Handnotes IAAD Motorcycle & Scooter design

Motorcycle & scooter

DESIGN course handnotes

AA 2014-15 Prof. Luca Bar

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IAAD Torino transportation Design Dept.

A.Y. 2014 -15 Prof. Luca Bar

MOTO E SCOOTER DESIGN - HANDNOTES

INTRODUCTION Design is a relatively recent subject that by definition is born and develops parallel to industry. As in all sectors, specialization and technological advancement require the development of specific professional figures and trained in a targeted manner right from the schools. The transportation design is already in itself a specialization, within which the niche of the design of motorized two-wheeled vehicles, typically motorcycles and scooters, can be found.

The design of the motorcycle, to a lesser extent the scooter, requires a technical knowledge higher than that required in the automotive world, for the simple reason that on the motorcycle it is as if the interior, the body and the interior of the engine bonnet were mixed between them in a single object.

To further complicate matters should be added the fact that the average motorcyclist, if compared to the motorist, has a greater technical competence and is not easily satisfied. Leaving aside the two-wheeled vehicles intended for a business use, such as scooters for postmen or motorcycles intended for law enforcement, motorcycles are purchased not so much for necessity as for passion.

The sense of freedom that a motorcycle can give in the summer on a beautiful winding road is difficult to explain to those who have not had the opportunity to live this experience; the other side of the coin is made up of several “hardships” including the weather, the cold, the risk of falling or being involved in an accident. Needless to deny it, in the event of a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle, the most exposed person is definitely the motorcyclist, although there is a lot in terms of safety both active and passive the margin that can give an armor ... pardon .. a bodywork will always remain.

It often happens to see published online or on the portfolios of the boys, the sketches of motorcycles that the students themselves like to define “conceptual”, from which it often transpires the need to hide their gaps, in terms of skills (techniques, ergonomics or even of geometry), behind unusual shapes, which may seem innovative to the inexperienced eye. The aim of this course, however, is to teach students everything they can about the state of the art of current technology and make them able to master the design of a “real” motorcycle, so that they are able, in a second stage, to experimenting with innovatively inspired and imaginative forms and models.

In the collection of the material that makes up these dispensations, I have tried to cover most of the topics necessary for the design approach of a two-wheeled vehicle design, limiting as much as possible the overly technical definitions. Below I have added a series of articles written by Kerr Glynn, (one of the most profitable motorcycle designers in the world with a huge experience gained in over 40 years of work) as well as a selection of interviews with famous contemporary designers.

Finally, in the appendix I collected a series of examples of representation useful for students to understand at what level of definition it is useful to arrive with their own drawings as well as, starting the course, to copy the styles and techniques of professionals.

Good work, Prof. Luca Bar

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MOTOCYCLE The motorcycle, often referred shorlty as “bike”, is a two-wheeled tilting vehicle, equipped with a motor.

Originally this type of vehicle was called motorized bicycle, due to its descent from the bicycle. The term “motorcycle” derives from the “Motocyclette” trademark with which the first model produced by the Parisian company Werner was presented. It was the first to have conceived the application of the auxiliary motor to a common bicycle, depositing the relative patent and designation January 7, 1897. The term “Motocyclette” spread rapidly and became so popular throughout Europe, already in the first decade of the twentieth century, to force the Paris court, for reasons of public interest, to cancel the previous concession of exclusivity of the brand to the Werner brothers and recognize it in the public domain.

The motorcycle has 2 wheels in line and the stability of the moving vehicle is guaranteed by the principle of conservation of the angular momentum. The variations in the direction of the motorcycle are controlled by a handlebar, with exploitation of the gyroscopic effects caused by the preservation of the angular momentum.

In the motorcycle proper, excluding the particular case of the scooter, the cenWerner Motocyclette 1899 taur and any passenger sit on the vehicle resting on a saddle, the driver uses the handlebar to support the hands and to control, on the left side, any clutch ; on the right side there are the commands related to the braking system (relative to the front wheel and sometimes to the integral braking) and to the accelerator that regulates the speed. Instead, the feet rest on specific platforms, from which the right foot controls the rear brake (sometimes, in particular systems, the pressure on the control partially intervenes also on the front wheel brake) and the left (except for vehicles with automatic transmission) the change of gears. In the past, the left / right position of the two foot controls was changeable depending on the models.

The propulsion of the vehicle is guaranteed by the presence of an internal combustion engine fueled by petrol. four-stroke engines or two-stroke engines are used; the latter are gradually decreasing in number, mainly due to anti-pollution regulations.

This type of vehicle, in order to circulate on the roads, must meet the requirements dictated by the road codes in force in the various countries and possess a regular approval. The requirements necessary to drive the vehicle and for the admission or otherwise of passenger transport are also coded within the codes themselves and may differ from country to country.

Sometimes an external element can be attached to the motorcycle: a side buggy designed to carry people defined as sidecar or, more rarely, a rear trailer.

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Background

Daimler Mybach - 1885

The invention of the motorcycle is traced back to the French engineer Louis-Guillaume Perreaux who deposited the relative patent (n. 83691) on 16 March 1869 and built a steampowered two-wheeled vehicle called Vélocipede à Grande Vitesse.

The first motorcycle with an internal combustion engine is due to two German inventors, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, who built the first prototype, in 1885, in a small workshop in Cannstatt (near Stuttgart).

In 1894 the first working examples were put on sale by Hildebrand & Wolfmüller and from that moment on there was a continuous evolution of the motorcycle, thanks to companies all over the world, both in Europe and in the USA. As in the parallel history of the automobile, the world of production motorcycles has always gone hand in hand with that of competitions and if, in the world of motoring, already in 1894 a competition worthy of the name developed with the Paris-Rouen, the following year the first registrations of motorized bicycles were recorded at Paris-Bordeaux-Paris.

If the first models built were nothing more than bicycles to which the propulsion systems were applied, the technical and aesthetic evolution was continuous, as was the design distance with the two human-powered wheels. Already in the first decades of the twentieth century the classic type was that of the motorcycle underarm and you could see the first examples of suspensions to improve ride comfort.

Until the sixties the production was for the most part European, with the British, German and Italian industry in particular evidence, in the last decades the lion’s share is made by the Japanese industries.

Scooter (vehicle)

The motoscooter, commonly known as a scooter, is a motor vehicle characterized by a particular shape of the body, known as ‘stepthrough’, which can be crossed in the lowered section between the saddle and the front Vespa 98 - 1946 shield.

Usually equipped with wheels of reduced diameter, they all have the engine in a rearward position, under the seat and usually hidden by side bonnets or by a fairing integrated into the body, often integral with the swinging arm of the rear suspension.

Born for use in the city, in Italy the Vespa was a well-known ancestor, followed shortly after by Lambretta.

Among the most widespread types, there are traditionally those with a capacity of 50 cm³ two-stroke that can be driven with a certificate of suitability for driving (“Patentino”), obtainable at 14 years.

In recent times we have seen the spread of the so-called Maxiscooter, models usually with automatic transmission of larger dimensions and suitable for long distances, with engines from 125 cm³ to 839 cm³ and for which a driving license of type A or B is required ( the latter enables the driving of motorcycles up to 125 cm³ or 11 kW of maximum power, such as the A1 license).

There are several categories of scooters, all based on the displacement of the engine: from 50 to 839cm3 (Gilera GP800). The body of the scooter is compared to the displacement, so a 50 cm³ scooter normally has wheels of 10, 12, 13 or 14 inches (high wheeled scooters like the Aprilia Scarabeo even 16 inches) and a mass close to 90 kg .

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It does not have a real gear change, with the exception of the old Vespa models, but a continuously variable gearbox, which allows the engine to always run at optimum speed. A device called a variator modifies the transmission ratio based on speed to make the delivery smoother.

The 50 cm³ engines are air-cooled or liquid-cooled, and often equipped with a carburetor, but there are injection models, such as the Honda Zoomer, the Piaggio NRG Power Pure Jet and the Aprilia SR 50 Ditech Yamaha T-Max - 2001 (the latter two-stroke) . With a displacement of 125 cm³ and above, the four-stroke engine is preferred, with air-cooled (two-valve) or liquid (four-valve) cooling systems, equipped with a carburettor or an electronic injection system. Once equipped with only drum brakes, in most cases today these are limited to the rear wheel. On the most powerful models two or three disc brakes are fitted, two of which on the front wheel, especially in the case of maxi scooters

Type of motorcycles

With the advance of technique and specialization the types of motorcycles have increasingly expanded with time and on the market of the XXI century you can find a multitude of different types, from those for the most extreme uses to those that make the versatility the just workhorse.

A basic subdivision can be made between the two wheels designed and built for purely road use, ranging from the most spartan versions, to those specific for large trips up to the replicas of those used in the maximum competitions on the track; the second type is the one represented by the bikes with which off-road use is possible, if not suggested. Also for this second type the choice is very wide and ranges from the replica models of those used in specific competitions, to end with those in which the use outside of the most beaten paths can also prove difficult.

Also with regard to the common displacements, the passing of time has seen a leavening of the cubature and the average motorcycle today can be considered the one that has a displacement around 600 cm³ equipped with anterior aerodynamic appendage (a small dome) with protective functions and the possibility installation of rear containers (trunks), all in order to be used pleasantly in any weather condition.

Only in the sixties of the last century the same displacement was the prerogative of a few models, those of greater prestige (defined at the time also as maximoto) that, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, now have almost doubled cubes.

Also reasons of marketing or fashion have created over time the names with which we recognize today quite specific types of models. In most cases the terminology comes from the English language.

Moped: The moped is a type of motorcycle with low power and displacement that, due to its characteristics, can be used with minimal authorization requirements. (Mandatory the presence of pedals)

Piaggio Ciao 1967- 2006

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The moped is a vehicle used all over the world and whose invention is traced back to the Parisian company Werner who filed the patent on January 7, 1897.

The modern moped was born as an evolution of the bicimotor and is generally intended for a utilitarian or recreational use, in short journeys. From the sixties on, the moped became widespread throughout Europe.

Honda CB750 - 1969

Motorcycles for road use

Naked (Standard in the Anglo-Saxon world), with the meaning of “naked” model, almost completely devoid of aerodynamic protections. They also rely heavily on economic and weight savings, favoring agility and ease of use.

BMW R 100 RT - 1985

Touring and Grand Touring, impressive models, generally with large displacement engines and equipped with everything that can make a trip more pleasant in any weather condition, even with luggage thanks to the presence of suitcases. Equipped with extended aerodynamic guards to protect against adverse weather conditions and often with specific accessories for winter use.

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Suzuki GSX-R 750 - 1985 Race Replica (Hypersport), the models with the most exasperated performances that follow the lines and the technical solutions from the racing bikes like the Superbike and the Motomondiale. Almost always equipped with large fairings, based in this case in search of the achievement of high speeds.

Harley Davidson Elecra Glyde Classic - 2008

“Cruiser” motorcycles Typically American production are classic-style bikes very comfortable and suitable for long Highway. In Italy they are wrongly called Custom, a term that actually indicates those products modified according to customer needs (customer).

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Off-road motorcycles

KTM Cross 125 - 2010

Cross, models that take inspiration from those of motocross races, with technical solutions that allow the use on dirt roads, at fairly high speeds and in the presence of jumps or dips.

Husaberg Enduro 570 - 2010

Enduro (in the past Regularity), whose progress has gone hand in hand with the development of the competitions of the same name, with technical solutions that are always suitable for use on unpaved paths, comparable to those for cross-country. The enduro discipline, however, provides for the conduct of races on open paths (non-circuits) and for this reason we prefer technical features aimed at increasing the driving comfort and the traction of the driving wheel in “limit” situations. Contrary to the cross the air face is not relevant.

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Aprilia Pegaso 650- 2006

All road (or road enduro), are motorcycles that can travel all types of terrain, which resume the style of enduro motorcycles, but with cheaper solutions and more suitable for everyday and on-oad use.

Hystorycal and “niche” types

Beta Trial - 2012

Trials and Motoalpinismo, models for which there are also special competitions, which do not require high speeds but whose characteristics of lightness and agility allow to overcome almost any type of obstacle.

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Custom (in Itliy often confused with Cruiser), bikes subject to a radical process of customization, designed to reduce the number of components deemed useless or not strictly necessary.

Custom Chopper- 2010

Chopper, born in the USA but with many admirers in Europe, are bikes with a very inclined steering axis, in which the driver is driving in an almost lying position, often using a rear backrest. They are motorcycles characterized also by many chrome and often by showy paintwork.

Moto Guzzi V7 Cafè Classic 2009

Café racer, artisanal motorbikes that reincarnate the greatest exponent of the English sport motorcycling of the sixties and draw their inspiration from the specials realized in the London of that period.

Scrambler, among the first attempts to have a multi-purpose motorcycle, usable on road routes and in non-binding off-road vehicles.

Raid or Rally (Dakar and other synonyms referring to the idea of the ​​ desert), born from the experience gained in African competitions of Rally Dakar, with characteristics often shared with enduro models.

Motard, models whose competitions are called Supermotard and in which the technical characteristics must find the right compromise for the contemporary use on road and motocross routes.

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CHASSIS: THE ASPECTS THAT CHARACTERIZE THE GEOMETRY OF THE MOTORCYCLE (Ing. Antonello Maino) I have often wondered why it is easier to meet a motorcyclist who knows the meaning of “stoichiometric relationship” rather than one who can explain comprehensibly the concept of “trail”. An element of solution of the enigma can be had by observing the shelves of a specialized bookshop and counting the volumes concerning the design of an engine with respect to those concerning the design of a frame: everyone would notice the clear prevalence of the first over the seconds. This disparity of studies and treaties also reflects the evolution, over the years, of the engine towards the chassis. In fact, the designer’s job is to make the best use of what technology offers to achieve a goal.

Si parte da qui nella progettazione di un motoveicolo: interasse e raggi di rotolamento delle ruote.

Una ruota con raggio di rotolamento ampio ha meno possibilità di restare “imprigionata” in una buca rispetto ad una ruota con raggio di rotolamento piccolo.

The chassis is the arbiter of the behavior of the whole vehicle. E ‘from the proportions of the chassis and the calibration of the suspensions that depend: road holding, comfort, driving sensitivity, ability to transmit power to the ground, etc. The frame for a motorcycle performs the same functions as the skeleton for the human body, in other words that of supporting and characterizing the behavior. A nuclear astrophysicist will be able to carry out his profession without having a robust bone and muscular body. With these characteristics, however, he will never become a rugby champion. In addition to natural talent, Maradona in soccer and Michael Jordan in basketball, in their inimitable athletic deeds were also helped by the “geometric dimensions” of their bodies. None of us could imagine Maradona crush the ball in the basket or Michael Jordan brush the ball at the intersection of the poles with a quick reversed.

In the comparison between man and mechanical means, however, there is a difference: in the case of the proportions of our bone we must be content with what Mother Nature has given us, but in the frame measures, we are free to set them according to their intended use. . It is evident that the starting data required for setting a speed vehicle will be different compared to a cross-country vehicle. We try to understand these differences by ordering.

Finding myself in front of the classic white sheet, the first lines that I will trace will represent the two wheels placed at a certain distance ie the rolling radius of the front wheel, the rolling radius of the rear wheel and the wheelbase.

Now let’s analyze the rolling radius: as regards the choice of the wheel radius to be adopted, it is important to bear in mind what kind of path they will have to work on.

For a rough path with the presence of rocks and holes, a greater radius will be required compared to a wheel that has to work on a paved road with no irregularities. In fact, a wide rolling radius allows you to enter the holes without sinking, or to overcome unevenness without bumping, without causing annoying consequences to the vehicle and fatigue of the pilot. The dimensions of the wheels have an impact on the unsprung masses, on the inertia of the steering and on the gyroscopic forces. Therefore the smaller and lighter the wheels will be, the less these effects will result.

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Let’s look at some application examples: in trial bikes a 21 “diameter rim is used on the front side and a 18” rim on the rear. In front cross bikes, the choice is obligatory on the 21 “, while in the latter years the 19” instead of the 18 “previously used has been preferred.

No definitive consensus was reached on speed bikes. During the ‘70s, in the 500 GP category, it was run with 18 “at the front and 18” at the rear and then in the 80s, influenced by the American driving school, to use a 16 “at the front and a 18 “at the rear. This choice supported the driving technique adopted at that time. They were, if you remember the years of showy drift and, alas, even the unsaddled. It was mainly driven by checking the rear axle and using the front wheel only as a support in the brakes. This style of driving, unnatural for racing on track, to tell the truth is not an American invention but has been cyclically adopted over the years by the most talented drivers when they were managing a vehicle with a frame and tires not able to withstand the discharge of power to the ground.

Therefore, instead of traversing the curve’s trajectory over a wide radius at a sustained speed, they preferred to travel the smallest radius at low speed in order to quickly straighten the outgoing curve and then open the throttle. Today, observing the images of the grand prizes, we note that the bikes are much more neutral and more balanced in dealing with the curves than in previous years and, reading the chronicles of the races, that more technical drivers are looking for a better feeling with the front end .

Also for the choice of tires, keep in mind: the type of bike to be equipped, its speed limits, the driving style, the type of terrain on which the motorcycle must travel and the type of rim.

The wheelbase, on the other hand, identifies the distance between the wheel centers. This parameter mainly influences: the directional stability of the vehicle, the distribution of weights, the transfer of loads during acceleration and braking. To understand the meaning of directional stability, let’s take a wideradius curve at a high speed and hit a level drop in the asphalt. The lateral deviation that the rear wheel undergoes with respect to the set trajectory, forms an angle with the point of contact between the front wheel and the ground. It follows that the longer the wheelbase, the smaller the angle will be and the greater the stability of the medium, vice versa the shorter the wheelbase the greater the angle will be: in this case the bike will disappear in a conspicuous way with unpleasant repercussions on the guide

With the same lateral displacement of the rear wheel we notice that on a vehicle with a long wheelbase, the angular displacement is less than a vehicle with a short wheelbase.

This determines the greater stability of long vehicles.

It could therefore be summarized that a motor vehicle with a long wheelbase (about 1500 mm) assumes a stabilizing, but woody effect in maneuvers while a motor vehicle with a short wheelbase (about 1200 mm) is much more manageable, but unstable at high speeds. To cite examples, in the disciplines where the agility of the vehicle prevails (trial and cross), the wheelbase adopted is around 1300 mm. In speed bikes (500 GP and Superbike), however, the distance between the wheels is about 1400 mm in the name of a sort of compromise between stability and agility. Furthermore, the maxi granturismo have a wheelbase around 1500 mm; because of their weight and the use to which they are intended, it is not in fact required a strong dose of agility but rather driving comfort and stability.

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MILLIMETERS MATTER: TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PARAMETERS THAT CHARACTERIZE THE GEOMETRY OF THE MOTORCYCLE (Ing. Antonello Maino) The distribution of weights between the front wheel and the rear wheel in a motorcycle is one of the fundamental parameters to determine its maneuverability. Establish exactly the distribution of the loads in the phase of. design, even if assisted by computer simulation programs, remains one of the most critical steps.

For this reason, the ability of a designer is to set up his own work, leaving possible room for intervention to the colleagues in the testing department, so as to allow the appropriate improvements during the work.

The easiest way to change the wheelbase of our bike is to take advantage of the adjusting slot on the chain tension, which usually allows variations of 35 or 40 mm, always taking care to restore the correct clearance after each operation. of the same. By bringing the rear wheel all the way forward, bringing it closer to the center of gravity, the rear axle is more heavily loaded; vice versa, by moving it backwards, the front end is loaded. In the latter case, it becomes more difficult to perform the maneuvers at low speed, while increasing the stability of the front axle during acceleration and at high speeds. On the contrary, it is easy to deduce that a light front end makes it difficult to control the vehicle at high speeds. To experience these effects, you can plan a bike ride (possibly not in the middle of traffic) and, at medium speed, try removing your hands from the handlebars, moving your body on the saddle first forward, then back.

