concept bikes

http://www.greencardesign.co.uk/site/item.php?id=1210936143

Concept bikes - weirdness above and beyond.

I wonder if any concept bike has ever been manufactured? I think a
couple have had bits make it onto the market, usually to sink, think
of the Yam hub steering bike.

Zebee

 

actually saw a couple that looked very similar to the bottom pics on the
road near Padstow ie. two weeks on front

 

They just might protect you from SMIDSYs....

 

BMW K1?

Nev..
'07 XB12X
....or anything from Benelli?

 

The Ducati Hypermotard is probably the best known concept bike to reach
manufacture and one of the most popular.

The Honda Rune is a niche item but is (was?) manufactured.

The Honda oval cylinder/oval piston 8 valves per cylinder NR750 was also
manufactured in limited numbers.


G-S

 

"Bumsuk Lim"?!!? (At least it's not as bad a Bumsuk Mucous).
Ducati's "concept bikes" tend to get made. Mind you they're generally
modernised versions of classic Ducati models so they're far more mainstream.
Speaking of bizzaro devices; I saw a two-front trike the other day. It was
just on dusk and heading the other way so I only caught a glimpse but it
looked a brand-new factory model. It looked to be quite large too; not a
scooter (and quite wide at the front).

 

Not a Gilera Fuoco, then?

 

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23433707-5010760,00.html

IS IT a car, a motorbike or a trike? The three-wheeler Can-Am Spyder
roadster has elements of each, yet it's a whole new class of vehicle.

It has just gone on sale in Australia costing $26,990 and already there are
150 orders for the Canadian vehicle, with a third of those in Queensland.

You will need an open motorcycle licence to ride one, but Rohan Slater,
product manager for importers Bombardier Recreational Products Australia
(BRP), hopes they can persuade state governments to comply with European and
American standards which allow riders to operate the vehicle on a car
licence.

Unlike a motorcycle, the rider doesn't counter-steer the handlebars and the
Spyder doesn't lean in corners.

Unlike a trike, it doesn't have a single motorcycle front wheel and tyre.

Instead, the Spyder has two wheels up front and all three wheels are fitted
with a special tyre like those on most cars.

Other car-like features include a foot brake that operates all wheels, a
parking brake, reverse gear, progressive power steering, traction control,
stability control with yaw and rollover sensors, anti-skid brakes and
electronic brakeforce distribution.

There is even a six-speed sequential transmission coming in October.

BRP Australia marketing manager Duncan Knight said their market was over 45s
looking for a recreational vehicle.

"Or bike riders who might have had an accident on a bike and want something
safer," he said.

BRP Australia, which also imports jet skis, all-terrain vehicles,
snowmobiles and Johnson outboard motors, has 60 nationwide dealers, but only
eight of these have been appointed to sell the Can-Am Spyder, one in each
state.

"The next lot of dealers we appoint will be more mainstream motorcycle
dealers within the next 12 months," Knight said.

"We want to restrict dealer numbers to about Harley-Davidson levels to keep
it fairly premium."

The Spyder is powered by a liquid-cooled 79kW 998cc Austrian-built Rotax
V-twin engine which is used in the Aprilia 1000R sportsbike where it
produces 110kW.

Rotax also makes engines for BMW bikes and even the new Buell 1152R made by
Harley-Davidson.

Knight said the next generation of Spyder could be "more sporty, with more
horsepower".

"But that hasn't been confirmed yet. This isn't a sporty bike; it's a sports
tourer."

Fuel economy from the fuel-injected, dual-cam engine is about 7.5 litres per
100km, which Knight said would give about a 350km touring range from the
27-litre tank.

The Spyder was shown last year at motorcycle expos around the country and
passed Australian Design Rules in November, classified in a special new
category for tricycles with two front wheels.

"It didn't fit any existing category," Knight said.

Slater said they were still working on having the vehicle re-classified as a
car-trike, rather than a motorcycle trike.

ADR compliance required a reduction of 3dB on the exhaust, the adjustment of
the headlight angle for driving on the left side of the road and a reversing
light.

Reverse gear operates off a button on the handlebar that reverses first gear
and limits speed to 10km/h.

There is a large "boot" in the 44-litre nose section of the Spyder which
will hold two full-face helmets and jackets.

Accessories include a top box, travel bags, cargo liner, passenger backrest,
rear seat cowl, sports exhaust and low and high windshields. After market
panniers have also been planned.

There is also a range of rider gear coming including protective clothing
such as leather jackets and special helmets with a pump-up liner that
guarantees a comfortable and firm fit.

The Spyder sits on specially made Chinese Kenda tyres with low recommended
pressures of 13-17psi for better ride. Knight said tyre wear was
20-30,000km.

There are sensors in the rear seat to detect a pillion and change the spring
settings.

The non-switchable, Bosch vehicle stability system uses a range of sensors
including yaw and rollover to keep all wheels on the ground and prevent
sliding.

Slater said that while trikes suffered from understeer and tipping, the
Spyder tended more toward oversteer.

"With two wheels at the front you get good front grip and oversteer - but
with the stability system it means it won't go into oversteer - and it
doesn't want to tip," he said.

