. Race Face Deus Cranks–26-36-49t rings and ultegra cassette. Pure race machine for commuting, and some trail. Hardtails rule.
Where the f*** is this filmed. It looks like GAZA or somewhere.
@SvenTviking i so lolled at this comment
You can pull up next to an Angel on his chop and say “Your Hog is GAY!” then whistle off into the distance. He will believe you!
thats really cool man! alot of time spent working on that, i suppose!
Fantastic! That little engine kicks our some power!! You were flying along!!
that isnt slow,compaired to the jet motors size
@PYDK328
look at that bikey
you wouldnt go 200mph with it either its not made for it.
That’s cool I especially like the safety first of a helmet shorts & sandles.
great engineering-waste of money -still underpowered compared to 2 stroke 125cc
LoL!
so how much did you really spend, is it a turbine, w shaft drive, or just thrust? it seems slow on second pass. but kinda fast on first….. whats it clcok at? im intrested about doing it myself… good head turner…. props
why is it so slow ?
There are things money just can’t buy…for other things, use your credit card.
vaya crac !!!
I love the sound.
dude, its powered by a turbine, not cubic centimeters, and its not easier to die, but it gets so fucking hot, and you feel proud of what you made for your project!
but why the fuck would u spend 3200$ on a jet engine for a pocket bike? u can buy a fuckin real bike for that
does anybody know how much this turbine cost? and how much is it to import it?
the engine retail is 2400 EUR about 3200$
man that must be annoying 4 da neighbours
he feels like jay leno now. lol
that thing’s pretty cool. what’s the maximum speed?
did you wear some fire proof underpants – just in case
Looks like a nice place. UAE?
Isn’t That in Dubai ??