You will notice how in this last position the front wheel becomes more unstable and sensitive to every slight irregularity of the ground. Another possibility to vary the distribution of loads in a motorcycle consists in raising the rear axle, provided that the shock allows it, of a dozen mm; this is the most widespread and economical system to load the front wheel more and appreciate its benefits in sport driving.

If we consider the weight of an average biker around 75 kg and the weight (including all liquids) of a largedisplacement sports bike around 220 kg, it is easy to calculate that the ratio between the two is about 1 to

In questo disegno sono evidenziati i punti attraverso i quali il pilota scarica il proprio peso sulla moto.

I tecnici prestano molta attenzione alla definizione di questo triangolo detto “triangolo ergonomico”.

3, so how easy it is to understand how fundamental the way in which the pilot is positioned on the vehicle for the distribution of loads. We all know how much attention a lot of speed pilots devote to finding the ideal driving position by working on height and advancement of the platforms, handlebars and saddle.

On Cross bikes, on the other hand, the rider must be free to make large displacements on the saddle, in order to balance with his weight, sometimes taking on acrobatic positions, the pilot bike system during jumps, surges and skids.

If you try to place your bike on two scales, so that the wheel axes are well centered on the plane of the instrument, you can easily check the weight distribution and, with the help of a friend, get on it and notice how much they are sensitive the scales to your minimum displacement (eg if you are on the bike in an upright position or in an aerodynamic position).

Another fundamental element in the distribution of loads, examined in two ways, is the engine. Considering always a large displacement sports bike, the weight of the engine is about 1/3, of the total weight of the bike: its positioning in the vehicle set i is therefore strongly determinant. On the other hand, the shape of the same is able to facilitate or not its housing in the frame To quote a practical example, we take as a reference the classic architecture to “L” Ducati engines, where the head of the horizontal cylinder, already very close at the front wheel, effectively prevents the engine from moving. That’s why, to maintain an acceptable interaxis, the technicians of the Bolognese house are forced to use a swingarm that turns out to be the shortest in the category. On the other hand, the latest generation of sports engines are more compact in 14

the gearbox area so as to keep the wheelbase unchanged, advance the engine and then extend the swingarm, resulting in the balance of the bike and the working mode of the rear suspension. Another modality of intervention in the design phase on the weight distribution is that adopted by Benelli technicians on the Tornado 900, which by moving the radiator under the saddle, freed the area previously occupied between the engine and the front wheel. This allows, while maintaining a “classic” engine configuration, to advance its position and to extend the swingarm.

THE CENTER OF BALANCE The CG (center of gravity) is that point, present in every body, through which we can consider the whole mass concentrated. For a simple geometric figure, the determination of the CG is quite intuitive: for example in a sphere is the center of the same. In the case of a motorcycle, calculating this mysterious point is more complicated. On the other hand, the knowledge of the CG position, both in length and in height, is fundamental for the design of a vehicle, since it depends on the maneuverability of the vehicle and the amount of load transfer.

Let’s see how to identify this point: to simplify things, without bringing up strange formulas, we will refer to an empirical method. This method consists of lifting the bike by means of special straps. Proceed with hooking the bike to the handlebar and, after having lifted it off the ground, it is necessary to trace on the fairing, with the aid of a plumb line and an adhesive tape, the extension of the belt so that it results perpendicular to the ground.

It is worth mentioning, at this point, that the condition of maximum acceleration is obtained when the tire is able to transfer all the available power to the ground.

Positioning the CG at the top, it increases the load transfer during acceleration and the weight on the rear wheel, thus improving the traction of the vehicle. However, it is not advisable to exceed the limit height of the CG, otherwise the transfer becomes excessive and the overturning condition occurs. The same concepts apply to the transfer of load under braking: in this case the force involved will be the braking force on the front wheel.

For the guidance of our bike the height of the CG is however decisive in the changes of direction; in fact, it is able to influence the speed of “bending the bike”.

Let us now try to understand why: since the weight force can be considered concentrated in the center of gravity, it is easy to deduce that the more distant it is from the point of contact of the wheel with the ground, the greater the force applied, the less the effort will be and the time needed to “drop” the bike This concept can create a bit of confusion in the readers: everyone has in fact the efforts of car technicians to lower the center of gravity of their cars as much as possible, but, fortunately, cars do not have to “bend” to curve. In conclusion, if we want to summarize the concepts listed above, we could say that a bike with a short wheelbase and high center of gravity would be very agile in a slalom, but always decomposed under braking and acceleration; on the other hand, a motorcycle with a long wheelbase and low center of gravity would be very stable in the violent detachments and in the sudden accelerations, but it would result slow and heavy in the curves to them.

As for any other technical choice, the designer is always forced to compromise, considering, time after time, the type of vehicle, the use for which it is intended and the possible users to whom it is addressed.

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Main “measures” of a motorcycle By carefully reading the technical sheet of a motorcycle you can get an idea of how this will behave in the guide and what will be its main use. Starting from the size of the tires, it is possible to distinguish whether it is a road or off-road motorcycle and to a large extent one can sense the engine performance. In principle the dimensions of the rear tire are proportional to the maximum torque of the engine. Based on the weight and wheelbase values, it is easy to imagine the maneuverability of the vehicle. However, there are many cases in which a particular attention to the balance between the parts leads to obtaining better performances than those hypothesized by reading a technical sheet.

Example of a “Specification Sheet” for a motorcycle (Triumph Sprint ST 955i 1999) CHASSIS: Front wheel travel:

127 mm (5.0 inches) Rear wheel trave: 120 mm (4.7 inches) Front tire size: 120/70-ZR17 Rear tire size: 180/55-ZR17 Front brake: Double disc Ø 320 mm (12.6 inches) Rear brake: Single disc Ø 255 mm (10.0 inches) MEASURES: Totale weight includig gas: Balance weight on front axle: Saddle height: Wheelbase: Tank capacity: ENGINE AND DRIVE: Displacement: Engine type: Max power: Max torque: Compression ratio: Bore x stroke: Valves per cylinder: Cooling system: Gearbox gears: Staring system: Final drive:

239.0 kg (526.9 pounds) 48% 800 mm (31.5 inches) 1,470 mm (57.9 inches) 21.00 litres (5.55 gallons) 955.00 cm3 (58.27 cubic inches) 3 cylinder in line - 4 Strokes 105.00 HP (76.6 kW)) @ 9300 rpm 95.00 Nm (9.7 kgf-m or 70.1 ft.lbs) @ 5700 rpm 11.2:1 79.0 x 65.0 mm (3.1 x 2.6 inches) 4 Water 6 Electric Chain

PERFORMACE Top speed : Acceleration 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph): Fuel consumption: Co2 Emissions:

230.0 km/h (142.9 mph) 3.30’’ 6.8 litres/100 km (14.7 km/l) 15.8 CO2 g/km

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TIRES: L’ordine in cui tali caratteristiche vengono indicate è il seguente: T W / hl St d cM vM Sca

With these names, we want to indicate in particular: T: Type of tire (P = passenger, ie car) not mandatory in Europe W: Maximum tire width, under pressure and load conditions defined by the standards (expressed in millimeters) hl: Ratio, expressed as a percentage, between height and width of the section (from which, by means of the first, height can be obtained). The lower the number, the better the seal, but the lower comfort. The tire is defined as lowered when this ratio is less than 80, super-lowered when it is less than 45, if omitted it is to be considered 80.

St: Structure concerning the arrangement of the canvases and indicated with a letter, it can be radial “R” (“ZR” in case the tire exceeds 240 km / h) or diagonal (also called belted or conventional or cross-tanned bias) “B “ or “-” d: Rim diameter (in inches) An example of a real registration could be: 180 / 55R17 85 ZR interpretable as: P indicates that it is a passenger car tire (“P”).

195 - the width is 195 mm.

55 - the height to width ratio is 55% - consequently the height is 107.25 mm.

R - this is a radial tire.

16 - for 16-inch rims.

74 - the maximum weight allowed, in this case 400 kg.

ZR - for maximum speed exceeding 240 km / h

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UN SUSPENDEND WEIGHTS The unsuspended mass of a race or transport vehicle is that set of elements that do not undergo or should not undergo a variation of their distance from the ground, given that they constitute a set of elements closely linked to each other, which do not undergo variations of form or distance between them, but closely related to the suspended masses, with which there is a continuous variation of the distance.

The unsupplied mass is considered deleterious, since it gives an inertia in the response from the suspension and cushioning of the vehicle, which can confer less road holding, since such inertia can generate a detachment of the wheel from the ground.

Because of these characteristics, we try to reduce it as much as possible.

Composition The unsupplied mass in the most common means is defined by: - Wheel, set of elements that generally determine most of the weight of these masses - Rim, element that supports the tire and the braking system - Pneumatic - Suspension and shock absorber, these elements are generally composed of two parts, one of which is part of the unsupplied mass and one of the mass suspended or due to this subdivision.

- Braking system, most of this plant is located at the wheel and for this reason it is subject to studies for the reduction of its masses, in particular of non-suspended elements To try to reduce this mass, we try to: - Use light materials, we use increasingly lighter materials, but in most cases they are more expensive - Improve facilities, look for new solutions that use less material and allow weight savings.

- Avoid overdimensioning, using structures that must be suitable for their purpose, which allows both the use of materials and different solutions.

Gruppo Ruota posteriore MV F4

Gruppo ruota anteriore BMW K1200S

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Fork geometry The geometry of the fork is the set of the main measures (lengths and angles) that define a particular configuration, where these parameters have a great influence on the drivability of a bicycle or motorcycle.

Steering inclination (rake angle): Determines the inclination with respect to the vertical axis (some constructors refer to it according to the horizontal axis) and is important for determining the trail.

This measure can be changed with: - Length of the forks, the longer this length is increased and the greater the angle.

- Tilt modification of the fork pin housing Some companies supply motorcycles with frames capable of varying this inclination.

- By moving the coupling point of the wheel from front to back or vice versa on some forks with the wheel axis moved with respect to the forks, then advanced or rearward, the wheel support can be rotated and inverted, but requires in most cases use a new clamp holder or modify the existing one.

Offset: This measure (positive offset) quantifies the front displacement (distance) of the wheel center with respect to the axis formed by the wheelhouse (rotation axis of the forks).

This measurement is important for determining / varying the trail.

This measure can be changed with: Changing the steering plates Remodeling the forks in case these are fixed

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Length and stroke The length of a fork is measured from the end of the attachment point to the plates (or central pivot in the case this is one with the fork) to the wheel fixing center.

The travel is given by the excursion of the suspension, where the greater the excursion will be and the greater the filtering capacity of the suspension, since it will be able to absorb greater differences / imperfections, but there will be a greater variation of the travel.

The length in the amortized forks can be varied with: Increased preload variation of the length at rest and constantly during use Replacing the spring by stiffening the spring, the length can be slightly increased at rest, reducing the variation in the length in compression (at the same stress there will be less compression) Trail Distance expressed in millimeters between the projection on the ground of the perpendicular passing through the center of the wheel and the axis of rotation of the fork. This value is positive when the axis of rotation falls before the perpendicular of the wheel, otherwise its value is negative.

The trail is distinguished from the incidence not only because measured in millimeters and not in degrees, but also because the axis of rotation of the wheel is not bound to pass through the center of the wheel, while in the case of incidence must forcibly pass for the center.

A high travel index leads to more directional stability (by tilting the vehicle from one side leaving the fork free, the bike / bike will tend to return the straight bike) and less sensitivity to road / ground imperfections, while an index of reduced travel leads to opposite effects, but to better handling, precision and fluency when cornering (higher speed when changing direction).

This value can be varied not only with the variation of “Offset” and “the inclination of the steering”, but also with: Replacing the wheels the bigger they become, the greater the trail will become Replacing tires using tires that increase / decrease the wheel diameter Pneumatic pressure Pulling out forks

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Fork types The fork of a motorcycle is the front part of the same, which connects the front wheel to the frame, allows you to steer and has the suspension function (control the movement of the frame with respect to the tire) and shock absorber (damp and slow the oscillation).

The characteristics of a fork are usually a compromise between the requirements of road holding and comfort, the main objective of their use is however to obtain, on the whole and during the various routes, an optimal stability of the vehicle and a high comfort for the rider and any passenger (s).

The forks are distinguished in different types, because of the various variations between the various systems that ensure the relative movement between frame and wheels.

Fork with oscillating arm Single arm (Vespa type) This system is still used by the Vespa, which allows you to change the wheel faster, this requirement was born from the fact that when the wasp was born, the punctures to the tires were very frequent, so Piaggio has created this single-arm system, which allows quick replacement of the wheel.

The system is composed of a fork with a single rigid arm, on which an arm (a band facing the tail of the vehicle) winds, which ends on the wheel pin, also on this arm hooks the suspension, which in this case is very similar to the units mounted on the rear axle and which also attaches to the rigid fork. With the rigid fork and the swinging arm the correct position of the wheel is avoided and rotation is avoided sideways with respect to the fork, while with the suspension element the asperities are absorbed acting on the oscillating arm, the whole takes the form of a parallelogram.

Exactly like all the forks that work by swinging arm, the main limitation remains the reduced travel of the fork, even if it is sufficient for road use, especially if coupled to tires with a shoulder of the high tire.

Telescopi hydraulic fork The telehydraulic fork or hydraulic fork (equipped with adjustments to the shock absorber) is the most used type of front suspension, due to its simplicity of construction and assembly, as well as for lightness and functionality, the first application of this system is the BMW R 12 in 1935.

The telescopic fork differs due to the lack of the shock absorber support.

Structure The system consists of two pairs of two coaxial tubes, which slide one inside the other, where the tube with the smaller diameter is called “stem” or in this case also “tube of force”, while the one with a larger diameter is defined “ scabbard “, 21

each pair is called” leg “and are connected to the steering tube with two trapezoids (or plates).

Inside these tubes the spring (or on one leg or on both legs) is housed and in the case of telehydraulic forks also the cushioning support, generally of hydraulic type, containing synthetic oil of a determined viscosity.

Up Side Down(USD) fork, also called “reversed” The USD fork (acronym of was introduced for the first time in 1985. It is an upside-down telehydraulic fork, adopted because of the greater comfort in making the hydraulic adjustments.In the classic model, in fact, the regulations are located under the sheath of the fork, a very uncomfortable area for both adjustment and design, since it limits the wheel connection combinations These problems have been solved by overturning the fork, while other adjustments, such as preload adjustment, have not improvements.

The wheel is constrained to the stems by an additional element called “pin”, which in the most economical systems is integrated into the stem itself.

Structure The structure of this fork is not very different from the classic teleidraulica, which differs only by the presence of the foot that is fixed to the end of the stem.

Differences with the teleidraulical fork This arrangement of forks also has some disadvantages: Rapid consumption of the oil contained in the fork, both in normal conditions and with worn or broken oil seals. Increased exposure of stems to external agents (stones), this requires protection to prevent them from ruining. The connection for the brake caliper is less rigid or heavier as the sheath can not be used. Forced oil change of the forks: since with the upturned forks you can not bleed at the base of the leg, for the removal of the oil requires that the leg from the plates and the stem from the sheath be removed. Increase in unsprung masses, even if you believe the opposite because of the shock absorbers and shock absorbers for the swingarms, where the stem is extremely thin compared to the sheath, in the case of the fork is not so, this because the stem in addition to having a diameter very close to that of the scabbard, also has a length and a specific weight greater than the sheath of an equivalent traditional fork, while the thicknesses are similar.

This arrangement of forks brings advantages: Smaller dimensions at the same excursion, which makes it preferable on compact vehicles that require high excursions. Hydraulic adjustments differently positioned, are close to the handlebar for models without a separate tank, while in the models with a separate tank, these are always positioned near the fork leg. Torsional stiffness, due to the fact that the bond to the plates is not through the stem, but through the sheath, which, although generally made of aluminum and not steel, has a larger diameter, which favors the rigidity of the same which will tend less to flex. Moreover, these forks, having the longer sheath of the stem, have a greater rigidity to the torsion.

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Single arm telehydraulic fork The single-arm telehydraulic fork is connected to the wheel by a fork leg, which is shaped like a curved arm, connecting the wheel with the single fork leg; to avoid the rotation of the wheel with respect to the handlebar, a very simple lever system has been used, this system consists of two levers articulated between them, which are also articulated on the supports where they are fixed, which are the foot of the fork in the shape of a curved arm (which supports the front wheel) and the lower steering plate, which holds the stem sheath locked, as regards the upper plate, this has a single hole to fix the fork cover.

This type of fork was used by the Gilera CX, a motorcycle with a 125 cm³ two-stroke engine.

Fork Saxon-Motodd (telelever) This type of fork was developed by BMW starting from an early 20th-century project called the “scott system”.

This system consists of forks that have the task of cushioning (damping the oscillations) and steering the wheels, the suspension function is carried out by an arm (similar to the swingarm) that is hooked to both the frame and the lower fork legs, this arm acts on a suspension similar to that mounted on the swingarm.

Cinematically this type of suspension is similar to the macpherson type automobile.

The advantages of this fork are: Smoother flow of the tubes, since most of the forces are absorbed by the lower arm. Increased compression travel during braking the fork compresses and increases its inclination, this is due to the fact that the arm that is hooked to the sheath by turning on itself, carries the joint with which it is bound to the sheath more forward than at the upper joint of the stems, this leads to a reduction of load transfer and sinking.

The disadvantages are: Greater size Complexity the system is more articulated than the telescopic forks Less driving sensitivity Forcella Hossack / Fior (Duolever) This fork completely separates the suspension from the steering forces (steering), was developed by Norman Hossack and used by Claude Fior and John Britten on racing bikes, Hossack himself described the system as a ‘straight-guided’ system.

The BMW has adopted the Duolever since 2006 on all models of the K series with front-end motorisation, K1200 S, K1300 S, K1300 R, K1300 GT as well as, recently, on the new K1600.

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This system consists of a rigid fork (as in bicycles) which is connected to the frame by two arms, forming an articulated quadrilateral, where the suspension / shock absorber is connected to the fork and the bike frame, in addition the two arms and the suspension is articulated with respect to the fork, allowing it to rotate left and right.

For the steering you have two arms connected in series with each other, ranging from the fork to the handlebar or steering plate, which allow the approach or removal of the fork (closing) and give the possibility to rotate the fork to the right and left.

Swingarm fork (Bimota Tesi or Vyrus with twin arm fork) The fork in this case is an oscillating swingarm exactly like the rear axle and we also have in this case the suspension / shock absorber identical to that mounted on the rear axle, which can be worked in compression or extension, this system is called centered wheel steering , from the English “Hub-center steering” (HCS). bibraccio This swingarm is very similar to the one that is generally mounted to the rear axle, in fact the shape of the swingarm is identical, the difference is on the wheel, which rotates left and right on the pivot of the swin-

garm, to do this you use a joint spherical that acts as a second pin (placed outside the pin that fixes the complete wheel and inside the bearing that makes it roll) and a guide (which allows only the rotation to the left and right of the wheel), where the inner part of the bushing the spherical joint is fixed to the pin that fixes the wheel to the swingarm, while the external part (of greater diameter) that allows the directionality of the wheel is fixed internally to the wheel bearing.