Up front, riders will notice little different from a normal motorcycle,
except for the absence of a right lever for the front brakes as all brakes
are operated from the right foot pedal.

The instrument panel includes two large analogue dials for tacho and speedo
with a digital screen in the middle with an array of readouts and
diagnostics.

The Spyder was launched in the US in January by talk show host and motoring
fan Jay Leno who has bought one. They had 1500 orders at launch.

It will be launched in Europe in May, but Knight said there would be no
problem with supply.

"We have about 300-plus coming this year and they will all be sold," he
said.

Leisure is BRP's business.

The company began when Canadian J. Armand Bombardier launched the Ski-Doo
snowmobile in 1959.

The company now produces powersports products including the Ski-Doo and Lynx
snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and sport boats, Can-Am all-terrain vehicles
and roadsters, Rotax engines, and Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines.

It also jointly develops engines with Austrian manufacturer Rotax.

In the 1970s and '80s, it also produced motocross motorcycles, with
production ending in 1987.

Now BRP, based in Valcourt, Quebec, has turnover of more than $3 billion,
with manufacturing plants in Austria, Canada, China, Finland, Mexico and the
US, and selling in 80 countries.

The US and Canada represent 71 per cent of BRP's business, while the
Asia-Pacific region, including Austyralia, is only seven per cent.

BRP Australia was established in 2002 when it took over as distributor for
Sea-Doo, ATVs and snowmobiles.

Can-Am Spyder

PRICE: $26,990

ENGINE: BRP-Rotax, 8-valve, dual-cam, fuel-injected, 998cc V-twin

POWER: 79kW @ 8500rpm

TORQUE: 104.3Nm @ 6250rpm

COMPRESSION: 10.8:1

BORE X STROKE: 97x68mm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed (plus reverse), belt-drive (80,000km belt life)

SUSPENSION: double A-arm with anti-roll bar (front), swingarm with
adjustable cam (rear)

STEERING: dynamic power steering

TYRES: 165/65R14 (front), 225/50R125 (rear)

BRAKES: foot-actuated, integrated hydraulic 3-wheel system, 260x6mm discs
and 4-piston calipers (front), 260x6mm disc with single-piston caliper
(rear), ABS, EBD, mechanical foot-operated parking brake

SAFETY: vehicle stability, tractional control, roll-over mitigation

DRY WEIGHT: 316kg

FUEL: 27-litre tank, ULP, 7.5L/100km

DIMENSIONS (MM): 2667 (l), 1506 (w), 1145 (h), 115 (clearance), 737 (seat),
1727 (wheelbase)

WARRANTY: 2-year, unlimited kilometres

SERVICE: first 1000km, every 5000km

WEB: http://www.brp.com/en-AU/

 

Very interesting, but confusing about the rear tyre size
while the front tyre is a 14", the specs on teh rear tyrre shows it to be a
125"

TYRES: 165/65R14 (front), 225/50R125 (rear)

or is it a 12.5"?

Photos look as though it may even be a 15"

 

To add to the bizzarro-ness it didn't have it's main headlights on but
instead the driving-lights inside the nostrils (just inboard of the
mudguards) so it's silhouette was unidentifiable.

 

I saw it at the Sydney motor show - didn't take a lot of notice but I'm
fairly sure it wasn't a 12" rear, def. 15" or greater

JL
(if I had to guess from that vague memory I would have said 17 or 18")

 

In aus.motorcycles on Sat, 24 May 2008 12:05:04 GMT

Someone's re-invented the Morgan, but without the comfortable seats.


Zebee

 

I'm not too sure about the "comfort" of the Moggie's seating, but at
least one sat in the thing instead of being perched on top of it like
the Spyder.

My guess is that the Spyder is aimed at blokes who are having a mid-life
(or later) crisis and want to buy a motorbike, but their wives won't let
them.

regards,
CrazyCam

 

I would have one although I am not so sure about a mid-life crisis, but I
could be having a mid-wife crisis

 

If they stuck a turbo'd hayabusa engine it I would be interested in
it. But with a pissy 80Kw and what 350Kg or so wet; I'd buy a Lotus
Elise or Caterham 7 in preference. Who wants to ride something that
looks like it goes but can't back up the claim.

JL

 

You're having trouble delivering babies?!!?

 

If they stuck a turbo'd hayabusa engine it I would be interested in
it. But with a pissy 80Kw and what 350Kg or so wet; I'd buy a Lotus
Elise or Caterham 7 in preference. Who wants to ride something that
looks like it goes but can't back up the claim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It just looks awkward to me.
It'd be great for disabled bikers though. (once you changed the footbrake
over to the handlebar).
Ready-made, with a warranty and parts-backup beats having to make your own
from scratch.

 

Yes, and it's a **** of a job

 

...and, to make it safe, has electronics to stop it doing all the things
that might make it interesting.

regards,
CrazyCam

 

Oh Kee-rist ! What *were* they thinking ?

JL
(seriously wants a Scarver though - if I had the money and garage
space to have every motorised contraption I could have)