Did anybody believe that only big, bulky, American cruisers can host V-Twin engines? Well, if you did (which is something that I can easily understand), it is time to change your opinion.
The Kawasaki Z 1300 in the image is being powered by a relatively small V-Twin engine displacing 2600 cc’s. Count the exhaust pipes if you don’t believe me. But doesn’t the engine capacity seem a little too small for this number of cylinders? On a car, yes, but on motorcycles, this is perfection itself as there is a lot of power without the implicit vibrations that would come together with a smaller number of cylinders and the same displacement.
Of course that you don’t need this, I agree with you, but what creator Allen Millyard wants to prove is that everything can find its place on anything. I don’t know how the rider will do that as the gas tank stretches half the bike’s body length and the handlebar raisers fake the problem’s solving.
No, we’re not saying that Batman star Christian Bale is French, but when he straps on the Batpod, the actual person riding this motorcycle is French.
Let’s go back to the beginning. When the writers came up with the idea of using the Batpod, they produced a motorcycle that was not drivable by mere mortals. Despite the fact that the engine of the Batpod is a Honda 450 CRF, the bike is heavy, almost impossible to turn (there are no handlebars, you need to shift your weight) and no brakes!
Several stuntmen tried, but it was proving impossible. So the producers called the help of one of the most famous motorcycle stuntmen alive, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Goy.
Goy became famous when he did the stunt in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, jumping over a helicopter on his BMW R1200C Cruiser. That was an actual stunt: he did jump over the helicopter on a standard R1200C and even had a pillion passenger!
When Goy arrived on the scene for the Batman movie, he said he was impressed by the Batpod. It’s enormous. He had to ride this vehicle at 60 mph, with cars coming at him at 60 mph. Avoiding them without handlebars was a challenge on its own, but he also had a wear a 100 pound Batman suit! According to Goy, the Batpod could barely ride straight and he had to turn it contentiously.
The producers were planning to have him ride on a road on his own, and then later digitize the cars into the picture, but Jean-Pierre Goy wouldn’t hear of it. He said he’d do the stunt with real cars driving at him.
Goy spent 6 months working on the stunts (for several minutes of movie scenes...).
When Jean-Pierre Goy is not playing as Batman, he runs a stunt show and a riding school. Goy also holds the world record of the longest wheelie on a motorcycle (137 miles!) and the longest stoppie (383 feet).
If you plan on riding to Milwaukee this weekend as thousands of riders are, you’ll be seeing one very special Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Built by Steve “Doc” Hopkins at his Harley dealership in Bonduel, the machine features five seats, as for the 105th anniversary. You can understand why it doesn’t feature 105 of them…
It has indeed been built at a dealership, but it isn’t new. In fact, the completely rebuilt engines (in a number of four) were manufactured in 1950 and had the lucky faith of being synced together on this amazing project. Even more amazing is the fact that its creation took only 17 days.
Expected to be ridden Saturday at the anniversary parade to Milwaukee’s lakefront, this Harley is expected to attract more than a few viewers.
Japan rules the roost when it comes to the future of motorcycles and it seems that one particular manufacturer was hit by the idea of a lifetime. A new, electric motorbike prototype from Genesis was unveiled featuring a hybrid magnetic motor. Apparently, the unit can power the motorcycle almost noiselessly up to speeds of 112 mph.
Interesting as well is the riding position. The biker is extremely comfortable accommodated in an armchair-like riding position and even best is that the ingenious design doesn’t ruin the aerodynamic.
Even though you don’t understand anything if you don’t speak Japanese, the idea is clear and simple, don’t you thing?
Innovation is a thing of great value in the motorcycle industry and it seems that many times small bike builders are the ones that amaze us most. This makes for a great example.
Rotec Engineering builds seven-cylinder radial engines and fits them on radical motorcycles for the rich and famous. They claim to have built 4 such engines which have already found their place on similar motorcycles.
A V8 is pretty hard to be fitted on a motorcycle, but how about an airplane motor? This last requires some serious frame bending and just enough ground clearance to call it capable of being ridden. But the guys at Rotec Engineering show everything is possible with vision and perseverance.
As you can see from the picture, this bike is still a project as the handlebars, front brakes and exhaust are missing, but there are good chances that we’ll be seeing it fly…rolling pretty soon. This difference between flying and rolling brings an important problem for the builder. On an airplane, the engine would be fitted transversally, something that offers efficient cooling, but the bike requires longitudinal engine fitting that doesn’t make those rear cylinder very happy.
But these are just details…the bike won’t be rode much, but it will surely win some awards.
A motorcycle enthusiast creates the T3 motorcycle, a machine which’s source of inspiration is the famous Jaguar logo of the even more famous British car manufacturer.
As you can see in the pictures, the bike is a representation of the cattish in attack position, just like you would see on classic Jaguars, only that hundreds of times bigger.
The engine is positioned way back so that this modern work of art could be best pointed out and the headlight is positioned on the left side of the rider for the same reason.
A V-twin, the motor was elected from a wide variety because it is the one that can reproduce best a jaguar’s purr. Wheels come straight off a Japanese sport bike, only that this one has a chopper-like seat and sports-like riding position. This makes me question its comfort level, but does anybody care about that? This is the T3, the first Jaguar motorcycle ever made. Place of birth: a Jaguar fan’s and motorcycle enthusiast garage.
Strange motorcycles are the salt and pepper of this industry so a compilation of these rule-braking machines are the very best thing for each one of you. Either you’re into skulls or into complete comfort when riding your bike/trike/armchair, this is the clip to see if looking for some
inspiration.
Never managing to disappoint, these homemade machines find their way in people’s minds and stay there until sharing them with friends. Let’s see how many you can confine.
If you travel in a private airplane and usually have troubles moving around either in remote areas or from the airport to the city you want to visit, there is an ingenious way to solve your problem.
Do as MotorcyclePilot. Mount a pod underneath your aircraft and fit your motorcycle in it. In this case, the supermoto-style bike (a relatively small one) needs a front wheel removal so you won’t be transporting a Harley, but it still does the job.
The pod is easily attached by the plane using an electric drill winch, but I bet you’ll still be wondering if the damn thing is secure underneath you, especially if you fly to India or Africa. If all three of you reach safely to your destination, simply unload the bike, mount the front wheel back in its place and your good to go.
Spy shots of the Bat Pod before the movie started everybody’s curiosity and the Dark Night is indeed a success on the screens, but now with the bike’s full detaliling (see video below) everybody will finally find out everything they want to know about this outrageous motorcycle.
Even more, there’s even the question if it can be considered a motorcycle as it has various features that have never been seen before. Batman has definately set the trend for motorcycling future with its engines being fitted in the wheels and the unique riding position.
But if you’re not Batman, there are small chances you’ll fill at home on it due to its size and approximately 700 pounds weight.
Be sure that such vehicles will be invading the streets in the near future and the Can Am Spyder is one of them, if not THE one. It stands for technological advancement and attention to detail while rider comfort and power at all times were top priorities when designing this innovative machine that drives like a bike, but offers the safety of a car…well, a three-wheeled vehicle.
Below, I’ve attached a video in which in which planners of the Spyder talk about the technologies implemented and constructive solutions they’ve choose to go for. What a piece of machinery!
Post a comment
Picture Gallery
RSS -
Webmaster free news |
Linux System Administrator