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Motorcycle Design - The Past Becomes The (Near) Future
By
Dave Preston
Last month was enhanced by a couple of weeks where I switched
motorcycles – a lot. I began with a Cycle Barn club ride to Mt.
Baker – 280 miles of varied roads on a sunny but crisp day on my
2006 Triumph Speed Triple - an excellent steed for the ride at hand.
Comfy on a few dozen miles of freeway, and then slithering with
aplomb on the random gravel and dust of Mosquito Lake Road,
returning to it’s usual forte on the hairpins going up the mountain,
and even shrugging off a suicidal attack by a small bird. A most
unfortunate wren left a truly grotesque lump of innards drying on
the back of the fuel tank, where we discovered them at a fuel stop
an hour later. Eeeuueeeuuuwww!
The next week brought the Speed Triple in for some work. The
6,000-mile service was due (my how the miles fly by!) and in
addition:
a. The suspension needed a scoche stiffening, having been
comprehensively “broken-in” by my own avoirdupois.
b. I managed to fracture the left exhaust, through no fault of my
own, which offered a warranty-enhanced opportunity to upgrade to
Triumph’s own oxymoronically titled “Off Road” exhausts with an
attendant new fuel map.
c. Oxford after-market heated grips were installed to defeat the
chill of Seattle fall and winter.
d. After being given a hard time by every motorcyclist west of the
Pecos, I agreed to have some of the uglarific rear fender removed.
Since customers always come first, my bike got pushed to the bottom
of the pile, which “allowed” me the opportunity to sample other
bikes for a couple of weeks until spare time appeared on the
schedule.
First up was a lightly used Honda VTX 1300 in a simply gorgeous
pearlescent blue. What a nice bike! No attitude, no problems – just
get on and ride. Ample power, brakes, and handling for any task it
could reasonably be asked to perform. The most exotic task you’ll
have to learn is how to pull out the choke. (Given modern
technology, some might have to re-learn what a choke is and how it
works.)
Everything works perfectly, and given Honda’s penchant for equaling
the reliability of a billet doorstop, will work perfectly for a long
time. With shaft drive, you can pretty much detail the entire bike
in 20 minutes. A great bike for someone who wants to ride and not be
bothered with maintenance, adjustment, or any other issues. I really
enjoyed it.
I swapped the VTX for two days with the same Buell Ulysses I rode to
Sport Bike Northwest, and reacquainted myself with its quirky nature
and astounding capabilities for a couple of days. Truly a bike that
is more than the sum of its parts, and if you need to traverse rough
ground or pavement, no problem.
The need to transport Caitlin the lovely young Events Coordinator to
a GNW HOG Dinner brought visions of the height of the Ulysses
causing a slow and embarrassing topple to the ground for the two of
us in a moment of (my) inattention, so the Ulysses was traded for a
rental Harley-Davidson Road King Classic. What some think of as the
current state of the art in Harley cruisers (except, of course, for
the definitely improved 2007 models), I also took the Road King down
the freeway with friends for a ways so we could turn around and ride
back with Robin Mahaffey as she completed 20,000 miles of solo
charity work for “Robin’s Ride.”
A Road King is usually the most comfy bike I ride all year, and with
pipes, windshield, fog lights, saddle bags, and cruise control, this
one was fully equipped for just about anything. As I rode it to work
for a few days I mused (you can do that on a Road King on an empty
freeway) that what I really wanted was ALL of these bikes – not
separately, but in one model.
Could it be done? Note that the recently announced 2007 Suzuki 1000
GSXR comes with a switch that allows the rider to select one of
three fuel injection maps to alter the state of engine tune. One for
track days, one for street, and one for rain. Hmmmm – I wonder what
else could be done?
With shaft drive and various carbon fiber components, you should be
able to alter the wheelbase of the motorcycle. Touring, you say?
Full-length drive shaft and bodywork, so the passenger seat is
apparent. For sportier work, shorten the drive shaft and swing arm
until the passenger perch slides out of sight under the seat, which
rises to a higher position along with the pegs for cornering
clearance. Front rake and trail would also be adjustable, and the
height and reach of the handlebars.
Bodywork could be “rolled” in and out of vertical “crash” bars to
provide everything from full touring coverage, to sport bike, to
cruiser, and/or “naked” looks.
Modern multi-compound tire technology will allow tires with hard
compounds in the middle for touring and relatively softer compounds
on the sides for sport riding and track day use.
Saddlebags, backrests, luggage racks, and other touring amenities
would be designed with easy on and off mounting systems, finally
becoming available on many models.
The most important thing on any motorcycle, of course, is the
engine. With computers dominating more and more functions of modern
bikes, it will not be much of a stretch on Suzuki’s idea to use
programming, servomotors, adjustable cam timing, et al, to vary the
power band, torque, and even the exhaust note of one engine design.
Touring? Go for the torque setting for a miles-eating pace with
great miles per gallon. Time to go bonkers at a track day? Shorter
intakes will lead to steeper cam profiles that fire a different
spark curve through altered shape and size mufflers. Several modern
sports cars come with exhaust cutouts at high rpm for track day use
– motorcycles can do the same.
The instrument package could be adjusted to suit intended use, and
several motorcycles currently in production are edging into this
area. For touring, a clock and a temp gauge would be nice, while
track days are the province of lap timers and perhaps shift lights.
All in all, a motorcycle much like the toys my son had years ago.
It’s a plane, it’s a jeep, it’s an aircraft carrier, and it’s a
fire-breathing monster! Almost all of the adjustments would need to
be accessible and controlled by electrics – but possibly one small
electric motor could be made utile for several applications.
A couple of years ago Kawasaki showed a sport-touring prototype with
at least some of these features. Remember? I looked at the pictures
and read the descriptions and thought “I am so a buyer.” They never
made it. Or perhaps it is more accurate to state – “They’ve not made
it – yet.”
There are many reasons not to make such a “transformer” style of
bike. The syndrome of Jack of many trades and master of none is
certainly to be considered. However, many people might lust for a
sport bike that meets their needs without having to equal a full-on
hyperbike, a touring a bit less cosseting than a Gold Wing, and a
cruiser with a little less bling than Snoop Dogg.
Weight is always a concern, particularly with sport bikes. For track
days, many of the “convertibility” features and some of the electric
controls could be unbolted to get down to playing weight.
Another obvious impediment is cost. And yet, the four bikes I rode,
fully equipped and out the door, would cost $60,000. Would you
choose to pay about $20,000 for one bike that could do the work of
all of these? It would be nice to have the opportunity.
At the end of the day, the most important consideration might be
that such a bike could actually be built with current technology. It
may never happen, of course. Or… perhaps the Kawasaki prototype and
Suzuki’s rider-controlled engine mapping are just precursors of
what is to come. Perhaps while I’m rolling down the freeway musing,
someone else is putting down their morning tea and getting back to
work on the CAD-CAM that will make the prototype.
Ain’t it fun to design with no constraints on time or budget?
Dave Preston is the author of Motorcycle 101, a sensible book
for the new and returning rider. Pick up a copy today in the
Sound RIDER! store.
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