The wheel pin and the steering system is held and operated on the fork by means of three auxiliary arms, two of which are fixed directly on the frame and which act on two levers placed outside the swingarm, forming a parallelepiped with the swingarm, which serve to rotate the wheel pin with respect to the swingarm each time it moves, so as to prevent the compass from rotating (forward or backward) during braking and allows the attitude values ​​to be constant, while the third arm, which can be placed on any side, used to rotate the bush to steer the wheel, this third arm is connected to the handlebar by a lever and rod system.

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Single arm This type of fork was also used on some versions of a racing bike, the Honda Rosset-Elf 500 of the homonymous team, which participated in the competitions from ‘78 to ‘88, reaching its fifth version (Elf 5), but this bike used a different system for wheel control, much more similar to the system used for cars, in fact it used two single-sided swingarms (both with the arm placed on the same side) which held the hub bearing that was free to rotate to the right and left, to which the hub was fixed with the wheel and the brake caliper, in order to rotate this hub and allow steering, a lever and arm system is also used here.

Features The characteristics of this type of fork are: Robustness: this system is more rigid and resistant than a fork, which is subject to flexing and to create a great torque to the anchoring site, require its strengthening, while with this system no reinforcement is required.

Increased constancy of the wheelbase: with the compression of the fork there is a reduction of the axis, while on these systems, there is initially a lengthening, then a shortening, this is given by the inclination of the swingarm.

Constant steering angle Constant displacement quote: this is given by the articulated quadrilateral, which can according to the various measures of the different parts that compose it, give a constant run, an increasing or decreasing run (classic case of the fork) as the compression increases .

Less sinking: this is due to the fact that during braking the torque generated at the caliper and then the swingarm, contrasts with the greater force given by the displacement of load that would normally give a greater sinking, while in the traditional telescopic forks the torque generated by braking leads to increased load transfer, as this does not conflict with the normal function of the suspension, therefore acting directly on the bike makes it rotate forward and for this there is a greater tendency to lift the rear axle.

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Yamaha GTS 1000 - 1995

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Swing arm 1750/5000 The swingarm of a motorcycle is the rear part of the same, which connects the rear wheel to the frame, and that through the use of one or more suspensions controls the movement of the frame with respect to the tire and through a shock absorber and slows down the oscillation.

The characteristics of a swingarm are usually a compromise between the requirements of road holding and comfort, the main objective of their use is however to obtain, overall and during the various routes, an optimal stability of the vehicle and a high comfort for the driver and any passenger.

The swingarms can have various shapes and are distinguished in different types based on the variations between the different systems that ensure the relative movement between the frame and the wheels.

With respect to the movement, the swingarms are of two types: Fixed: this type of swingarm was mounted on the first vehicles and did not allow any kind of shock absorption between the wheel and the bike, but generally these vehicles had the spring-loaded pilot saddle.

Oscillating: this type of swingarm has been used in response to the needs of motorcyclists, stability and resistance of the vehicle (reducing the possibility of damaging the rim facing a hole).

There are two types of oscillating swingarm: Single arm: equipped with only one arm, which starts from the frame and ends on one side of the wheel (generally the left), this system generally has the advantage of allowing faster maintenance.

Bibraccio: equipped with two arms that start from the frame and end one on one side of the wheel, this type has the advantage of being stronger and lighter than the single-arm system.

Swingarm structure

The swingarm can be produced in various ways: - Boxed: built with rectangular section tubes, with welded feet for the wheel - Spindle or printed: obtained by melting in a mold of a generally alloyed material, the fusion can be of two types: - Full melting: characterized by the formation of U-shaped arms (not closed) with many internal ribs for torsional stiffness (the open side is generally placed so as not to be seen) - Hollow fusion: characterized by hollow tubular elements, very similar to the boxed sections - Pipes: obtained by welding several tubes, generally made of steel, but it is also possible to make light alloy materials - Mixed: made up of tubes and plates, in which the tubes are the central element of the swingarm, while the plates, as well as screwing all the pipes, form the ends of the swingarm, on which the wheel is housed and on which the swingarm rotates . This type of swingarm is relatively recent, having been introduced by Bimota in 2005.

The arms of the swingarm can have various shapes depending on the vehicle, the shape of the swingarm itself and the type of vehicle: Symmetrical: they are generally straight, which makes them less expensive and easier to design.

Asymmetrical: they generally have a straight arm and a banana (curved), this to allow other components to have a more linear path, in fact they are used for motorcycles with two-stroke engines, with lateral and low expansion, but also in some vehicles with four-stroke engines.

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Precautions Swingarm with reinforcement truss In order to further stiffen the swingarm, various measures can be used: Reinforced truss, this truss can be higher or lower, has the task of increasing the rigidity without increasing excessively the weight.

Ribs, these elements are used on the swingarms, which have ribs on the inside.

Connection to suspension / shock absorber Cantilever system The connection with the suspension can be implemented in different ways: Direct: the suspension attaches directly to the swingarm, as in dublecross systems Leverages: the suspension is connected through a system of levers and arms, which allow to have a non-linear suspension response, generally the lever system is used to have a low compression of the spring in the initial section of wheel travel, so to have greater comfort when riding on undulating terrain, and then gradually increase the compression of the spring with the increase of the wheel excursion.

Cantilever: consists of a swingarm with an additional triangular structure that acts on a horizontally disposed shock absorber, which can work in compression or extension.

Forcellone Bibraccio simmetrico scatolato

Forcellone Bibraccio simmetrico fuso

Various types of these systems have been developed and each company gives its own name.

How many suspensions?

Swingarm Dublecross Monocross swingarm The swingarm suspension can employ two different systems: Monocross: consists of the use of a single element that acts as a suspension and shock absorber, which can be placed near the fulcrum or towards the end of the arm (solution used by scooters and in some motorcycles with the cardan transmission).

Forcellone Bibraccio asimmetrico fuso

Dublecross: consists of the use of two elements that act as suspension and shock absorber, arranged on the two sides of the swingarm, which is the only dual arm type.

Forcellone monobraccio fuso

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Ergonomic triangle (Case History Honda CBR500) The ergonomic triangle is nothing more than the geometric figure that is obtained by joining the saddle and the footplates of a motorcycle in a side view, joining with a virtual line the points passing through the handlebars. The distance of these points and their relationship with the horizontal plane (the road) have a major influence on the comfort and riding sensitivity of a motorcycle. Excluding very rare cases, on standard motorcycles, the footrests have a fixed position, on some models the saddle can be adjusted to two positions (generally in height) and the handlebar is often fixed or at most adjustable in height / distance with a rotation on the “risers”. For this reason it is important that this triangle be studied and defined immediately, as it greatly influences the design of a motorcycle. It is easy to imagine that a too small distance between the saddle and footplates leads to a rapid stiffness of the legs on a motorcycle for tourist use, on a sport instead the same position could be more suitable because of the style of guise more aggressive and greater “Ground light” or the possibility to tilt the bike sideways without “scratching” any component on the asphalt. It therefore results that there is no “perfect triangle” suitable for all motorcycles and all pilots, it is in fact a compromise that allows to satisfy as many specific customers as possible.

Recently (2012) Honda has introduced a family of motorcycles developed around the same chassis engine group, the silo CB500, declined in the R F and X versions (Sportiva, Naked, Enduro). This operation allows us to evaluate how on the same bike changing the position of the handlebars and in the case of the X also the inclination of the fork, we obtain motorcycles with rather different driving characteristics. Another interesting point is the width of the handlebars, since they are made of “levers” the longer they are (so the handlebars are wider) the less force will be used to move them, but greater distance between the arms always means greater resistance to air and consequently a lower driving precision, again it is a question of finding the best compromise.

Last parameter, no less important than the previous is the height of the saddle, not being able to balance alone a motorcycle needs the rider to support the maneuvers while stationary and during stops, for this reason too high a measure could lead to a failure to purchase the bike itself. For the record, the CB500 series makes from 785mm for the R and F verisones, and goes up to 810mm for the X version, it should however be considered that cruiser motorcycles often have saddles around 700mm from the ground.

The same goes obviously with regard to the ergonomic triangle dedicated to the passenger, which moreover, having no grip on the handlebar is often obliged to hold on to the poly, to the tank and if available at the rear handles (especially during braking).

TIP: Interesting website http://cycle-ergo.com/ 29

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Combustion engine - two stroke cycle

The two-stroke engine is a type of internal combustion engine, which is supplied by a power system and discharges the depleted products (exhaust gas) via a waste system. It was invented by Dugald Clerk in 1879, while the first experimentation took place in 1880 by Karl Benz.

This engine differs from the more common four-stroke engine mainly due to the different alternation of the active phases in relation to the revolutions of the crankshaft: in fact if in the four stroke there is an active phase for every two turns of the shaft, in the two it has an active phase (ie the phase in which the effective transformation of the chemical energy takes place in thermal and therefore kinetic, also called expansion) for each complete revolution of the tree.

Structurally, the two-stroke engine, as a rule, does not present the classic intake and exhaust valves, replaced by the “lights”, ie non-circular slits obtained directly on the cylinder, open and closed by the reciprocating movement of the piston.

A characteristic that distinguishes the two-stroke engine (apart from the models with rotating disk admission and not considering the needs of the electric ignition system) from the four stroke is that of being able to work perfectly in both directions of rotation. This is allowed by the fact that the exhaust / decanting lights are opened and closed by the piston in a mirror-like manner compared to the bottom dead center, where the discharge port is the first to open and the last to close. On the other hand, in 4-stroke there is no symmetry because only one of the two valves must be opened (except for the short period of the crossing, in which both are open), and strictly asymmetric with respect to the lower dead point.

Another feature that distinguishes the two-stroke engine from the four-stroke engine is the “wash pump” that allows the injection through a compression of the gases, generally this pump consists of the pump casing, the internal surface of the piston and a system for the admission of fresh gases.

Comparision with 4 Strokes, from origin to the 90’s As can be seen, while in a four-stroke engine the phases are well defined, in the two-stroke there is a real overlap: in fact the transfer takes place simultaneously with the discharge, as the compression corresponds to the suction cycle.

In spark-ignition engines with a loop loop, crossed or stepped streams, there is the encounter, in the transfer / unloading phase, of the fresh mixture and the combusted mixture, so that a part of the first fuel 32

mixture can escape from the exhaust duct. , or that a part of the exhaust gas remains in the combustion chamber, thus affecting the specific power of the engine, which in the theoretical cycle would be double compared to a four-stroke engine, as the two-stroke has a useful phase for each rotation of the crankshaft, while the fourstroke has one every two rotations.

Initially, the limit of the two-stroke engine is precisely that of providing a global efficiency (volumetric, thermal and mechanical), with the Suzuki RVG Gamma 250 - 1992 same displacement, lower than that of a four stroke, due to both the inevitable losses in the washing phase, even if in a small part, of the reduced average effective pressure (consequence of the lower useful displacement, both in the expansion phase and in that of the charge suction). With the aid of specific measures such as the resonant exhaust (expansion), however, also for this engine the volumetric efficiency has improved much (which however remains lower than the four-stroke engine), while the thermal and mechanical efficiency has always been higher compared to the four-stroke engine, achieving a global efficiency (volumetric, thermal and mechanical) at the same levels or higher than the four-stroke engine.

Compared to 4 strokes nowdays Currently, the greatest limitation of two-stroke loop-cycle controlled engines with respect to the 4T engines is the coupling with a direct injection (even if used since about 2000 for outboard engines for small boats, such as inflatable boats). This partnership is extremely difficult for motorcycle engines that have much higher operating regimes, where the only model produced with this fuel system was the Bimota Vdue, which however had to return to carburettor power.

Bimota 500 Vdue - 1997-2003

This first failure of direct injection is due to the fact that the cylinder does not always fill the same way and the unevenness of the charge, creating many problems, while currently we are looking for, by motorcycle companies such as Aprilia, to re-propose the direct injection with good results, even if this system remains confined to scooters, which are classified as an electronic injection moped. Currently, companies like KTM and Gas Gas are also working to create valid injection systems for two-stroke engines. However, the launch of these new units has not yet arrived, despite the fact that technology is now a reality, because the houses have the will to create a product that does not regret the previous one and indeed shows a positive turning point. It is however clear that in the years to come these solutions will not be long in coming, to be able to re-enter the increasingly stringent anti-pollution regulations. In KTM even it is hoped that this new invention will bring back in vogue this type of engines (still very successful in competitions), set aside not so much because it is over, but for the anti-pollution regulations.

Another system to increase the performance of two-stroke controlled-ignition engines is the use of the socalled indirect injection, such as OSSA TR, which allows to have a suction pipe with a larger diameter and a shorter length compared to the carburetor , allowing a better filling of the pump casing. The same OSSA will soon launch some specialized enduro motorcycles, equipped with two-stroke engines characterized by an innovative electronic injection, in part indirect injection leading into the crankcase and partly direct 33

injection leading directly into the cylinder. These accuracy should guarantee unique power and torque qualities, in total respect for the environment. A similar path has also been undertaken by Athena Racing, a company that produces various types of thermal units. In this case the indirect injection / direct injection system is coupled to a 50cc engine. Improvements in the delivery and the increase in power compared to a conventional engine are considerable, with an eye for the environment. In the field of outboard engines the Evinrude Outboard Motors has long since launched a series of two-stroke engines, powered by a sophisticated electronic injection. The house declares that an engine of the same degree of 4T competition, produces more atmospheric pollution due to carbon monoxide, in any regime of use. In addition, at equal power the Evinrude engines are more snappy and “torquey”.

In 1985 Honda conceived a very simple system, characterized by a simple back-pressure valve operated by the exhaust gases, which allowed to reduce the emissions of the two-cycle loop-cycle engines aligning them with those of the four-stroke engine, the bike in question it’s the Honda EXP-2. While the Malaguti in 2008 with its MR250, motorcycles for the Japanese market, uses a exhaust system where the expansion has been distorted in shape, allowing to generate a power of 50 hp (a similar engine, but without any limitation generates the same power) respecting the Euro 3 homologation.

The latest studies on this type of engine, because of its versatility, have brought to light projects that could be winning for the future, such as the omnivore engine of the Lotus, some of these that take solutions already used in the past have had support from people who are not specialized in the sector, as in the case of the Ecomotors engine, which is supported by Bill Gates and that accorBimota 500 Vdue - 1997-2003 ding to the manufacturer could be used on cars and that on April 20, 2011 announced the contract for the marketing with Zhongding Holding (Group) Company or more simply Zhongding, both for generators and for vehicles.

PRO & CONS Depending on the type of cycle used, this engine has different qualities / defects The two-stroke engine between its pros or cons according to use, has the fact of having little engine braking due to the smaller mechanical parts of which it is composed and which oppose resistance to movement compared to a four-stroke engine, for this reason mechanical efficiency is better. In urban applications this feature is more a point to disadvantage, since having less engine braking you are forced to use more intensively the mechanical brakes (disc or drum) obviously leading to a faster “wear” of the same.

Main benefits - Lighter and more manageable engine, given the smaller size and greater simplicity of the mechanical parts necessary for its operation.

- Tiltable motor, as in the case of chainsaws, etc. (Excluding some unidirectional engines).

- Greater reliability, having fewer moving parts for its operation is subject to fewer phenomena, which improves reliability - Less risk of seizing compared to four-stroke engines with wet sump lubrication.

- More “snappy” and quicker response, due to the fact that there is an ignition on every turn instead of every two, reducing the response time by half (this is valid for the same regime and thermal units).

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Main faults - Super-toxic gas emissions (excluding most unidirectional cycle engines), due to the combustion of petrol and oil, a problem similar to the diesel engine.

- Lower thermodynamic efficiency (excluding unidirectional cycles), due to a duration of the unloadingdecanting phase, where a part of the fresh mixture is released (dispersion of part of the fresh charge).

- Higher specific consumption (excluding unidirectional cycles), especially compared to direct injection engines and due to the loss of fresh charge from the exhaust.

- Lubricating oil costs (excluding most unidirectional cycle engines)

Endothermic engine with four-stroke cycle Four-stroke engines are combustion engines commonly used in automobiles; There are various types of four-stroke engines, capable of burning many types of fossil or natural fuels, such as petrol, diesel, methane, LPG, ethanol, E85 and E95.

This type of engine as well as in cars, is widely used on motorcycles and more recently on many models of scooters.

The term “4-stroke” derives from the fact that the combustion takes place for four successive steps, with some differences between a controlled-ignition engine and a compression-ignition engine:

Suction: air or an air-fuel mixture is introduced into the cylinder.

Compression: the additive air or air-fuel mixture is compressed volumetrically, generally during this phase the combustion begins.

Expansion: there is the volumetric expansion of the combustion gases, generally during the first phases of expansion there is the end of the combustion.

Exhaust: the exhaust gas is removed from the engine.

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Ignition-ignition engines In positive-ignition engines, combustion takes place thanks to the spark generated by the spark between the electrodes of one or more spark plugs. The spark ignites at the desired instant (thanks to the phase sensors signal) after compression and just before it is reached the PMS. It is important to underline that in this phase inside the combustion chamber there is no explosion but a combustion. The combustion continues very fast and must be completed without giving rise to an explosion (which would cause the so-called knock on the head) because in this case the stresses, far exceeding the design parameters, would quickly lead to mechanical breakage. This phase is the only “active” of the whole cycle since it is the only phase where useful work is produced (the piston is pushed towards the PMI by the energy produced by combustion). The other three phases are called “passive”. The energy required in these phases is provided by the flywheel which stores a part of the energy produced in the active phase in the form of kinetic energy and then returns it in the other three phases.

Compression ignition engines (Diesel) In compression-ignition engines, the combustion of the fuel injected at the end of the compression phase takes place due to the achievement of the auto-ignition temperature of the fuel, this increase in temperature is a consequence of the strong pressure increase generated by compression. Combustion generates a high increase in enthalpy, the engine fluid uses its “enthalpic content” to perform the expansion work by pushing the piston up to the LDP. Background Sensing the possibility of obtaining work from a chemical mixture, Eugenio Barsanti, a physics teacher, built and presented to his students a rudimentary device which, if he interfered with a mixture and spar

Track T 800 Diesel - 2009

ked a spark, transformed the explosion into a work force. By refining it, he built together with Ing. Felice Matteucci a single cylinder engine with a vertical piston. Later in 1861 the German Otto experimented with his first 4-stroke gas engine which he had to abandon due to technological difficulties. In 1877 the Germans Otto and Langen created a 4-stroke gas engine, with ignition of the compressed mixture, presented the following year in Paris. Otto’s great intuition was to blow the spark with a compressed mixture instead of just being sucked in, thus increasing the efficiency of the engine.

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Architetture di Motori endotermici

Single cycindric engine The single-cylinder engine is an internal combustion engine generally with an Otto cycle equipped with a single cylinder. This type of engine due to the high elementarity is used in many applications, including mopeds, motorcycles, lawnmowers.

It can be two-stroke or four-stroke, with air or liquid cooling.

In the motorcycling field, a single cylinder engine has more torque at low revs than two or more cylinders, but produces more vibrations at high revolutions. The main advantage over multi-cylinder engines is less weight and greater reactivity.

The monocilidrici, often two-stroke (but lately four-stroke for increasingly restrictive anti-pollution standards), are widely used on enduro or motocross motorcycles as well as on medium-powered road bikes, thanks to their prompt response.

They are the most common type of engine on scooters between 50cc and 500cc of displacement, the latter with a power of about 40 horsepower. One of the biggest single-cylinder engines used for motorcycling was the one used on the Suzuki DR750, then increased in the DR800.

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Twin-cylinder engine The twin-cylinder engine represents the first fractioning step of the displacement. As fractioning increases, the masses in motion decrease and consequently it is easier to obtain higher rotational speeds.

