There's nothing new here. Frameless motorcycles are all around you: they're called BMW R1100s. And so are Vincents, though you don't see so many of those these days. The so-called 'radical' aerodynamics amount to putting the rider behind the engine to reduce frontal area, which simply means lengthening the wheelbase and spreading the weight of engine and rider along it, which will adversely affect manoeuvrability by making it difficult to achieve centralisation of mass, though most people who buy one (if it ever reaches production) won't ride it hard enough to notice. Pitching, or moments of inertia about the transverse axis, will be the issue. As for the brakes, well, they're just off a Buell, and the torsion springing was last tried on Suzuki's unloved TL1000S, though back in the fifties it was popular with several mid-weight European bikes. The double chain run final transmission is hopeless, though, a real mess both aesthetically and otherwise, and it shows that they just haven't thought about it properly. They want the rider's heels on the rear axle, almost, and that means tucking the chain out of the way. The real answer would be to design the engine so that the drive comes out nearer the middle of the gearbox, but I guess they're using a donor engine and can't afford to design their own motor. BMW's piggy-back transmission and high-exit belt drive on the new F800 almost solves the problem for them, but it seems they ignored that. Nope, sorry, but this is another superbike that will stay on the drawing board.
Yep, most of what they talk over seems to have been tried before and some of the new ideas -- especially the drive -- seem wonky. Still, we'll have to see if a working prototype comes out of the project and actually does work.
Unless I'm mistaken, the TL has a rotary damper system on the rear, but not a torsion spring. These guys seem to thing they can apply F1 suspension technology to a sportbike. I have no clue if it will work, but that's part of the fun.
Whether or not any one of their atypical design elements have been used before isn't exactly the point though. It's an interesting study in a different sporting configuration, that could potentially have benefits. I look forward to seeing what, if anything, becomes of it.
First thing I thought of was Buell... look at not only the front brake rotor, but the underslung exhaust... now all it needs is a frame, a V-twin, and front forks...
So I hope that guy's name is **** Glover; I didn't hear the G when he was introduced.
I love how they say it will be faster and have better handling than a MotoGP bike and we're just supposed to believe them. "Oh, I see, you're making the best motorcycle on the planet, interesting."
There are plenty of real bikes I'm waiting for ride reports on before I renew my subscription. I don't need to pay for a forum with links to other sites.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could
be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Motorcycle Forums
A forum community dedicated to all motorcycle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, reviews, modifications, classifieds, maintenance, and more!