MOTORCYCLE DESIGN TROPHY 2005 (a little retroactive, I guess)

insidebikes.com ^ | 10 February 2006

[martin_fierro]

MOTORCYCLE DESIGN TROPHY 2005

10 February 2006

The overall winner of the 2005 Motorcycle Design of the Year has been announced;

The winner was the Ducati Hypermotard concept bike, with the runner-up bike being the Yamaha MT-OS. Other bikes which were highly rated by a panel of motorcycle designers included the Yamaha R6, MotoCzysz C1, Aprilia RS125 and the Victory Vision. Presentation of the awards will take place later in the year - full details will be announced on the MDA website.

[martin_fierro]

Duck Hypermotard Concept

Yamaha MT-OS

Yamaha R6

Victory Vision (Unnngh!)

[martin_fierro]

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[Hank Rearden]

They don't look comfortable or practical, but they sure look purty.

Except the Victory. Ugh. What is that - a corporate death-rattle?

[Blue Jays]

Hi All-

Judge Dredd rode one of those Victory Vision motorcycles nearly eleven years ago.

~ Blue Jays ~

[martin_fierro]

What is that - a corporate death-rattle?

Motorcycledom's answer to the Aztek.

[SIDENET]

I like the Ducati. That Victory bike is awful. What were they smoking over at Polaris?

[BigTex5]

I prefer the Munro Special.

[Dark Skies]

Here's the future...thx to Segway technology...

[blackie]

Say MF ~ what's the name of that strange motorcycle that has an in-line 4 with two crankshafts, with two cylinders turning in opposite directions for prefect harmonics.

The last four letters of its name are CRYZ or something like that ~ It isn't in production yet and they've upgraded the design?? :):)

[Emmalein]

I like the winner...it's got crisp, clean lines. I wonder how it rides?

[FreedomFarmer]

Ducati Hypermotard

Ducati Non-ritalan injected special needs cycle.

*Slubber bib & sippy cup sold seperatly.

[martin_fierro]

*racking brain*

I have no idea.

Anyone?

[Rakkasan1]

please add my to the hooligan biker list

[Rakkasan1]

kinda looks like the new Yamaha MT-01. I want one of those
or a new Speed Triple.

[martin_fierro]

Done!

[BraveMan]

This probably isn't it.


Kawasaki has a 650cc Parallel Twin concept, the ER-6N shown above, rumoured to be filled with mechanical weirdness.



Then of course, there's the Suzuki Boost King Concept, featuring a turbocharged version of the 1300cc Hayabusa motor, in case you're in a hurry.

[BraveMan]

The Suzuki Stratosphere Concept, with an 1100cc, inline six-cylinder engine and a claimed 180hp.
Can you say Katana? I knew you could . . .


Concerned about losing ground in the Ugly Motorcycle competition, BMW countered with the F800S . . .

I think I'll go add some chromey thingy to my Dresser . . .

[uglybiker]

Blackie. You wouldn't be talking about Neander Motors, would you?

[JoeSixPack1]

WOW!! Outstanding!! I want one!

[martin_fierro]

ACH DU LIEBER!

Das ist Shveeet!

[JoeSixPack1]

Gesundheit

[BansheeBill]

Say MF ~ what's the name of that strange motorcycle that has an in-line 4 with two crankshafts, with two cylinders turning in opposite directions for prefect harmonics.

The last four letters of its name are CRYZ or something like that ~ It isn't in production yet and they've upgraded the design?? :):)

That would be the MotoCzysz C1

[Poser]

Here's the best design in this year of high gas prices. It gets 75-90 miles per gallon and cruises at 60 all day.

[martin_fierro]

You, sir, are one secure man.

(hey! I have that same helmet!)

[SFC Chromey]

Now that's a Duc I can ride. Probably not quite as fast as this:

http://www.ducati.com/od/ducatinorthamerica/news/detail.jhtml?newsId=10582

[Poser]

"You, sir, are one secure man. "

Here's one of my other scooters...

[MarkL]

I love Ducatis, but I've never been a fan of Super Motard styling, and while I loved the work of Tamborini, some of the new designs (like this one) really leave me cold. The only 3 really new designs that I really love from Ducati, are actually tributes to the "old" Ducati, like this MH900e (from 2001), which is very loosly based on the Mike Hailwood Replicas from the late 70s and early 80s (the bike that made me want a Ducati!)

The Paul Smart Replica

Or the Sport 1000

All three of these bikes, while quite modern, harken back to the 1970s.