Bicilindrico Parallelo BMW

The simplest two-cylinder engine is the parallel twin cylinder, where in practice two cylinders work side by side, working alternately on an appropriately longer engine shaft.

The V-shaped engine can be mounted in a longitudinal or transverse position, nomenclature indicating the orientation of the cylinders with respect to the longitudinal axis of the motion.

Bicilindrico 90° L Ducati

In the transverse engine it is easier to fit the transmission, especially with a shaft with a cardan joint, but there is a more cumbersome engine and the motor’s rotation torque induced by the internal moving parts, becomes more accentuated and tends to tilt the vehicle sideways, in addition to causing a moment of reaction on the bevel gear that tends to lift the rear in acceleration.

Vice versa, longitudinal mounting allows to obtain a less cumbersome motor, but subject to pitch torque induced by the rotation of the driving shaft, and where it is easier to use a belt or chain drive.

Bicilindrico 90° V Trasversale Moto Guzzi

An additional characterization can be made by indicating the angle formed between the cylinders that form the “V”: the most used are 45 ° (Harley Davidson), 60 ° (Aprilia), 90 ° (Ducati and Suzuki) and 180 ° ( BMW).

The V2 engine is very widespread in the motorcycle field so that in some cases it has become a brand of recognition of a brand. Among the most famous transverse engines are the 90 ° V2 of Moto Guzzi rods and rocker arms. Transverse V engines were also used by Honda for its CX series models.

Bicilindrico 180° Boxer BMW

In order to reduce the vibrations the two cylinders should form an angle of 90 ° between them which guarantees the best balance of the engine. This is not always possible, so there are motors with angles other than the optimal angle. For example, in addition to the previously mentioned Harley-Davidson, the Aprilia has 60 ° V engines while Suzuki uses the 90 ° angle.

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“In line” multi-raced motors

3 in linea MV Agusta

With the definition of multi-perforated engines, the engines are normally intended, especially motorcycles, whose total displacement is divided into three or more unit displacements, ie the engines with a number of cylinders greater than two. In-line engines are those internal combustion engines in which the cylinders are arranged to form a single line. This type of engine currently represents the vast majority of automotive engines.

The cylinders in an in-line engine may be arranged either in the direction of travel, longitudinal arrangement, or in front of it, transverse arrangement with respect to the direction of travel and the latter arrangement is widely used in multi-cylinder motorcycle engines.

- Tricilindrico (of English school if 4T or Japanese if 2T) realized in the “frontemarcia” 4T type from Triumph and Moto Laverda and in the “frontemarcia” 2T type from Kawasaki and Suzuki.

- Quadricilindrico (of Italian school) made in the “frontemarcia” type by Rondine, Gilera and MV Agusta, and subsequently by many motorcycle manufacturers of the globe. Currently the prerogative of the Japanese industries.

- Pentacilindrico (of a purely Japanese school) made

by Honda Racing Corporation in the 4T longitudinal V type, for motorcycle competitions with the Honda RC211V. - Esacilindrico (of a typically Italian school) realized in the “frontemarcia” type by Benelli, Honda and Kawasaki and in the “transverse V” type by Laverda.

- Octocilindrico (of Italian school) realized in the “frontemarcia” type by the Moto Guzzi with the Moto Guzzi 8 cylinder and in the “V across” type from the “Morbidelli”.

4 in linea BMW

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4 in linea MV Agusta

6 in linea BMW

ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLES & SCOOTERS

Mission R - Electric Superbike Concept 2011

An electric scooter or electric motorbike is a 2 or 3-wheeled vehicle that uses an electric motor to move.

Generally the energy source of an electric motor is batteries, but numerous prototypes have been created that use fuel cells. There are many types of batteries, among the most performing are those on Lithium Ion. These means have an electric motor, which varies according to the type of vehicle to which it is applied, in fact for the most economical means single-phase alternating current motors are used, controlled by an inverter, while on the most recent and most expensive means it is used a brushless motor, which allows a better control and flexibility of use, the electric motors in direct current with brushes have been used in very few cases, generally at the dawn of this new type of vehicles, as the motor control could be carried out by means of a simple rheostat, which however has the disadvantage of energy expenditure, and for this reason it is then passed to the control through a potentiometer and then to the brushless motor.

The brushless motor, which does not contain any electrical transmission, does not lose power during transmission, avoiding waste of energy and generating no sound emission. Electric scooters can enjoy a regenerating braking system or a recovery of energy. This means that during braking, energy is recovered that recharges the batteries, increasing overall the efficiency of the engine.

The disadvantage of many motorcycles with this engine is the lack of gearbox, which tends to reduce the maximum speed of the vehicle and the use of very large crowns and very small sprockets.

The advantages and disadvantages compared to the corresponding thermal motor vehicle are varied.

Economic factors The scooters / electric bikes have recently been increasing their popularity due to: Increase in the price of petrol Incentive data from the states for their purchase, for example in Italy many municipalities also contribute for a third of the price when buying a scooter or an electric vehicle. For the first 5 years of life, electric vehicles are exempt from the road tax and can possibly benefit from a discount of up to 50% on insurance.

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Free recharge stations distributed throughout the city and energy forfait.

Access to areas precluded to traffic, such as the LTZ or as in the case of the city of Florence even to pedestrian areas Gasoline vehicle comparison Advantages: A “full� costs an average of 1 euro if the battery is connected to the home network, or completely free in the municipalities that provide charging columns in the streets.

Zero emissions in the place of use Extremely silent Can also be used indoors It is not necessary to reach a service station, simply connect the scooter to the home network The extreme simplicity and reliability of an electric motor drastically reduces its maintenance (it does not have cylinders, valves, carburetor, does not require oil change, etc) and greatly increases its useful life.

Disadvantages The purchase cost may be higher in Europe than a gasoline scooter with a performance equal to or greater, but many models are already available at even lower costs than petrol models.

Autonomy generally limited to 50-80km, but there are models that allow autonomy up to 200 km.

Recharging takes several hours, compared to the few minutes required to fill a tank, even if models with charging time of only one hour are already on the market. In some models the problem has been resolved drastically with the removable and replaceable battery in a few seconds. So this is now a disadvantage filled by current technologies.

The maximum speed and recovery are lower than a petrol scooter of the same price. Â Road charging points are limited within a few urban centers, compared to the capillarity of petrol stations, but are now being implemented capillary charging systems in all major cities.

As for all electric vehicles, the problem of the possible collapse of the revenue normally collected with excise taxes on fuels arises for Western governments, especially if the so-called general program of capillary development of solar or wind energy is created.

Peugeot E Vivacity

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However, these disadvantages must be continually reviewed given the continuous technological improvement of electric vehicle motorcycles operated by the many companies scattered throughout the world. For example, recently new models have come out almost similar for performance to 50 motor-powered, even approved for two people with a battery pack capable of recharging at 80% in one hour without suffering memory effects. In relation to the price then for example electric vehicles built in China, as well as many other products, are very competitive and at least 2/3 lower than those produced in Italy. In addition, given the facilities of the municipalities and the state, the cost is close to that of a traditional 50 thermal motor scooter.

Tacita E-FLAT

Electric motorcycles are also emerging in the circuit racing sector. An example is the TTXGP which organizes international competitions with motorcycles electric vehicles similar in shape to petrol racing motorcycles. In fact, electric motorcycles are now technically very advanced and in some cases higher for performance such as acceleration and speed.

Basic components of an EV powertrain: Electric motor + batteries Controller and relative “throttle”: it is used to modulate the engine power and on some models to recover kinetic energy by recharging the batteries with the engine brake.

Charger: it can be external to the vehicle if you always consider reloading it in the same place DC / DC transformer: Serves to adapt the voltage of the traction to the electrical service system).

Solenoid: This is a device that connects to the existing 12Volts key and will close the loop to get full power to the controller.

Fuses, cables and connectors Instruments: In addition to the tachometer, an electronic “tester” will be necessary to evaluate the remaining battery power.

Zero DS

Brammo Empulse

BMW E Scooter

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Bike Design Philosophy

By Kerr Glynn

Motorcycle design is not a question of line. You can change the body lines on most bikes without altering the basic visual impression they give. Line is for automobiles.

Motorcycle styling is primarily about proportion, and that alone dictates whether a particular design is perceived as being a sports model, a trail bike or a custom. Get the line or the form wrong, and you’ve got an ugly bike. Get the proportions wrong, and no-one will even understand what the bike is trying to be. It’s that simple.

Motorcycles are made up of hundreds of separate components, often produced by different suppliers with little chance harmonising their styles with the motorcycle manufacturer or other suppliers. Unlike with cars, where all this confusion can be neatly hidden away under the bodywork, most of these components remain visible on a motorcycle.

The designer’s task is to make all those pieces look as though they belong together, and to pull the whole jigsaw into one coherent mass with its own identity. The bodywork, and to an extent the frame, are the variable parts of the equation which the designer can exploit to mould around existing components and give the machine some integrity. Modern materials and processes mean designers now have a great deal of freedom, but if the basic proportions are wrong, no stylistic creativity is ever going to repair the damage.

The Third Dimension

By Kerr Glynn

Cars are like house bricks - they have length, height, and width, in useful, solid-looking proportions. You can do almost anything with a car’s styling, because all three dimensions are present in abundance.

By contrast, motorcycles are virtually two dimensional. They have plenty of length and height, but very little width, so proportionally they are more similar to a wall tile. Unlike a brick, tiles are fragile, so before bike designers can set about making the things look nice, they somehow have to create an impression of width.

This may seem a tall order, if that’s not a contradiction in terms, but it can be achieved by dividing the bike into brick-like segments, which the eye registers as parts of a three-dimensional jigsaw. You notice the tank, the seat, the cylinders, as separate items vaguely linked together (or, in the case of custom bikes, not linked together at all) which your eye finds easier to comprehend than the complexity of the whole mass.

Individually, each of these areas has a solid appearance, so as long as the eye can be made to concentrate on the parts rather than the whole, voila! - you’ve got width.

Bodywork is just one of many parts which together form the total look of a bike, and the larger the expanse of plastic, the more difficult it is to maintain this chunky, three dimensional effect. Long, uninterrupted body lines tend to look weak, as they emphasize the length without offering any width to compensate. This is the major mistake which car stylists tend to make when designing a motorcycle, because they take width for granted. Cars use long, straight body lines which flow from nose to tail to exaggerate the length and give an impression of speed. Do that on a bike, and it looks as though it will snap in the middle.

Early bikes were akin to cardboard cutouts, with mostly single or fore-and-aft twins, long flat-sided tanks and flimsy, large-diameter wheels. They filled out gradually over the years as speed, and therefore dynamic forces, increased, in turn demanding greater rigidity and torsional resistance. With their cylinders protruding sideways, Guzzi & BMW’s always had a head start over their rivals, though the later introduction of transverse fours and even the odd sixes spelled the end of their lateral prerogative.

Having witnessed the demise of the sports car during the late seventies and early eighties, stylists found an ideal replacement in the long-overlooked motorcycle. Most designers had neither much experience with two wheels, nor understanding of the mechanical parts, so they concentrated on the bodywork, applying rules which worked on cars and other products. This was the age of Concorde and Bang & Olufsen, so shapes were flat and linear, lacking any feeling of muscle. Acres of shapeless plastic were allowed to dominate what was previously a piece of precision-engineering, in which the development engineers had long since discovered the laws of segmentation without ever realising it - bikes just looked right that way. For a while, 44

the stylists actually messed up what the engineers had been getting right all along.

It didn’t help matters that most design sketches have always been made in side view, meaning that bikes can be overdeveloped in profile before they are really thought out in 3-D. Lately, much conceptual work is carried out on 3-D computer programs, which allows the form to be seen from all angles in animated sequences. The problem is that good designers rarely make good computer operators, and vice-versa, so many studios still find there is no better method than sculpturing the forms directly in foam and clay.

Perhaps the greatest difference in the appearance of bikes over the past thirty years has been an incease in width, leading to a far more solid appearance. Compare a Kawasaki Zephyr with the 1974 Z-1 on which the retro styling was based. The older bike now appears weak and flimsy, thanks to thin tyres, narrow gauge fork tubes and plenty of fresh air between all the components. Back then, the Zephyr would probably have looked impossibly heavy, although it is actually considerably lighter than its deceptively weighty predecessor, as Kawasaki seemed anxious to hide. Back in 1974, weight was mentioned nowhere in the lavish sales brochure.

Clearly, much of this solidity has been due to functional developments - huge improvements in torsional strength (thicker tubes or cast frames) and a higher road contact area (wider tyres & rims) to keep up with increased performance. These days, we’re also running on smaller diameter wheels, which help the proportions even more. That’s what it’s all about - making the bike look strong and beefy from nose to tail, unless the proportions are being purposely mismatched, like on custom bikes. Here, the front is kept deliberately narrow to emphasize the rear, although on the road, the widest part of a Harley is usually the rider.

On sports bikes, fairings which used to be thin sheets of glass-fibre now wrap around to fit snugly against

Kawasaki Z1 - 1974

Kawasaki Zephyr - 1992

the fuel tank. This emphasizes depth, whilst alleviating the rider’s view of the mess inside - I still recall the sight of wires and unpainted fibre matting from those good ole’ days on a 900 SS Desmo. Too much integration of components though, and the eye starts to read the bike as a whole entity again rather than a heap of bricks, making it look weak, although colour can be used to differentiate between the parts.

Width is the main reason big bikes have always looked better than small ones, even though in profile they may be nearly identical. The importance of that third dimension has now been understood, and bikes in coming years will continue to get more sculptural and solid-looking. Wider than a Gold Wing? Might be time to apply for that HGV license.

Defining Style

By Kerr Glynn

Maybe I was a little hard on Thierry Henriette. A French magazine had asked for an evaluation of some models introduced at the Milan show, and the Mondial RZ Nuda, styled as it turns out by Thierry’s company Boxer Design, got a thorough roasting. 0 out of 5 to be exact, with the added comment that it had “all the style and panache of an oil refinery”. Okay, so I’d had a bad day.

No doubt offended by this insult to an indigenous product, the subsequent issue carried the results of the 2003 Motorcycle Design Awards, in which the same Mondial scored second place within its category. The 45

editor also delighted in observing that the same person responsible for the earlier put-down was also President of the Motorcycle Design Association and instigator of the awards which acclaimed it.

In reality, these awards are decided by a democratic process over which the organisers have no influence, so the paradox could easily be resolved. But explanations weren’t invited, the editor preferring simply to savour any humiliation of the English as belated revenge for Waterloo. All the same, they had a point.

Style is indeed hard to measure, and I live in constant fear of having to present a design award to something utterly hideous, thanks to the collective votes of my peers. Their decisions can sometimes be

Mondial RZ Nuda- 2002

alarming. This year, one member even voted for the Bakker Grizzly, a kind of disorganised two-wheeled pick-up which gives the impression that the entire design was made up as they went along. Beauty was clearly in the eye of that particular beholder, although a sharp stick may have been more appropriate.

This goes to show that even professionals disagree about what constitutes beauty, which is probably a good thing, otherwise motorcycles would all look the same. But even they have to work within parameters of acceptability - our collective perception of what works and what doesn’t. To stop things getting too predictable, there is always the added element of fashion, which constantly works to challenge our preconceptions.

A good designer will not only be aware of the latest trends, but also be able to select which are applicable and to what degree. Bolder ones will try to push the limits, but in doing so they risk overstepping the mark.

The Salzburg-based consultancy Kiska Design threw restraint to the winds with the radical KTM RC8, which certainly goes all out for maximum impact. Whether or not the design is actually attractive is being hotly debated in Readers’ Letters columns the world over, but Kiska is playing on pushing the envelope of Edge Design to its limits, having been among the first to apply the style to motorcycles. Just a few years ago, such a design would have been dismissed out of hand, so the element of timing seems to be critical.

Countering that is the argument that the best designs are timeless. Some even appear to improve with age, although this means simply that we have now learned to accept the style without question. Every design must have been new at some point, if not necessarily controversial. Following the “timeless classic” philosophy is a fairly risk-free strategy, and has proven extremely lucrative for Harley-Davidson, although even The Motor Company needs to reinvent its products from time to time to give customers a reason to keep buying them.

Style is every bit as important with the classic look, where detail takes over from novelty as the primary 46

issue. Not all would-be imitators have understood how crucial this detailing is to the overall acceptance of the design, and lacking the pedigree of the archetype, have failed to convince the buying public of their credibility. In Harley’s case, that tank badge is an integral part of the aura.

Clearly then, style is more than skin deep. It encompasses the image of the product, a factor not missed by company spin doctors who protect their identities vehemently. It also demands that the hardware matches up to the image. Drop a two-stroke into a Ducati 916, and it immediately becomes pretentious, which is why you won’t find a Cagiva Mito at the Guggenheim, even though it looks almost as good.

So how do you measure style? Well, it certainly can’t be quantified, which is why many company CEOs are nervous about the whole issue. They know it’s vital to their profit figure, but are unable to predict its success. To complicate things further, a certain exclusivity is vital to the plot - if everyone rode an MV, it would drastically reduce its impact. This may explain the success of after-market accessories for cruisers, giving that extra touch of personalisation now that there’s virtually a Harley parked on every street corner.

Even success it seems can be counter productive for style.

An analysis of the word would need to involve a mixture of aesthetic excellence, desirability, exclusivity and timing, but even with all the essential elements in place, nothing is guaranteed. Style is an art, not a science, and as such it can neither be measured nor easily defined. As Sinatra once recounted, you either have it or you don’t.

Detail Bikes are a mass of detail. Show someone a car, and they will stand back to appreciate the vehicle in its entirity. But show any red-blooded enthusiast a decent motorcycle, and they will immediately crouch down to examine some localized area of particular interest. That difference is fundamental, and despite the onslaught of plastic body panels, lurid graphics and a generation of professional stylists, it hasn’t changed in over a century.

Part of the explanation lies in the word “enthusiast”. Whereas many car drivers are content with a simple transportation device, and consider a bumper sticker an expressive accessory, the average biker is a more hands-on character with a passion for machinery. We have to be, to put up with the cold, rain, insects, kamikaze van drivers and falling off every so often. Touchy subject, that last one.

It’s only in the last couple of decades that motorcycles and their various consumables have become reliable enough to excuse riders from a basic knowledge of mechanics. Gone are the days when an afternoon’s riding spree was preceded by a morning adjusting the valve clearances, but an interest in mechanics continues, and riders want to see that reflected in their machines. In the end, a bike is judged by the quality of engineering, not the shape of its plastic.

There was an outcry from purists when full-fairings became the norm during the mid-eighties, with the bodywork likened to joghurt pots by the disenchanted of the old school. Whatever the advantages in terms of aerodynamics and weather protection, the plastic hid all the clever bits, and that’s what we sit in the garage and stare at on cold winter evenings. So when there has to be bodywork, those mechanical parts which remain visible become infinitely more important. I’ll defy any bike fan to concentrate for long on a Bimota’s bodywork, however attractively styled - it’s the milled aluminium castings the eye is magnetised to. Bimota may hide the engine (and in turn, their lack of pedigree), but is very careful to detail the cycle parts, which after all is what they do best. Sorry, did.

Well-engineered components also tend to look good, so quality bikes were pleasing to the eye long before the first stylists arrived on the scene. Today more than ever, great atttention is given not only to the finish of the functional parts, but also to the bracketry and weld seams that hold them all together. Look at the latest brake discs and calipers, and you’ll see engineering design at its best, although we’re still a long way behind bicycle components which got there years before. Racing motorcycles have a strong aesthetic appeal despite their disregard for cosmetics, partly because what you leave off a bike can be more important than what you add, and partly because of the attention to detail they receive in the name of weight reduction. Drilled parts are an expensive option usually reserved for the track, so again the perception is that detail = exclusivity = quality.

This explains why many of the latest fully-faired models are trying to break down the bodywork into a myriad of tiny areas and broken surfaces, all apparently unconnected. There’s often far more sculpture there than is necessary, or even comfortable to the eye, but harmony of form is not what the designers are trying to achieve. Quite the reverse - the expanse of plastic is being reduced by detail.

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The ploy doesn’t always work though, as BMW has shown with the new F650 CS (Scarver). Here, someone seems to have become bored with friendly-looking plastic covers, and decorated the whole thing with cigar-shaped slots for no apparent purpose. It doesn’t help that the cigars are all different, some rounded, some pointy, and slope in different directions, but the main problem is that they sit in neat rows within clearly defined regions, and fail to reduce that image of plastic. They just look fussy. The rest is pure product design, with all the offending mechanics tucked away under plastic covers like some kind of self-propelled food processor. That’s a pity, as BMW were just starting to get it right - the R-1150R shows some wonderful feeling for form in areas like the telelever brace.

But whatever the designers do to hide it, plastic is still pastic, and the best way to detract from that is to give the eye an alternative distraction. If that feature can be something functional, or apparently so, then better still. Ram-air gave designers a wonderful baby to dress, and intake ducting made an immediate impact on models like the V-Max and Kawasaki’s ZXR, becoming their primary focus of attention.

Without doubt, Tamburini is the master of detail. At one bike show, I agreed to meet some friends on the MV stand next to an F4 “Oro”, and still hadn’t finished taking in all the details when they finally turned up half an hour late. Washing one must be quite a sensual experience. Galluzzi tried hard to keep up with the V-Raptor, but whereas that bike appears disjointed and cluttered, an MV Brutale has a certain flow to its detail. It may be a little overdone, but you don’t question that it all belongs together and is totally under control. Except for that damn headlight.

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All about motorcycle design

by Kerr Glynn

Since 1922, small, economical motorcycles have been rolling off the production lines of a previously disused textiles factory in Zschopau, Germany. Under the brand name DKW, production was up to 60,000 units a year by 1929, making it the largest pre-war motorcycle manufacturer in the world.

There was nothing fancy about these two-stroke models, and when Zschopau found itself part of communist East Germany from 1949 onwards, their continuing austerity was assured. Nonetheless, these cheap and cheerful twowheelers provided essential transport for the masses in the Soviet Block, and exports proved successful too. Motorradwerk Zschopau, or MZ as it became known, had a distinct if humble image, and the ES125/150 became the highest sold German motorcycle of all time.

MZ ES 125 - 1969 In 1970, production figures passed the one million mark, a second million following in 1983. Over the years, MZ became the epitome of no-frills motorcycling, and the company found a ready market with cash-strapped , if not particularly fashionconscious commuters.

During the 1990s, the company decided to rise from its lowly origins and aim up-market , a move partially dictated by rising production costs following the reunification of East and West Germany. Initial projects such as the Saxon, using a 500cc Rotax fourstroke , were logical progressions from the earlier models, with simplicity and function still being the primary characteristics. The ultimate development of the single was the Skorpion, which used a 660cc Yamaha engine in a neat, tubular frame designed by Tigcraft.

The package was completed with clean, modern styling by UK consultants Seymour-Powell .

MZ Skorpion 660 - 1992

Progressing from a single to a twin cylinder engine was understandable as the next move forwards, although the decision to make it a one-litre supersport model was perhaps overstepping the mark. With an engine developed and built in-house , and angular New-Edge styling by Peter Naumann, the 1000 S was aimed directly at established Ducati and BMW territory.

Here, there was already strong competition from the likes of Aprilia, Triumph and Buell, none of which had decades of low-tech utilitarian image to overcome. It was like Skoda trying to build a Ferrari-killer , and despite some earlier racing history, MZ was always going to have a hard time pulling this off. Far from having created a bad product, the company was trying to be something it was not, and expected the transition to happen overnight.

Unfortunately, the results have proven fatal. MZ has announced it will close its doors as of the end of 2008, when its current Malaysian patrons, Hong Leong Industries, will withdraw their support, and state subsidies are due to end. Unless a buyer comes forward and quickly, it appears that the demise of yet another historic marque has been accelerated by having aspirations above its station.

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MZ 1000S - 2001

There are plenty of other examples where inconsistency between reality and image has compromised the product, if not the whole company. Quite what Kawasaki was thinking when it turned the reliable VNseries cruisers into the Drifter, a 1940s Indian Chief look-a-like , isn’t clear.

The Drifter appeared alongside two other counterfeits - the Estrella 250, a modern interpretation of the 1957 NSU Supermax, and the W650, a celebration of a sixties’ Triumph. The fact that the W650 was actually closer in spirit to those classic vertical twins than Triumph’s own Bonneville when it appeared a couple of years later is immaterial. As part of the Kawasaki range, all they achieved was to confuse the lineup , and dilute the company’s own identity.

While we’re talking Triumph, the philosophy behind the new Thunderbird is also hard to understand.

When John Bloor bought the company in the 1980s, he also acquired a long heritage, and with that came expectations of continuing the tradition.

Triumphs were popular among US riders in the sixties because they were light, fast, and sporty, and because they weren’t styled like an American cruiser. So the guys in Hinckley seem to have missed the point.

While the proportions and detailing of the new Thunderbird have been beautifully executed, the bike concedes all tradition to cater unashamedly to the American taste.

Rather than taking its cues from Harley-Davidson directly, the new design is closer to some of the Japanese custom models, and as such, becomes a clone of a clone. What it mostly resembles is a Kawasaki, which is an interesting reversal of the W650 enigma.

The worst cases of dishonest design are usually born out of desperation, where small bikes try to imitate large ones, and just come out looking fake. Yamaha managed to get away with dummy air ducts on the original V-Max , even though they were the focal point of the whole design, but many of the models it influenced have been far less convincing. Cagiva’s Roadster looked plain ridiculous, especially with it’s diminutive 125cc twostroke , although mock intake trumpets did nothing to enhance Guzzi’s 750 Nevada either.

Frames are another area where manufacturers try to pull the wool over our eyes. Many a steel tube hides behind a fake plastic cover, intended to give the impression of an aluminium box section, with variable levels of success. Likewise, the mock Benelli-like frame “casting” on Suzuki’s Gladius, unveiled at this year’s 50

Cologne Intermot, doesn’t look too convincing as a load-bearing structure, and is nothing more than a stylised cover.

Exhausts are another area of deception. Twin silencers sprouting from a single exhaust pipe always seem pretentious and unnecessary. Fortunately, the practice died out in the seventies, but not before Guzzi ruined the Nuovo Falcone by adding a double can on the right hand side. The single fishtail on my ‘59 Falcone Sport worked so much better.

Honesty in design is simply a matter of showing things for what they are. There’s a thin line between enhancing the appearance of certain parts, and disguising them to look like something else. Perhaps this is why we all appreciate racing bikes - there’s nothing on them that doesn’t have a clear purpose.

On a corporate level, honesty is also a question of analysing the DNA of a brand, and producing models that help enforce the coherency of its image. That image can evolve over time, but only within certain boundaries at each step. Trying to turn MZ into a Ducati competitor overnight was a policy doomed to failure. Whether it’s an entire branding philosophy or just styling, honesty really does seem to be the best policy.

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Autore: Andrea Perfetti (moto.it) Data: 22/05/2008

Massimo Tamburini

does not need any introduction. For years his name has crossed national borders.

Aletta Oro, Paso, 916, Mito, F4, Brutale are just some of the creatures designed by Massimo Tamburini.

MV Brutale - 2002

The Cagiva Research Center (CRC), of which it is the managing director, is located in that of San Marino; not so much public interviews and public appearances contribute to its notoriety, as much as the projects and the genius that we find in the works that come to life within these walls.

In Japan they call him “the master”, in Italy he is known as “the genius of the motorcycle”, on Wikipedia he is simply “the mechanical engineer”. We know the designer of 916 and F4 better.

We meet Massimo Tamburini at the headquarters of CRC, in the small San Marino republic. The external structure, not very flashy and immersed in the green of a small valley, conceals the design department from which authentic mechanical engineering jewels come to life.

Here designers and designers work side by side. This is not a minor detail, but one of the dogmas of Tamburini: a bike to be beautiful must first be functional and give satisfaction to those who drive. This simple recipe was one of the keys to Bimota’s success, at the turn of the 1980s. Together with Tamburini we go through the most significant stages - and, believe me, they are so many - of a long career characterized by authentic love, visceral towards the two wheels.

Let’s start from the most recent adventure, the Cagiva Research Center. How was born and what do you deal with today?

After the parenthesis in Bimota (of which he was a founding member, ed), in the early 80s I moved to work in the Gallina Team, as technical director. In 1985 the Cagiva of the Castiglioni brothers took over the team and that was how my collaboration with the president began (Massimo Tamburini calls Claudio Castiglioni, ed). Immediately we made the Paso 750, a futuristic bike that broke with the past and underlined the passage of Ducati to the new Cagiva management. I have been working with them for 24 years.

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Currently the research and development of CRC is focused on MV Agusta. Was it always like that in the past?

We have also followed several projects in Cagiva and Husqvarna. Of the first, I remember the Grand Canyon, of the second the so-called blue bike, a 650 displacement with dismountable frame. However, MV remains our priority objective, of which we take care of the design starting from the blank sheet up to the pre-production, including the training of those who, in Varese, will take care of the assembly line of the motorcycles. We never lose sight of the product, which has a continuous evolution, which we follow here in San Marino.

Cagiva is in Varese, how do you explain the choice of San Marino for the Research Center?

I’m from Rimini, which is close to where we are now, but San Marino is a casual choice. My wife is from here. We are linked to this land, it is a nice place to live and work.

Tell us the story of where we are.

One day the president came and asked me to borrow a bike for a ride. When he returned, he told me that he had found the right place for us. It was his choice to turn this venue, which once made ice cream, in the current CRC. It has already been 15 years, now we have 41 employees divided into the various departments. We go from the style and design department to the modeling, passing through painting and testing. I do not believe that there are any such structures in Europe.

Why, what is the peculiarity of CRC? Here we follow all the phases of the design of a motorcycle. The young engineers have direct contact with the heads of the various departments. They must not ask suppliers distant hundreds of kilometers if such a piece is good or not. They have direct contact with the workshop, they are trained in the field.

How to combine style and design?

The relationship is not always simple. Often those who design do not know the problems that meet those who then must realize and use a particular. This is why training is important, in CRC the designer also becomes a motorcycle designer.

Over the years I imagine he has received many offers from the competition, his is a heavy resume. In dark times has not thought to change party?

I certainly received interesting offers. But how can I leave a company like this, in which there is a relationship of friendship with the president, who has always given the maximum trust and freedom of expression to me and my collaborators? Only a few constraints are enough to condition a designer. And it would not seem right to leave the boat now, in a difficult moment (the Cagiva group is negotiating with Indian companies, looking for new lenders that will allow the complete revival of the company.

About design constraints. In Ducati 916 he gave free rein to his talent. How did you come to design one of the most beautiful motorcycles in the history of motorcycling?

The nose of our president was decisive in bringing the 916 to success. We wanted to make a sports bike that was immediately recognizable as Ducati, different from the usual Japanese. We also explored the road of the aluminum deltabox type frames, but in the end it was decisive that we chose Claudio Castiglioni and we headed towards the classic trellis. It was also difficult to give personality to the front, I wanted the bike to have a small headlight, but the suppliers were against it. In the end our choice was rewarded and paved the way for the Japanese. On the other hand are the front and back views to make a motorcycle recognizable.

Also the “B” side of 916 made school, it was the first bike with the exhaust under the codon.

There was already the Honda NR 750 with the exhaust under the saddle, but there they were closed to view. With Ducati we have chosen to follow a different path, with the mechanics well in sight according to the classic Italian school, more Spartan. It was an incredible success, you saw a 916 on the street and you recognized it immediately.

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Ducati 916- 1994

An incredible design success, the result of a designer’s hand.

My great passion is mechanics, it is not so much the plastic part. When I was in Bimota, not being able to count on anyone, I began to take care of design and I saw that I was quite well. I would have stopped at the metal.

Luckily he did not do it. What is the first bike on which he has put his hands?

The first bike that I transformed was just a MV 600, I’ve always been fond of 4 cylinders. In 1971 I found an announcement on Motociclismo and bought this MV from a young man from Cuneo. I did it all, from the frame to the exhaust that reminded us of the Benelli 4 cylinder with which Pasolini ran. I took the engine to 750, I worked on the intake, on the Dell’Orto carburetors with the suitcase pan as the Agostini MV used then. Above all, I removed the cardan and mounted the chain. A job not to laugh, I was forced to redo the carter.

A true prototype. What happened to the first Tamburini special?

In Rimini we were in 4 cats to have powerful motorcycles and it was beginning to turn the rumor that in the village there was a madman with this very elaborate bike. Until the voice reached the Carabinieri. They looked after me and decided to sell it to buy a Honda CB 750.

How long did your Honda stay original?

In the beginning I did not touch it. Then I had a bad accident in Misano and, during the convalescence, with the partners Morri and Bianchi (co-founders of Bimota) it was decided to put a hand to these powerful Japanese bikes. The engines were in fact a great asset, while the frames left something to be desired.

There was the potential to make special parts such as alloy wheels, back controls and much more.

And he began to make frames for racing motorcycles, Harley in the lead.

I did Tig welding courses, which was very rare for those times, and I built the first frames. I remember the first racing frame, for Paton. A Peppino Pattoni followed Walter Villa, but the Harley Davidson forced him to use the standard chassis. My turn then passed to Gianfranco Bursi who, with the Harley 250, won the Italian championship.

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The first road bikes arrived later.

The drive came from Suzuki Italia, from the then commercial director, Zanetti. We made the first road bike with a corsaiola derivation chassis, the SB2 750. An innovative bike, with the fulcrum of the swingarm with the pinion to have a constant chain pull. Another innovation concerned the rear suspension, for the first time with progressive geometry. Then the others arrived.

Today we see a return to the origins. Many modern motorcycles give up the progression of the levers.

How do you explain it?

Today we can say that progression does not help, it is almost harmful. The best suspensions are the linear ones. The new F4 will have a suspension similar to the current one, but with less progression.

Are you telling me that the new F4 is almost ready?

We are already ready, we are at an advanced stage of development. It depends on the future corporate structure of the Cagiva group.

Let’s take a step back. Where does your passion for motorcycles come from?

All my father’s fault, he was a big fan of engines. And of the barber.

Of the barber?

As a child every Sunday I wanted to go and cut my hair, in the barber’s shop there were pictures on the walls of the great champions, especially those of Gilera. It did not seem possible for such beautiful bikes to exist. In the evening I was listening to the radio to listen to the results of the Gilera pilots. I could not stand for the MV to win. But look at you destiny ...

A few years later he contributed to the relaunch of MV. How did it go?

One summer evening, during a dinner with Claudio, there was talk of bikes, as always. The idea was to beat the Aprilia no longer on the 125s (they were the early 90s, the eighths of a liter were very popular, Ed.), But with a maxi bike. Together with Ferrari Engineering, we designed the 4-cylinder with an aluminum frame. Later, with the sale of Ducati to the Americans, the president opted for the re-launch of the MV Agusta brand.

The bike, which was almost ready with the Cagiva brand, was heavily revised. It passed to the truss frame and was presented in a definitive guise in 1997, with the 750 cc Gold series.

How did it go from 750 to 1.078?

Surely the first version was the most balanced and easy. Then we went to 120/70 (instead of the original 120/65) front which slightly hardened the guide. The new bike will return to the lightness of the first F4 750. The engine has grown considerably in displacement and performance to meet the market demand.

Market that set aside half past seven.

916 contributed to the re-launch of Ducati. What was missing at F4 to do the same with MV? In my opinion, the fault lies with the banks, who gave Castiglioni confidence with the dropper, without ever allowing a true, strong revival of a complete product range. They always gave the bare minimum for the survival of the company, which began to suffer in the relationship with the suppliers.

How do you see the future of the Cagiva group? There is insistent talk about the entry into society of the Indians.

I really hope this is the right time for the revival of MV. Anyone who arrives will have to believe in it and have the necessary skills.

In the recent past, the entry of the Malaysian Proton did not bring anything good.

It seemed that these gentlemen had great skills, but they were a nice disappointment. It takes people to make a decisive change, which can put people in the business. On the model of what the Americans did with Ducati.

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MV F4 - MY 2002

Will you remain tied to MV anyway?

If banks will only be interested in doing business, leaving everything as it is, then I will assess the situation well. I am available at 360 ° to stay in the company, but there must be a concrete recovery plan. I have no intention of abandoning this job, it is my life and I will continue until Christ takes away the light.

He mentioned Ducati. What do you think of the new course?

They worked very well, even with the new 1098 sports car.

Many accuse 1098 of not having invented anything. The calls to 916 and F4 are obvious.

They did very well. If there is already something beautiful, why not take it up and improve it while respecting the brand image and connotation? Which for Italians is Ducati. It is the mistake made by Aprilia, which has recently mimicked the Japanese, Honda in the lead.

How do you judge the achievements of other Italian companies?

Moto Guzzi is working well under the Piaggio management, looks a lot to the quality, the product finishes have improved a lot. However, I noticed that the brand’s sporty footprint was a bit lost. Maybe they look too much at the competition, where the market goes.

CRC instead chose to follow a difficult, uphill road, facing the Japanese in the segment of multi-cylinder sports bikes, in which they are leaders. Risky, do not you find?

Here I have to deny it. Italian designers have nothing to envy to the Japanese. I assure you that our new 3-cylinder in line is incredible. We compared it to the competitors’ reference engine, the 600 4-cylinder Yamaha R6. And we were impressed by the goodness of our engine.

Will you return to smaller displacements then?

The thousands of today are no longer manageable, even on the track. The future of the sports bike is in the lower displacements, even below 750 Will we see an F3 at the Milan show?

The name will not be that, but the bike will definitely talk. How and more than F4 did. I can not tell you 56

when.

What is the most beautiful bike designed by Massimo Tamburini?

It has to come yet. And it will amaze you. It will be as light as a 600, but with all the power and torque you need to have fun driving.

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Massimo Tamburini 2

Moto.it 8/10/2013 di Nico Cereghini Everyone knows him, he is one of the most loved and respected Italian technicians. But, to understand the matter well and not neglect younger readers, you can use a few biographical notes to frame the character.

You will see that it is surprising. Massimo Tamburini, born in Rimini in 1943, was the technical director and founder of Bimota since 1973. That’s when I met him. Released from Bimota in 1983, after a brief period as technical director of the Gallina team (year 1984), he was hired by Cagiva in 1985. There he directs the COR, Rimini Operative Center first, and then also the Centro Stile of the Cagiva group from the 90s.

In 1993 the CRC, Cagiva Research Center, was born, of which Massimo was first director and then also managing director since 1997. Tamburini leaves Castiglioni in 2008, when the Harley-Davidson Americans enter. For three years he commits himself to a non-competition pact.

Massimo Tamburini has always had a great passion for racing and sports bikes. To start with, here are the racing bikes designed and built by him: from the Paton 500 of ‘73, to the Bimota YB1 250 and 350, HD1 250, HD 350 and 500, up to the Bimota SB1 500; someone will remember the Morbidelli 250 for Giacomo Agostini, then the YB2 and YB3 250 and 350, the Suzuki 500 GTA of the Gallina team with indirect and progressive steering, and finally the Cagiva 500 GP of ‘89, that of Mamola, for the stylistic part only . For him they ran Giuseppe Elementi (first Bimota pilot), then among others Cecotto, Villa, Matteoni, Paci, Eckerold, Ferrari, Lucchinelli, Uncini, Fogarty, Bayliss, Scassa.