Mark

[MarkL]

Now that's a Duc I can ride. Probably not quite as fast as this:

I'm just not a big fan of Pierre Treblanch's work. Some of his stuff is cool, but between the above, and the mid to late 80s 900 SuperSports,

I really prefer the older model. May not be as fast, or "racy," but that's OK by me.

Mark

[Don W]

Am I to understand that someone is updating the old Ariel "Square Four"?

KEWL!

[pt17]

I suspect this JATO bike design wasn't even considered.

Sorry, I just had to post this :-)

[Tijeras_Slim]

I guess I'm a Ducati Mellowmotard.

[martin_fierro]

Oh, *kife*!

> stolen grahic <

[martin_fierro]

Beware the Ducati Fcuktard.

[BraveMan]

At $85,000.00 U.S., I'll not have one in my stable anytime soon. Sigh . . .

Thanks UB, for the link. Interesting stuff!

[blackie]

I remember now, MF and Gang ~ it's a MotoCzysz and it's made here in Oregon.

http://motoczysz.com/

[BraveMan]

http://www.motoczysz.com/main.php?area=bike

[blackie]

You got it ~ I just remembered before I got to your post.

My buddy: the local Triumph http://www.time-to-ride.com/ dealer is really impressed with it, he visited the factory in Portland and had a long discussion with Czysz.

Nortons http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com/ are manufactured in Gladstone, Oregon.

The Norton guy doesn't have the Big $$ Bucks like old Czysz has, if he can get more financial backing he should sell quite a few of those beauties. :)

[BraveMan]

I love Italians . . .


The incomparable Bimota Tesi.
http://www.bimota.it/scheda_tesi2d_2_eng.htm

[blackie]

"Concerned about losing ground in the Ugly Motorcycle competition, BMW countered with the F800S . . ."

You are a gifted very wordsmith!!

[blackie]

No I'm not ~ now, that is one weird motorcycle.

Leave it to the Huns. :):):)

[blackie]

PS I like your handle ~ do have a Yamaha Quad?

[StarfireIV]

Whoa! Bravissimo!

[StarfireIV]

It should be called the Victory Cylon.

[StarfireIV]

"Git yer one-wheel runnin. Head out on the highway..." Um, perhaps not.

[JoeSixPack1]

Does that thing have any turn in the front wheel??

Impressive design, Bellissimo!

[Dark Skies]

lol!

[BraveMan]

It's a variant of the Di Fazio system. Bimota has been using this design for a while now. From what I've read the first Bimota design way back when had this nasty habit of locking in place under certain conditions, making things quite exciting for a moment or two . . .


An author by the name of Tony Foale penned an article many years ago called "STEER FOR THE FUTURE", essentially a primer for alternative motorcycle front suspension systems. A copy of the article can be found here.

http://www.tonyfoale.com/Articles/Steer/STEER.htm

IMHO, telescoping forks, long the mainstay in current motorcycle design, have several design flaws making them a lousy choice for motorcycle front suspensions. Braking severely compromises suspension performance and steering geometry is constantly all over the map. All manner of gedgets and geegaws have been added over the years (dampers, anti-dive valving, supplemental air/oil reservoirs, etc.) to assist this fundamentally flawed system. I suspect Product Liability concerns have prevented manufacturers from straying too far from the current telescopic fork design.

Some time ago (15+ years if memory serves), Harley-Davidson was sued over their "shopping cart" steering geometry, used on Baggers and Road Kings to this day. A friend of mine was on the jury. A newbie rider with about a week's seat time on his new Electra-Glide (!) hit a big pothole on a gravel road, putting the bike into a big tank slapper which pitched him off. He was paralyzed in the accident, and blamed his injuries on the unconventional steering geometry (which puts the axle behind the steering pivot). My friend the juror told me HD didn't even try to defend themselves in the court case.

The newbie won the case and was awarded several million dollars. Harley never changed the geometry though, which is why the heavy Baggers are so easy to deal with at parking lot speeds. They did however limit turn-to-turn travel (which I found out about the hard way).

[SFC Chromey]

You are riding what I'm riding. I want one of those fuel injected DS1000 motors in my bike though!

[SFC Chromey]

I nearly peed my pants when I first saw one of these at Alice's in Woodside.

[MarkL]

And you're wearing the sort of leather that I'd like (maybe not quite the same style or colors, though). Helmut's people do some really nice work at Helimot, and though I've never bought their leathers (they don't make cows big enough! lol), about 4 or 5 years ago, I bought a set of Held summer gloves from them, and I love them, though they're pretty much worn out.

Mark