Road bikes are the most famous of racing motorcycles all over the world. The first is the Bimota HB1 750 made in 1973 after a fall in Misano, curve of the Quercia, with its personal CB Four; he had not demolished his Honda, perhaps he would not have rebuilt it in his own way and he would never have become the Tamburini we know. From there the Bimota series: SB2 750 (‘77), KB1 900 (‘78) and then 1000, SB3, KB2 500, HB2 900, KB3, SB4, HB3 1100. Of 1985 is the pepata Cagiva Aletta gold 125, and the following year he arrives for the group Cagiva la Ducati Paso 750, the first road with full body. Followed by the Freccia C9 125, the C10 in the 88 and in 1990 the fabulous Myth. The innovative Ducati 916, for many the Tamburini’s greatest masterpiece, is from 1993; the 748 of ‘95, the Cagiva Canyon 900 of ‘96. Then the motorcycles 58

marked MV: in 1997 the marvelous F4 750 Gold and the year after the S, in 2000 the Brutale Oro followed by the S, in 2002 the F4 1000 Ago (later S, Tamburini and Senna), in 2007 the F4 1078 Claudio Castiglioni; and finally the Husqvarna STR 650 Super Motard.

Many innovative technical ideas signed by Massimo. Among them, the first bike with progressive geometry rear suspension (1975), the first swingarm at Boomerang (1976), the first motorcycle in production with perimeter frame (1978). Keywords compactness, constant evolution, lightness, beauty. And so many patents for handlebars and treadmills with adjustable trim, monolithic steering adjustable in the steering angle, transverse steering dampers, fast fixing systems, etc. All this listing was needed, as you can see, but now it’s time to attack the interview.

Massimo, you are the most beloved Italian designer, your bikes have been constantly “motion of the year”, the prizes are not counted. But I have a curiosity: of your creations, which one is more dear to you today?

“I would definitely say 916. That is in first place, then the F4 comes immediately, and the KB2 when I was in Bimota; that bike had the characteristics that I like: it was a light and easy to drive bike, but able to really excite and amuse “.

Many have called you a stylist, but it is not true: you were born passionate about mechanics. And then what happened?

“I have always had a passion for mechanics, I mean motorcycle mechanics; after a first exercise on the basis of a used four-cylinder MV 600, I launched myself in my first real realization, the Bimota HB1 with the Honda Four 750 engine. There I had to expand my knowledge. In addition to the frame we also needed a tank, a pigtail with saddle, and we also needed the fairing; in the company we did not have the possibility to include specialized personnel, perhaps at that time it was also difficult to find it, and so, let’s say by necessity, I became a stylist. And I realized that shaping materials other than mine, such as metal modeling filler, was also fun. No less fun than working a metal piece on the cutter or lathe. Because every detail of the bike must be beautiful, pleasant to touch and to mount, it must give you emotions “.

Bimota did heating and climate, but you found a way to have more fun.

“Year after year you accumulate experience, see what the competition does, grow up. For example, initially the models were made by me and then made in Bimota in two stages; it started from the left side or from the right side, then half motion was deliberated, and then the other half was not copied by a machine to control, macché, were made of cèntine, a crazy job, inch by inch everything was copied, c it was to deserve paradise. Today it is simpler, for modeling and filling we have more practical materials, we work early and well. You can change shape at any time, there is a continuous evolution. Always make half the bike, for example, but then take a photo scan and you can play the bike within a few days, complete and optimized “.

But we understand that being a motorcycle stylist is still a handicraft work ...

“Very artisanal. Personally I have also tried to avoid manual modeling, but at the computer you make a lot of effort; for example the driving position, if you see it on a video screen you are struggling; it takes the real dimension, because we must also be able to get on it, on the bike. Only in this way can you immediately catch any errors, even minor ones, and make sure to correct them “.

And in time what has changed?

“The mechanical part has undergone an incredible evolution. At the time of the Bimota, in the seventies and eighties, the realization of every particular machine output was done with 2D drawing, more than anything else, because the CAM did not exist. Today all the details of the bike - and there are many - are designed in 3D and you already have the basics to program a car. Within a few hours steps from the design of the piece to its realization “.

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Is there any last-generation bike that you particularly like?

“What really excites me there is not, for too many years the bikes are still, innovation is missing. Apart from the electronics: there, for me, it went even beyond the lawful. On a stylistic level then I see another aspect that I like very little: we can see the prevalence of many stylistic guys on the engineer “.

And where exactly do you see it?

“To give the frame a nice look, for example, there are bikes on which they put material where it was not needed. The F4, to say, has the suspension working in the high area of ​​the frame, and then the plates of the lower part of the frame can be light; while on the contrary, on today’s MotoGPs, Honda or Yamaha, it is the low zone of the chassis that must be granite. Well, I saw absurd bikes, to chase the aesthetics have everything wrong. The designer invents and then the engineer has to run for cover, perhaps to change thickness, alloys and weights to avoid breakage. We are not here: the stylist must support the engineer “.

And finally we have reached the heart of the dialogue with Tamburini: what is the genius designer of sport bikes working on today that we all respect? Massimo has always been ahead, as they say, and knowing his projects could even help us to define the sport bike of the future. He hesitates, I understand that he would like to say more than he can. Then find the measure.

“When I came out of the MV, at the end of 2008, I took a year off to finally enjoy the family and the sea; but I risked the imbecility, the pensioner risks becoming imbecile, and then I said to myself: and if I still did something? Something experimental, because I have ideas in mind that for different reasons I could not realize when I worked for a company and I was tied to production. Something experimental, I repeat, a laboratory bike that you first build and then take to the track. And the project was born in 2010. It had no commercial purpose, it is of a purely experimental nature, and I could also describe the reason for certain choices and how some solutions have been realized that I personally consider very innovative “.

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So do it. Describe please.

“I started from the analysis of sports bikes in production, then SBK and MotoGP. Analyzing all the problems that still penalize the pilot when he is looking for the best set-up in the shortest possible time, I said to myself: if Valentino, or Lorenzo, want to significantly change the set-up on their racing bike, they can not do it official tests because the times are tight. Because if you want to change the trim on the front you have to disassemble the fairing, loosen and pull the rods up or down; and also at the rear end: it’s true that there are bikes that are fast enough to regulate behind, but they are not so many; and then it takes a quicker system to change the rear attitude too. And the steering angle, to change that, and even change the rigidity of the frame: it would not be nice to do it over time that the mechanics take to change the wheels?

Because the wheel change is a maneuver that must be done by force in a test session. Well, I dedicated myself to the study of solutions and at the end the project started “.

Can you go into details?

“At the front there is a special adjustment system: you move the whole group and there is no need to loosen the barrels. In its simplicity it is a bit like the dove egg. You can make a two-way adjustment of 4 mm, which corresponds to a notch of the fork (or even 5 or 6 mm, but 4 is a more than enough measure for a track bike that is almost perfect) in the time of the tire change. I liked the solution, I realized it, I am convinced that it deserves a deepening also at the production level, naturally for a prestigious motorcycle. On the rear then there is another system, with a crosspiece that carries the rotating damper instead of fixed: by loosening two screws make your adjustment. It is the least important part of the project, but very rapid “.

But, if I understood correctly, you even mentioned the possibility of varying the stiffness of the frame ...

“This is something born from the observation of the problems complained of by Ducati MotoGP. Those who argued that the frame is too rigid, and so on the carbon, it takes an aluminum alloy to Japanese. I have never believed these theories. The important thing is the torsional stiffness: that must never be missing; but the point is that transversely, unlike a few years ago, with the bend angles achieved we need to have a side suspension because fork and shock are canceled, do not work with those corners so pushed. And the side suspension can only be obtained through the elasticity of the frame “.

“In short, if I hypothesize in the project a transversal elasticity” x “and then I do not like it, I have to redesign everything and use the whole months. If, on the other hand, a system could be devised to change the lateral stiffness of the chassis on the track in a few minutes, then the problem would be solved. There was born the idea, which at the theoretical level works divinely: from the calculations we have done, you can start from the maximum stiffness and go to fall. Of course we still need the tests we will do on the track, if one day we will finish this experimental project. And I am convinced that this solution would give a twist to the sports bikes, which have been stuck for years. The rules today are complex: but if I give you the opportunity to change the steering angle in the few minutes of a tire change, you can make your adjustment in the official tests. Not to mention the fact that the first pilot who could use this technique would also have a psychological advantage that would make the difference “.

Can we say that such a system could also please amateur motorcyclists, and I think of the ropers?

“Yes of course. Each of us looks for a response of a certain type in the dynamic behavior of his bike. For example, I have always tried maximum speed when cornering: since the first tenths of a degree the bike must have understood that I want to put it in the corners, not like the scooter that wants to move different degrees before understanding. But every motorcyclist has his tastes. Today with the tires you do crazy things, but you can do a lot more with the frame. Changing the parameters as you like and in a few minutes “.

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Autore:Stefano Cordara (motorbox.com) Data: 19/11/2001

Miguel Galluzzi Over ten years ago with the Ducati Monster has revolutionized the sports motorcycle sector, imposing the nakedness of the modern era to the world. With the Raptor he has further moved the concept of bare bikes forward, setting the stage for a new generation of two wheels.

We met him in his studio in Varese where he directed the Cagiva style center.

Just like his most famous creature, Galluzzi is a volcano of ideas and opinions that he certainly does not say ... Born in 1959 in Buenos Aires, Galluzzi has always had a passion for engines in his blood and even though he hates scooter, has a visceral attraction for motorcycles. His father ran, his uncle ran, even his grandfather ran in motion. And the bike conquers it immediately. He enrolled in the engineering faculty of Miami, but after two years he discovered the design school in Pasadena and decided to follow his inspiration. The first use is in the automotive world, at Opel, in Germany, where he makes interiors of the Corsa model year 91 and the restyling of the Omega, but from where he escapes as soon as he can to devote himself to the first love. In 1988 he moved to Honda and moved to a design studio behind the Duomo of Milan. In 1989 he moved to Cagiva, of which he is still responsible for design.

He created the Monster when the Ducati was still of the Castiglioni brothers, then he gave birth to models with the Cagiva brand as well as countless restyling. Now we try again with the Raptor, the V-Raptor “and the latest Xtra-Raptor, which marks another stepping stone for yet another revolution in the motorcycle industry. Here is the Galluzzi thought extrapolated from a conversation to three hundred and sixty degrees where we talk about motorcycles, the future, Monster, design, but not only ...

Simple, I come from a family of motorcyclists: my father was a South American motorcycle champion in the 50s and 60s, my uncle also, in large displacements. My father was in the Argentine official team, he ran with a Norton Manx and finished his career with the NSU Sportmax; in my house everyone was a motorcycle rider, but since the natural evolution of a motorcycle rider is passing cars, my father started running in the car. The day I was born, he won a Grand Prix. My grandfather also ran in motion. I still have pictures of when he was running with the Harley Davidsons, in the 1920s. So it’s logical that my brother and I were just as old as we started riding motorcycles Why did you leave the world of cars?

One of the reasons is due to the long design time. At Opel I was working on models that would be produced five years later. Today the times have a bit ‘shortened, but politics, the bureaucracy ... always passes too much time before arriving at the finished product. With the bikes, however, it is completely different. In the case of Husqvarna, for example, every six months we offer a new bike, or a new one to be redone, to be rethought ...

Let’s take the Raptor: the first sketch I did in the summer of ‘98. We put it into production 18 months later, with the pre-series already made. Let’s say that, normally, the times are 22-26 months, depending on the complexity of the vehicle.

Only for this?

No, I stayed two years at the Opel. At that moment my wife and I had a son and the move from California to Germany was a cultural shock, the work was too slow. When I heard that Honda wanted to open a design studio in Milan, I proposed and moved to them. It was always the dream of Soichiro Honda to have a design studio in Milan, for what Milan represented in design, in fashion ... In reality it was a satellite office, it was only needed to understand what was happening in Italy, to study trends stylistic and design of Italian motorcycles ... It lasted only a year: they could not finish anything, they came up with ideas, we proposed them, we sent the projects to Japan and they got lost there.

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In 1989 he arrived in Varese and then the Monster was born ...

Monster was even born when I was still in Honda. There was talk of designing the CBR 600 F2, as an evolution of the CBR F1, which was completely faired. The sketches we did were all of fair-haired bikes, with plastic everywhere. Then, one day, in a newspaper I found this picture (shows us a picture of a Ducati 750 F1 completely stripped of the fairing n.d.r.), was the tricolor 1988 version and I said to myself: “I would like to have a bike like that. This would be my bike, without all this plastic of m ... around “. I immediately made a sketch and when I arrived in Cagiva (in 1989) I showed my drawings and I said: “we absolutely have to build this bike”. They said “yes, yes ...”, but then, as always happens ... It’s been two years in which I designed scooters of all types and colors, until, in the summer of 1991 I took a frame of the 851, a 900 engine, I put the pieces together and I built the prototype. I remember some characters from the Ducati who said that the bike would not have helped.

It is however a story with a happy ending ...

We finished it for February and we showed it to everyone. At that moment it would have been nice to have a camera to film the faces ... “but ... is that so? Do not you miss a few pieces? “In a moment where the bikes were all faired, seeing something so naked and raw, it was too strong a shock to digest. I convinced them, but I had to stress them from morning to night. In April 1992, we exposed it to a convention of all importers in the world, when they saw the bike were impressed, they said “this will certainly cost little”. We therefore made a limited investment for the production of 1000/1200 bikes, we had to make a tank, a few pieces here and there. The project had started ... and it has not stopped yet.

Ducati M900 - 1997

How was the name Monster born?

I called Monster because my children (who at the time were small) were playing with rubber collectable figures called Monster. Ducati had consulted a specialized agency, invented the strangest writings, but there was nothing that went well. There was no way to change it. There was also who invented the story that the bike was called Monster because it was bad that, but it is not absolutely true.

It would seem an excellent marketing intuition, an object of desire born at the table ...

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In my opinion Monster is something that goes beyond marketing. It is only a reflection of what was happening in our society at the time. At the time people needed simplicity ... We came from the 80s when in the industrialized countries there were excesses of all kinds, easy money. In the 90s there was instead the need to return to something very simple, but not a trivial simplicity, but something rich in content and very simple to understand. It was my hypothesis, but in the end I discovered that it reflected the thought of many. For the Ducati or the Cagiva (at that time we were together) Monster was lucky, but even if it had another name it would have had the same success, because the simplicity is there, it is perceived.

Is the theme of simplicity developed with the Monster still valid today?

Yes, with the difference that the simplicity of that time has become more substantial. Today simplicity is completely different. Today our simplicity is revolutionizing, it is evolving, it must be more technological, richer in content, and the same happens for style. The Monster is simpler than the Raptor, which is richer in subtleties, has lines and details that have also been much criticized, but criticized or admired does not count; the important thing is that someone has noticed them. This, in my opinion, is the difference between the 80s, the 90s, today and what’s to come.

Do not you think that the Raptor, is instead a bit ‘too refined?

For me it represents the simplicity of the future, so we have made two models. Seeing the Raptor people said it was ugly, “I like Monster the most, or” but this is a copy of Monster “or” but this is more beautiful than Monster “. This happens because people have a comparison parameter. In the case of the V-Raptor, however, there was nothing like it, nothing to compare it with, elicited the same reactions as Monster. For me the VRaptor is simple, but it is a simplicity that is still to be understood. It has a very high technological content, but it is quiet, one can relate more quietly without being scared. Monster was selling well at first but not as much as it was sold three years ago, it has been growing as people get used to it. This is our thought: from the Monster we did the Raptor, but the Raptor already takes us forward on other roads with the V-Raptor, the Xtra-Raptor etc And how will it evolve in the future?

My idea is to create alternatives, to be able to realize different hypologies of motion from the same base.

The example of Raptor is clear: with two pieces painted I can change the bike, just a tank and a front fender and becomes my bike, a model that has no other. If I know a coachbuilder, in a weekend I can make it “my bike”, only mine, without making it something else. In my opinion today there is a desire for individuality there is the desire to be able to say “I have my bike” regardless of the brand. With Cagiva we are following this path. You become unique because you have a bike that has no other and not because you have a Ducati or a Cagiva. This is the most significant thing: you become unique because you have a bike that has no one.

It is “yours”, and at this point it can also be of any brand. You are however different from everything else.

Is it a tendency that comes from below or are you proposing it?

Scondo me is the people who want personalization. We see it in today’s boys are no longer identified, they are all mixed. We also see it in the music: the other day I was talking to my son who is 13 years old and I was seeing a video of a group he likes, they are eight crazy with masks that make a big mess ... What kind of music do they belong to? My son replied that it is speed-metal-rap-alternative. But what does speed metal have to do with the alternative rap? This is the answer. It is all mixed and therefore “unique” in its kind.

There are no more classifications like “you are a rocker” and “you are a metalhead”: you are an alternative metal rocker.

So, the bike that lends itself to being personalized is perhaps the one that is most likely to succeed?

Yes, because it’s the one that makes you dream, you feel it yours.

But then, the nakeds?

The nude are those, nude and raw. It’s like having a piece of white paper. If I buy a sports bike, I can buy a carbon fairing that is the same, at most buy some special piece, if I have a Harley Davidson just browse the catalog. But if I buy a naked, I can do what I want, it’s just a question of imagination, creativity. You can make 64

it sportivissima, or custom, or ... whatever you want. But then we have to see if we can offer the pieces to modify it, but I do not know how much it can serve, because then we go back to limiting people’s imagination.

Leave people free to do, maybe this is the way.

In short, the opposite of what led to the success of Harley Davidson?

If I buy a Raptor today I can make it a V-Raptor, I only have to buy 4/5 pieces more. In the same way, if I buy a V-Raptor, I get tired and I want to become traditionalist, I can take the pieces, buy more and put them on. This is a different thing compared to customization: I’m not personalizing, I’m changing my bike. We are thinking of something like this: offering parts to change the bike. In practice you can buy a Raptor and buy three other pieces, change the bike, keeping a simple character like that of Raptor. In the case of the V-Raptor the roads are even more open. What I would do with the V-Raptor would now be too much, nobody would understand. I have something in mind but then there is the reality of the market.

Cagiva V-Raptor- 2000

What in particular?

I would see a motor with many horses, on something very light, stuff to be very bad. Do you think that the first prototype of the Raptor had a wheelbase of 1390 mm, we had an extreme geometry, tilted 23 degrees, the trail was almost 86, in practice the odds of a 500 GP. It is no coincidence that the project leader was Ing. Albesiano, the one that followed the 500 at the Grand Prix. That summer we made the prototype, had the Suzuki TL-S engine at full power (120-122 horsepower, while now it has 105) and the bike weighed 182 kilograms: too beautiful but too dangerous ... The prototype was really an impressive thing.

And how will the bike of tomorrow be?

This, for example, could be a motorcycle of the future (from a block it draws the design of a motorcycle with full fairing, with the pilot completely enclosed in a kind of passenger compartment n.d.r.).

Do you think it’s really a viable proposition?

Why not? We will be protected from water, rain, all these problems that the scooter tries to solve, but that fails and will never be able to offer. We will still have the pleasure of riding the bike but we will drive pro65

tected. The fairing could however be different from those produced so far, could use other materials. It is not said however that the ideas we put on paper are then the answers to what we are looking for.

And the scooters? We understand that they do not like them too much ...

No, not at all, even if they are useful. The driveability of a motorcycle and a scooter are not even comparable.

The scooter will drive like a motorcycle only when you start to build frames that will weigh 600 kg, but at that point will cost 20 million and then it will be cheaper to buy a car. The concept of the scooter was nice because it was a simple vehicle and had no pretension. Today we are demanding too much from a concept that was clear. In the end where is the advantage if I have to queue in the traffic in the cars?

If today we open the garage of Miguel Galluzzi, which cars and which bikes do we find?

Except for a Renault Scenic, at the moment there are only motorcycles. I have a 1973 Honda Helsinor, the first two times ever produced by Honda. It was the bike of my dreams when I was running in the cross in Argentina, because it was not there. So when I went to America I immediately tracked one. I also have a Ducati 888, all disassembled because I wanted to make a Super Monster; then I have a special Monster that I had made with Azzalin (team manager Husqvarna n.d.r.), too bad that at that moment between Ducati and Cagiva happened what happened. It has the frame with elliptical tubes, the idea was to produce a special version in a limited series of 100 pieces, but nothing is done anymore: it is a unique piece. Right now I go around with a Honda X4 1300 customized version, huge, comfortable for me (Galluzzi is 1.94 meters tall and weighs over one hundred kilos n.d.r.). In Italy it is not imported.

Which are, for her, the 10 most beautiful bikes on the market?

Definitely the F4: I drove several sports bikes but after the F4 the world changes. It’s another thing, any sports bike after trying the F4 is disappointing. Me with the F4 I found myself to go 30/40 km more than all the other bikes I drove. And this means that the bike is superior to everything else. In this case it represents the maximum of technology and is unbeatable. In my opinion it is the reference point.

Other bikes ...

I remember when the Buell came out: it’s the same concept as Monster but much cruder, I’d like to have one, because it’s so raw, wild, very American, but in a positive sense. They managed to do something new without having to reinvent the bikes of the 40s. I also tried the Speedtriple, the engine is beautiful, shame the gearbox, aesthetically but it is ugly. But as a motion, as a whole, after having tried it, this ugliness becomes almost acceptable.

And the Monster, the new one with the four-valve engine?

I would have liked to have a Super Monster but unfortunately we never managed to achieve it, however it would not have been like that of today. The Monster concept would have allowed the Ducati to open roads that would never have been imagined, this they did not understand and it was their loss. When it was time to make a new bike they did the ST series (ST2, ST4, ST4S) instead of taking advantage of the Monster concept and developing it in many directions.

However, always naked bikes ...

The motorcycles for me are racing bikes and that’s it. I’m assuming that if I’m riding it’s because I enjoy it, it’s fun, I travel, I go to places where I could not go by car. The bike fairing instead was born to run, it is a racing bike and does not allow you to do many things, it is uncomfortable, complicated, not stiff.

But is not it more difficult to design a nice bike when there is only a tank and a lighthouse?

For me it’s the opposite: it’s more fun, it’s a challenge, because drawing cartoons is a bit like drawing cars, changing lines but there’s not much new, it’s like making scooters. Instead, when you go to work on the individual pieces to put together, it’s much more fun; putting pieces together and making everything harmonious and moving in a certain way is the most beautiful challenge.

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Is there any particular that stimulates you when you think about a new bike?

With the Raptor we knew we had to get to the Monster evolution; the concept was clear: we had identified the best engine available, there was a tank and a saddle. At that moment my children had a video game about dinosaurs, there was a Velociraptor, they kept hammering at me on these things; I remember that on the first sketch I did I wrote Raptor. Immediately I realized that I would have liked to make a dynamic bike, which moves without being switched on. When I look at the Raptor photos I notice this thing. This bike moves, there is a certain attitude, on the others this is not seen, everything is very static. These are the principles from which I left.

Are there any animals that particularly inspire her?

No, but I am inspired by their freedom: the bike allows you to go to places where cars can not go, I enjoy riding a motorcycle because when the cars are in the column you can find the holes on all sides , even on the move. When he goes by car, people do not see everything, but on the move they have a complete vision of all the spaces: it’s like animals, they see them.

Do you have a typical motorcyclist in mind when you think of a motorcycle? Do you think of yourself or do you think in business terms, about commercial success?

There are some bands of thought. The starting point for me is always fun, pleasure, this is a constant.

The pleasure of looking at it or using it?

Both. If I arrive and see a motorcycle, a Harley for example, or the Motò of Aprilia, I see the bike, I appreciate the design, but I do not want to jump on him and take a ride. But if I see the Raptor, I want to jump on him, I want to see how bend, brakes, I want to do a complete experience: I leave the eyes, I see, but then I must involve all the other senses. So, I do not think I start from a specific rider, I start from this aspect that I call fun, then there is the industrial aspect: it is a vehicle that we have to sell to earn, to make a lot of motorcycles. We need to find the right solutions at the right cost.

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Pierre Terblanche (Bike 11-2005) Q:You designed the 999 imbalancing its lines knowing that generally they prefer something more harmonic. why did you decide that style? Knowing the public response to this project would you repeat it (having the opportunity) or will you design something different?

A: To me the 999 wasn’t unharmonic. Codino too short?? Honda RC211v and Aprilia v4 and the new Ducati extreme is now that way...Too mdern sure. Wrong fot the time yes.

Of course after finding out that people wanted a face lifted 916 (The 1098) i would have done it differently.

Q:After 10 years the “9 series” is starting to be considered as a bike that isn’t ageing even by the extremist ducatisti. In your opinion why it wasn’t a success? Because of the expectacions borned with the 916 or the “fundamentalism” of ducatisti?

A: Motorcyclists turned out to be much more conservative than I thought at the time of designing the 999.

The 916was ( And is ) actually quite a bad road-bike. Iconic design, Italian, beautiful but a bad road bike.

This was clear after studying road tests from all over the world. We looked at how to make a really good rideable bike which would be good for all sizes of people and, at least by Ducati standars quite comfortable and rideable on the road. it turned out that a lot of Ducatisti actaully didn’t care so much about how hell the bike worked Style over function. We live and learn..

The bike was actually quite influential as a design and quite a few of the ideas from it were subsequently used by other manufacturers.

Ducati 999 Maquette - 2000

Q:Generally when we speak about SBK the commercial model is very very similar to the race one. In the 999 case sometimes it seems that we’re looking at 2 different bikes.

Why this decision? Couldn’t the street version more similar to the race one? Maybe is it a matter of aerodynamics?

A: At the time a decision was taken by the race department to change fundamental parts of the bike. (Un68

like in the case of the 916 which remained true to the streetbike, mainly due to Massimo Tamburini not allowing the company to change the 916.) This was quite negative for the sales as well.

Q:Omitting the low impact of the slogans, how much did the negligence about the ads (wrong shots, poorness of explanations about its complex lines etc...) interpose with the possible success of the 999?

A: I can’t really judge that.

Q:We found some common design elements between you creation (999) and its heir 1098. Do you think it’s only an “accident” or they really wanted to revisit some elements of the 999?

A:Well it is a Ducati and maybe it wasn’t all so bad.... ? Swingarm apart.

Q: When you showed off the project of the 9 to the ducati’s managers how did they comment the abandon of the monobraccio? Why did you decide to do this? For a design or engineering matter? Or maybe to quote the old ducati SBK as 851 and 888?

A: The 999 was originally designed with a monobraccio. It was not my choice to change it.

The choise of abandoning it came from Ing Domenicali and the race department. It was thought at the time that a twin sided swingarm was better.

In fact the choice to reintroduce the monobraccio came from the marketing department.

Q:Where did you take the inspiration for the 999?

A: Like all projects the inspiration came from a lot of things. race bikes, aircraft, etc It is really hard to tell .

Design isnt really a science .

Q: I think your style is marked by the integration between tank and the back of the bike as you wanted to create something sculptural. This concept is well-represented by the MHe900, the 999 and you latest Guzzi’s prototipes. Where this concept come from? From the automotive world? Do you think at the fairing of a bike as it was the body of a car?

A: The concept has been seen before on bikes like the NCR 900 endurance racer and the Truimph X75.

The main reason was that on the 999 the tank seat monocoque unit was adjustable as on the seats of a car.

One could move the unit forwards or backwards. this actually has an influence on the handling as well. On the original the idea had also been to make it adjustable in height.

Q:Comparising the sketchs of the 999 signed by Sam Matthews the ultimate 999 shows a poor stylistic lexicon. Which was your position about it as the chied of the centro stile? Did you supervise all the project (from the concept to the ultimate release) or did you work on details too?

Do you think these passages impoverished the 999 or do you think it was the best solution to sell it?

A: I was resposible for the bike up to the prototype phase. Whoever bought the book on the 999 can see that many details were changed later. for better or worse.

After we had handed over the prototype to the engineering department many changes were made, especially on details without involving the design department.

The silencer especially was ruined in my opinion. many details were lost. The original bike had only one headlight, the lower one. Due to reasons not easy to explain a second headlight was added late on, essentially messing up the front end of the bike. The position light was moved up onto the plexi. Horrible. What you have to realise is that at the time under Mr Mengoli the design department was completely ignored during the production phase. with sometimes unfortunate results. This has much improved under Ing Domenicali.

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Q:Looking at the “supermono” we can see the predominance of the essencial lines. Even 999 sn very elegant and polis but directed on less essential details. this happened to include more customers (and not only people “related” to the ducati’s race world)? So it was a marketing solution or a your idea?

A: It was not a marketing choice but mine.

Q: The concept of the MHe900 was a masterpiece! But the marketed version lost some things (camera, arrows in the pipes, carbon disc...). But why did you changed the headlight with the monster one? The double light could be less “old style” and more “new school”. Was it a choiche of budget or linked to the problematics to ratify a new headlight?

A: Generally economic reasons. And management. When the Mhe was being prepared for production management did not believe in it and thought that we could only sell 150 bikes worldwide, This had a major impact on the technology used for many components. (Fuel tank, headlights etc) and generally lowered the quality of details.

Actually the Mhe was the most profitable bike built by Ducati at the time. Equel to the 999R. Q: Ducati has been always suggested new styles but now she is walking through a way of “impoverishment of innovation” and it’s more similar to the other brands. what do you think about it?

A: It seems to work for them. It is a bit sad if one is a designer but that’s life. This approach seems to be what a lot of clients want.

Q:You designed 3 huge masterpieces: 888, supermono, hypermotard. in these 3 bikes you couldn’t design whatever you wanted (the 888 was an upgrade of 851, the supermono had to be practical for races, the hypermotard eas a kinf of motard and it’s a style that doesn’t allows a lot of fantasy).

The 999 and SS series weren’t a big success and the multistrada wasn’t apprecciated a lot but in these cases you could use all your fantasy and imagination. in your opinion why your less appreciated works are your more “free” works?

A: Actually i would also add the MHe to this list. And i believe that one should look at the list a bit.

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I completely disagree with your assesment.

The 888 was a facelift. So not a lot of freedom.

The Mono was all new. (complete freedom.) the funny thing is that race bikes are a lot less work than rosd bikes. No limits placed by homologation and other issues...Complete freedom.

The SS was based on a 15year old frame on meant to last two to three years. No freedom here .A facelift.

With the tank based on the existing old one.

Mhe was completely free.

The Hypermotard was also free and special in the way that no one in Ducat actually wanted the bike.

At least not in the technicall department or on the commercial side. I would also disagree that a motard doesnt allow for fantasy...What does that mean?? In the brief which I wrote for the Hypermotard it was actually stated that we wanted to create a new niche as had been done with the Monster. It was not so obvious at the time that normal motards were actually quite bad as road bikes. The Hypermotard isnt reaklly a motard. it is a good road bike dressed up as a Motard. a sort of a modern scrambler. Now that the 796 is on the market I believe it actually outsells the monster in Italy.

Multistrada. i am very proud that the bike was introduced. It was clear to me at the time that there was space (And a need) in the marketplace for a bike like this. Currently the Multistrada is outselling the hypersports by a huge margin in markets like Italy.

There was actually a proposal for a 1200cc watercooled Multi already in 1999. It was a management choice to go for the aircooled bike. (Actually this bike reached the sales that market research had suggested) Annual sales were in the region of 3500 unit at the time. the 1000 also won quite a few prizes as Sport touring bike of the year. Cycle World USA. And also in Australia. Not so bad. The styling and comfort was maybe not up to scratch. Normally companies adress these isssues through facelifs and running improvements.

As a motorcycle and a new segment the Multistrada actually was very important for Ducati as it paved the way for new, non sportbike Ducatis.

New Multistrada? I would not be surprised if we see a Ducati Scrambler or scooter soon. Just maybe eight or ten years after they we were first proposed. That, as they say is the designers lot.

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Gerald Kiska (Motociclismo 25 novembre 2008) Gerald Kiska, owner of the Kiska Design studio and author, along with his staff, of the style of the most famous KTM motorcycles. Kiska told us how her studio was born, how a designer works, what are the main difficulties to face and she has revealed to us all the secrets that have made of the Austrian bikes an element of rupture with the classic canons of design. Kiska Design was born quietly in 1990, initially it was invisible and even ridiculed by its choice of squared lines. It is identified with KTM, but it has also worked for people like Piaggio, Aprilia and Guzzi, and in 2008 it came to the beauty of 110 employees.

Pretty big, no?

“Of course. I did not even think it was possible, only two years ago. “ And then what happened?

“Well, new customers, new orders. Above all, the wheels have multiplied: from two to four. We have already worked in the past for Hyundai and Honda cars, now we have new customers in Germany: but I can not yet say who they are. In these days we are moving to the new site, 5,000 square meters. I really did not think it was possible. “ Kiska travels like a torpedo in motion, she has taken with us on a route to Lake Come, she is a smiling and modest person in all, except when it comes to design. Then it becomes decisive and cutting like its KTM. “But I do not identify with the sharp style. That is a choice designed specifically for KTM, to make somehow visible the soul and the heart of the brand. I find it perfect for a house so ‘hard’, and we will continue to develop this language. After all it seems that this idea has been successful: Honda, Yamaha and especially Kawasaki and Aprilia have become a bit ‘more angular in the years. Just look at how the RSV has changed from the first to the second series ... “ PIONEERS OF DESIGN How do you find the Japanese Houses, which, unlike the European ones, do not have designers or recognizable technicians, and keep everything hidden behind a black curtain?

“There are people behind that tent, though. Of course, they work in groups; but also I work a lot in group: KTM have worked at least 15 different guys, but the results are consistent. However it is true that awareness of the importance of design in motion is a fairly recent fact, and perhaps not even fully acquired.

Castiglioni was the first to hire professional designers - Galluzzi and Terblanche - and to bring design into his company. First we only relied on consulting companies, like mine. “ How do you explain the reasons for your success?

“People. Everyone knows how to make a sketch on the PC, but the quality is not for everyone, and my boys are selected and they work hard. Design is a difficult environment, it’s a bit like being in Formula One: everyone wants to win, and to emerge besides being good you must also happen on the right car at the right time “.

It would seem that with KTM she too got on the right car at the right time ...

“I’d be lying if I said no. But it was not easy anyway: they were my first customers in the motorcycle industry and a year later, in 1991, they went bankrupt. When they left there were 160 in all, we only in 4: now 72

we are 2,000 and 110 respectively. For them we have always done everything: the style of motorcycles, clothing, advertising campaigns. The breakthrough came with the SuperDuke, the first bike in which they recognized us for design, for the different approach: and we started talking about ourselves. But we have worked for many different customers, even for Vespa “.

Do you also work differently from others?

“I would not say, even if I made my first master’s motto: ‘All you can not sketch in 3 lines is not design’.

Even the RC8 is all in the 3 lines that define the side ... Then we look at the other bikes, we study the surfaces, the ergonomics, we drive them. I’m a fan of the traditional way of doing, with clay: I want to touch the bike, sit on it after I’ve sculpted it “.

What are your favorite bikes outside of KTM? “The Ducati 916 remains an unrepeatable masterpiece, out of time. Then I like Benelli TnT “.

Ducati?

“After the Terblanche era, Ducati is also recovering consistency. It is interesting that the three home designers created at the beginning three different but coherent movements: the Monster (Galluzzi), the 916 (Tamburini) and the Supermono (Terblanche). Then Terblanche took over everything, and supported by the management (Bordi and then Minoli, ed) took the company somewhere else, on the side he had in mind. But the first rule of industrial design is that it is the company that must count, not you. If there is a strong historical continuity, you must respect it. Terblanche was too self-centered “.

But now a new nude should arrive on 1098 basis. Let’s imagine that Venom is your answer.

“We are still thinking about it. We are not sure that a 160 CV nude is the right thing to do. However, I believe that the market will be divided into two: one for more or less utilitarian means of transport, and the upper third for those who really want to drive, and will ask for something special for this purpose.

You will have to see what will be the best solution for the customers: for example personally I do not like the 4 cylinders 600: at the end they are fun only on the track, and to go to the baker force you to make 14.000rpm “.

The RC8 is the attempt to make a different sport, easy to drive and original stylistically too.

“We were inspired by the Stealth fighter, the most advanced technical instrument in the world, which moves at different heights and speeds than other aircraft. We started from very pure lines in the central part, the upper part was much less important and the tail is painted in black to make it ‘disappear’. This bike, as I see it, could end up with the tank! “

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Someone has expressed the doubt that, like all the provocations, he can get tired soon.

“I can only answer that we believe in progress. And in KTM there is luxury: we make a niche product, it is not necessary to please everyone and you can dare, even at the cost of dividing opinions. And then there is always the example of the MV F4, which has not changed over the years: it is true, but it is also true that its sales have dropped steadily “.

In fact, the RC8 seems less like a rupture, for example, of the 690 Supermoto.

“What it wanted to be: it was the first new single cylinder KTM for years, and was designed for new customers, quite different from the traditional ones. Two years later, I think it’s exactly what we had planned for this bike “.

Do you have the same freedom with the Chinese? You are involved in the Generic project (R & D in Taiwan, style in Austria and production in China) and designed scooters for QianJiang, the owners of Benelli.

“QianJiang is one of the few Chinese companies that wants to do its job well, working with them for 6 years we have learned to know each other and to avoid mistakes, slowness. There is also coherence in our relationships. But in China at the moment I do not see any style or any emerging brand. It is true that the Japanese also started copying and took a decade to get the CB 750 out, but Chinese culture is completely different: we do not think about improving European production, but about selling and making money. “ In China there are fewer preconceptions, different expectations and different needs, which seem to favor electric motorcycles. What do you think about it?

“That this type of propulsion will open up new possibilities. But I think that the ergonomics of the bike, its structure, is already very evolved, so it will change little. “

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BIKE EXIF

Ola Stenegard I’ve always imagined BMW Motorrad designers to be technicians in white lab coats. So I was surprised to discover that the leader of BMW’s motorcycle design team is a freewheelin’ Swede with a passion for oldschool choppers. Ola Stenegärd studied Industrial Design in Stockholm and worked for SAAB and Indian Motorcycles before joining BMW in 2003. “I grew up in a garage, more or less,” he says. “My older brother was into bikes. My Dad taught me how to weld almost before I could read, and Mom taught me how to draw. Eventually I connected the two.” Stenegard’s portfolio includes the HP2 Sport and the S1000RR, the superbike that’s currently giving the Japanese ‘Big Four’ serious headaches. We gave him a headache too with the traditional ten questions of the Bike EXIF interview.

BMW HP2 Sport - 2009

What was the first motorcycle you bought with your own money?

I consumed a whole bunch of bikes before I turned 18—from Hondas to Kawasakis, 125s to 350s. I cut them up and transformed them into café racers or bobbers. All were reckless acts of youthful bravado, and I can’t remember actually paying for them. The first ‘big’ bike I bought was a 1970 Triumph Trophy 650, a 70s-style chop. I had just turned 18. Today it would be pure hippie glory, but back then, it was nasty as sin.

It had a coffin tank, a 6”-over fork (with no rake) and a white banana seat. The next winter, I turned it into a long fork chopper, Swedish style. Did all the work myself, and sketching it all out. It was a great learning experience. My school grades went way down south, but I was rolling!

What do you think is the most beautiful production motorcycle ever built?

Crocker. No, Britten. Wait—Norton Manx. Or maybe Husqvarna GP 500. This is a hard one, like asking, “Would you pick Lemmy before God?” How do you answer that? Lemmy is God! But I’ll stick with Britten (below) for now: I saw the first live one, the number 8 bike, in a small Triumph shop in Nor Cal. That must be some ten years ago now, and I could not believe it—I didn’t know the bike was gonna be there. I was in the shop looking for a head gasket for my Triton, and there it was—just casually sitting by the entrance on a paddock stand. Just like that. I fell to my knees in awe. What a machine, what a moment! There is just nothing like it. Such an extraordinary two-wheeled mechanical exploit of dazzling splendor.

What motorcycle do you despise?

None. There is no bike out there that a good blowtorch, angle grinder and TIG welder can’t fix.

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What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Top of the list is hanging out with my two sons at some dusty motocross track, or with my daughter in the horse paddock. Family time—any time, any day. But when it comes to motorcycles, it’s after I’ve spent years on a project and can finally start the bike up and take it out for the first spin. That feeling is just golden. Religious. Trips my trigger every time. This mechanical creature you‘ve been working on for so long … I will never forget the first tests at BMW with the HP2 Sport and the S1000RR (below). You are just so pumped. Heart beating and butterflies. All the teamwork, great engineers and passionate test riders.

The sketches and loops on the clay-model flash before your eyes when you ride.

It was the same thing when I fired up my “Forsaken” Shovelhead two years ago: riding the result of endless hours in the garage. Remembering how you filed every weld and bracket. The cut fingers and dirty hands.

Old motor oil and shavings from the lathe. The smell of the TIG. I love it every time.

Electric motorcycles: Yes or No? Hell yeah! Two wheels with any motor and you are guaranteed to have fun.

What is your favorite journey?

I’ve got two, a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde kinda thing. Number one is going to the legendary Norrtälje Custom Bike Show with my club, Plebs Choppers. We gather on a Saturday morning, have breakfast, and get the bikes cleaned and polished before hitting the road. It’s usually about 15 to 20 bikes. After a couple of miles of hooligan riding through Stockholm suburbs, we finally head north on a beautiful backroad going from Stockholm to Norrtälje. It’s just such a relaxed ride, hanging out with your buddies on the road. All on home-built bikes—choppers, bobbers, café racers, all open pipes. The sun reflecting off polished aluminum. It’s a pure experience, in Stereophonic Exhaust Sound and Kandyapple Metalflake Kolor.

Number two is doing 3.2 kilometers, lap after lap, at the Gotland Ring racetrack—my home track (below).

Chasing that perfect line, preferably on an S1000RR. Perfect bike, perfect track … hitting the straight hard.

Braking too late. Somehow you make it. Maxed out lean angle, but you’re still not fast enough. Traction control working hard. Such a trip, constantly over 10,000 rpm, lap after lap. The sound, the smell, the wind.

A helluva journey!

BMW S1000RR - 2009

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Which ‘everyday’ modern bikes do you think will become future classics? The equivalent of the Honda CB750 or Moto Guzzi V7 Sport, if you like?

There are so many in my book. But fresh home from Milano and the EICMA show I would say the Ducati Panigale. A milestone. Amazing bike, amazing concept. Respect!

Who are your real-life motorcycling heroes?

I grew up with several on my wall, all Swedes. And they are still my heroes. One is Acke Rising of ISR Brakes. He has been in the business since forever, constantly pushing the envelope, coming up with new concepts and technical solutions. Faster, lighter, better. The second is Anders “Charley” Karling (below), the four-time European Champion in Super Twin drag racing. Any guy who builds his own motors (including turning and hardening his own roller bearings for the crank), pushing 1000 hp on nitro methane, is positively nuts in my book.

Gordon Rooth of Unique Custom Cycles is another. I saw his first chopper back in the Swedish magazine Colorod, in 1982 I think. I was just a kid. It just looked sooo cool! He also worked with Jesse James back in the early days of WCC. And he still builds kickass bikes. Never missed a beat.

On the race side it’s gotta be Per-Olof “Posa” Serenius, the ice speedway racer. He’s 63 years old and still going strong, and won his last World Championship in 2002. Check out Bengt Löfgren’s movie Icy Riders.

Are you optimistic for the future of motorcycling?

When I see all the boys and girls at the motocross track, the hoards of scooter kids doing stunts in the city, and all the young guys getting into old school bikes and café racers, getting their hands dirty … then the answer is yes.

What is your current state of mind?

I’m in a painting state of mind. Every year, I create a poster to help some buddies out. It’s one of my few chances these days to have proper fun with a pencil and brush: my work is more about management now.

I have a great creative team to lead, at a great company where everyone is passionate about motorcycles.

But I do miss sketching and drawing sometimes.

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Autore:Francè racingcafe.blogspot.it

Sergio Robbiano

Sergio began his activity as a designer in the early 90s, at the famous “CRC” (Cagiva Research Center), at the “court” of Massimo Tamburini, contributing to the realization of the wonderful Ducati 916 and one of the 125 most famous and sold always: the Cagiva Mito. In 1995 he founded the Robbiano Design and is with the famous Italian Bimota that Sergio’s talent is exalted, creating different models such as the legendary 500-Vdue (1996), the SB8R (1997), the DB5 (2004) and the DB6 Delirio (2005). With the Bimota DB5, in 2004, Sergio also won the Motorcycle Design Award in the Supersports category. Recently on the Robbiano Design website, recently renewed, the renditions of the Aprilia RSV4 created for the Noale house appeared. Today it is customary for large motorcycle manufacturers to commission more styling centers (outside the company) to design the bikes that will come.

You must also know that the activity of Robbiano Design is not only linked to the world of motorcycles but also to that of motorcycle clothing, graphics, ATVs and snowmobiles: Agv, Mds, Spidi, Xpd, Blackbird, Mgm, Arctic Cat , Aeon, Cagiva and Husqvarna are the companies with which the design center of Sergio has collaborated and still collaborates.

F: Sergio are you a biker? If so, what bike are there in your garage?

S: Obviously yes! in my garage there are the bikes I have done in different settings; a race-winning Myth prepared thanks to the support of Massimo Tamburini and used until 2003 in the tracks of half of Europe, using on the road a DB5 thousand and above all a Delirio. The 500 Vdue and the SB8R are new and never lit.

F: What is the bike for you?

S: My life after my family, and an inexhaustible source of entertainment and hospitals! Becoming a motorcycle designer has been the consequence of a huge passion since childhood. If I had the qualities I would have been a driver without a doubt.

F: What are the guiding principles, in terms of design, that your bikes must have?

S: For me design comes after mechanics: Massimo Tamburini taught me and I share 100%; if you look at a 80

DB5 without superstructures it is a masterpiece of harmony, compactness and aggressiveness. The design must enhance the beauty of mechanics and not cover and hide. Perhaps this is the reason why I created bikes especially with Bimota.

F: Faced with a hypothetical white sheet, what is the first element of the bike that you design?

S: Obviously the white sheet has always already designed the layout of the engine ... from there it starts with the frame, swingarm, cycling odds and arrangement of the auxiliary organs. In short, the work I had the opportunity to do with DB5 and Delirio.

F: Are there any particular messages that you want to express when you are designing a motorcycle?

S: The sport bike for me must communicate lightness and agility even before power and aggression. The naked leave more open interpretive roads ... the scooters and the touring are two worlds that do not belong to me ... but you never know.

F: Robbiano Design also actively collaborates with AGV and Spidi, leading companies in the field of protection. How do you shape the design with the particular needs of aerodynamics, comfort and protection?

S: Collaborating with AGV, MDS, Spidi and XPD for 15 years has been a real challenge with myself, I have greatly expanded my experience and I had to learn different things but always close to the world of motorcycle design. Also in this case being a practicing motorcyclist helps me a lot; in 2001 I broke my arm on the Ledenon circuit in France ... it had a big importance in the development of future protections that I did together with Spidi’s Safety Lab. F: Are there any competition bikes that you would have liked to draw? What are they and above all for what reason?

S: I would have liked to design the 2006 Honda RCV 211. A turning point for today’s sport bikes. And then I’ve never worked for Honda!

F: On the site I saw the sketches of the Aprilia RSV4 created by you. Could you tell me about this beautiful bike never born?

S: Also in this case I was lucky that there was only the engine ... and then I proposed solutions that would make the Aprilia bike different from any other SBK. The composite frame with magnesium plates and the swingarm made with the same pattern would have forever marked a turning sport bike. The design that follows can be nice or ugly, and in any case it changes with the times, while every time you introduce a new technology you show the world what you are capable of and write a little piece of history. History remains, design passes. The reason was technically justified by the fact that by changing only the magnesium parts you had the possibility to completely overturn the bike’s cycling dimensions.

F: Which of your creatures gave you the greatest satisfaction? Why? S: The Bimota 500 Vdue gave me some unique emotions because it was the first bike made only after three 81

years under the direction of Tamburini. The Bimota DB5 was a unique challenge; we were five but with a will and a passion beyond our limits.

F: Could you tell us some anecdote about the birth of the incredible Bimota 500-Vdue?

S: After the presentation of the bike in Cologne in 1996 and in Birmingham the following month, I believe there were real orders for over 1500 motorcycles in the company! A huge success but a folly for the size of Bimota and the production capacity of the time. It was counterproductive as it accelerated the development and we know how it ended ... In 1999 my personal carburetors went like a bullet and asked only for the big gasoline ... I sold it two years later to a very expensive American collector higher than new.

F: Do you like the design of the latest Guzzi? What care would you propose to raise the fate of the Mandello del Lario brand?

S: The design of the three Guzzi prototypes presented by Pierre Terblanche are in my opinion beautiful; to judge them bikes, however, is not correct because they are devoid of all the parts that are necessary to circulate on the road. The design of the bike must be judged when the vehicle has passed the approval (with all that follows) otherwise it is like a painting: beautiful but remains hanging on the wall. The care for Guzzi is to have the courage of their ideas: the Guzzi brand has a strength that today is unimaginable in the world.

F: I would like to know your thoughts on the design of five European brands: Aprilia, Bmw, Ducati, Mv Agusta and Ktm. S: Aprilia: beautiful but it lacks the “smell of gasoline and the hands dirty with grease�. For me, the bike is also that.

BMW: David Robb, the manager of the BMW style center, is a great professional. I would never buy one but my taste counts for nothing.

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Ducati: Beautiful bikes, but I regret the first Monster, even here with the current ones I can smell little petrol ...

MV: Tamburini is a world apart. Working under him for three years made me realize that not only is he the best but that he is also unattainable.

KTM: Honor to Kiska who was a precursor of edge design.

F: Which are, in terms of design, in your opinion the five most beautiful bikes ever born? The worst five?

S: 1 Ducati 916 - 1994 2 MV F4 - 1998 3 Honda RCV211 - 2006 4 Yamaha RD350LC YPVS - 1983 5 Honda RC30 - 1987 The ugliest I have forgotten ....

F: Which modern bikes would you put in your garage at the moment?

S: The new Honda VFR 1200 to use it and see if it looks like it.

F: In the past you have been co-authored, along with Massimo Tamburini, of one of the bikes, in my opinion, still inundated in terms of design: the wonderful Ducati 916. It will be possible in the future to astonish the audience as the 916 did in the now far 1994?

S: Yes, but it’s difficult. When certain works are born, it is always the fruit of a work by an excellent group led by an enlightened leader who has the last word. It seems a banality but it does not always happen this ... either the excellent group is missing or the enlightened leader is missing or ... both of them!

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Sergio Robbiano, from Genoa, is one of the youngest and most successful Italian motorcycle designers.

He started working in 1992 at the Cagiva Research Center founded and directed by Massimo Tamburini, he participated in the creation of the Ducati 916 and designed the latest model of the Myth. His the Bimota 500 V2, of which he cared both the style and the technical choices related. The graphics of AGV helmets have been designed exclusively for three years.

Jack Nicholson who tells Shirley Me Laine in “Feelings of Tenderness” the deep emotion of the astronaut who “holes in the black of space and observes the earth down there, a blue dot among the many ... that! that was my moment.

“Moments that give an absolute sense to an entire existence; feelings that all of us bikers, a bit ‘unconscious and very romantic, or vice versa, we have tried at least once. And how to describe then what can happen inside a young designer, who has made a reason for living on two wheels (and the constant stay in the orthopedic department), at the moment in which He, the holder of every motorcycle secret he summons you to his office and tells you: “Yes, she is hired.”

But of Massimo Tamburini and his last creature we’ll talk in a moment.

Finally we arrive today. I stopped “temporarily” from a few years of attending the white rooms of the St. Martin of Genoa (the hospital) because the duty-pleasure of having to design small domes, codons and hulls has become a source of sustenance and vital exaltation; and when in Cologne the director of SuperWHEELS, Claudio Braglia told me “What would you say about a column that addresses the theme of design without being a meatloaf of data and formulas” I had a stomach vacuum, like the moment you’re in to overturn in the third with a 500 from the cross ... you must try to stay calm and get back absolutely down to earth.

And here we are, trying to explain everything, or at least what can be told, what happened at the Cagiva Research Center in defining the design of the queen of Italian sport bikes: the Ducati 916.

Talking about the bike that won four consecutive World Superbike titles invites us, and it is a pleasure, to tell something about the incredible figure of Massimo Tamburini, CRC general director and designer of the red beast. The regret is not having enough space to illustrate the size of its work in the sector; we will be content to remember the over thirty motorcycles designed during the last twenty-five years, the about thirty Italian championships won, more or less fifteen world titles won between drivers and Marche and, just marginal, which was the first to design in ‘75 the rear suspension with progressive geometry, to build in 1978 the first bike with perimeter frame (I seem to have seen some Japanese in the last decade with a similar solution ...) and to have recently dominated the sales rankings of the 125 sport sector with the Myth. I honestly did not know these things, and certainly the man Tamburini will never tell you, but after a week of work in CRC I began to suspect something. The inevitable enthusiasm of the first moments was 84

bound to be met with reality; within the CRC the least equipped person was infinitely superior to the undersigned and the average traveled from the excellent to the excellent; I was terrified even by the cleaning lady, she also followed a precise and organized working method; still today I wonder if “Mister T” had also instructed her.

Joking aside, the difference between ordinary mortals and what happens inside those walls is the spasmodic search for perfection in every detail that makes up a motion. The funny thing is that the gentleman in question does not consider himself a stylist: “I was forced because there was no one to do it when we started”; oh yes, in fact at the start the Center, which today kneels multitudes of almond-eyed engineers, was a small group of people with decidedly unique abilities. The “total quality” is the fundamental and unique objective that animates today as then every single component of the Research Center and Massimo Tamburini, to reach its essence, has developed a hard and effective working method. Every single component is the object of attention and maniacal care, from the optimization of the functioning to the exasperated stylistic research. “When you have reached the maximum effectiveness and passed all the tests expected performing the functions for which it was thought in the simplest way, ninety-nine times out of a hundred will also be beautiful”, it seems incredible and yet it was just so I saw the 916 chassis change countless times and every step the appearance improved: more compact, lighter, more resistant and incredibly became wonderful to the eye, almost nature had predicted that the strict laws of physics and mathematics should somehow also satisfy the eye human; that tangle of tubes assumed a more compact, robust and efficient appearance each time; the engine seemed to have been born to be engulfed in that one solution, a perfect symbiosis of technique and aesthetics.

It was no longer clear where the mechanical piece ended and where the work of art began.

Later I understood that the designers of the technical office directed by the omnipresent Massimo Parenti, had an aesthetic sense that is often not even found in an industrial design studio. How many hours sacrificed to design and redesign every possible passage of each individual frame tube! The rear single swingarm I think for many months was the nightmare of the modeling department: five, ten different solutions, but the “grandfather” was never completely satisfied; one could therefore “have” done better. And when a solution stood out on the prototype for some time everyone murmured: “Be quiet, that this time we are” then you could be sure that the morning after the swingarm was gone, during the night the boss had a new idea, and the modellers had put the equipment back into operation. But if it is true that Tamburini deserves we do not even know what else, just as we must consider the people who work alongside him, beyond the indisputable professional merits, it is difficult to find an attachment to work and a dedication of this entity. It will probably be the chance that everyone has to express an opinion and be listened with care and respect; many solutions seen on the 916 are daughters of everyone’s ideas; during the development of the prototype each technician has had the opportunity to present and realize different proposals, often subsequently entered into production. The design of the upper steering plate, for example, was optimized within the technical office while the style department proposed drawings and the carpentry department produced models made from solid; the result is an object that in its simplicity, uniqueness and beauty summarizes the spirit of the CRC. The innovative positioning of the steering damper, covered by a worldwide patent, is the demonstration of the creative genius and aesthetic and functional sensibility of Massimo Tamburini; the need to compact the steering area to the maximum, together with the need to have a free and linear space in the point where the intake ducts pass, led the Rimini technician to explore a whole new route with excellent results.

The bridge of command of the 916 has no rivals even among the machines destined to an exclusively competitive use. Another “pearl” of the design is the positioning of the ignition lock; in the constructive philosophy of a similar motion his vision is certainly not a source of exaltation for the assumption of duty ... unless you are in front of the Ducatone tank that integrates him perfectly into his quarters. In 916, the disposition of the auxiliary organs, that is, everything that is not chassis, engine and suspension, is an excellent example of rationality, functionality and above all design.

The pedanine are perhaps the most striking exercise of what has been shown up to now; immediately reveal a careful and painstaking work of finishing and optimization the curvature of the support surface 85

is motivated by the need to be comfortable and give a feeling of adherence to the foot at any angle it holds the contact; the transverse grooves obviate the problem of dirt without appearing off-road and the lower groove contains the weight in the least terms. Then looking at the back, we find further confirmation of the fact that excellent functionality always spouses a fascinating design.

Elliptical or circular silencers?

A completed prototype has been a subject of debate for a long time; had never seen a similar geometric figure in a tailpipe and within the group lined up the two classic factions, those who feared a predominantly automotive impact, and anyway out of the canons for a racing bike, and who remained entranced by two wide and low mouths that so much characterized the rear view. After four years the awareness of having followed the right path has been confirmed, just to change, even the most technically correct. We explain: the elliptical terminal has facilitated its correct positioning because, being crushed and consequently less cumbersome than a circular silencer of equal volume, without prejudice to the space necessary for the compression of the rear wheel, the codon has been positioned at a height from correct and balanced soil with the style of the bike. And the style of the bike was neither more nor less than the most correct form of covering the mechanics, in short: under the dress everything. But what are you guys? The secret of the beauty of the 916 lies first of all in the dimensions of the encumbrances; the width of the fairing, from the first mannequins, should not exceed the size of a 250 grand prize; saddle and tail at the top in order to keep the mechanical parts as far as possible. The very particular lines of the tank, along the surface of the arms, were born in a unique way: Gioacchino Rossini, one of the CRC’s historical technicians, noticed, sitting on the stucco prototype, that the tank interfered slightly with the elbows for a high rider stature; the time to verify the correct sensation and the flexible of the garments started inexorably and unstoppable: a new line was born and gave the whole a unique aggressiveness and personality, moreover the arm moved easily. The profile of the fairing, in the front area, had to leave completely in sight the circle drawn by the rubber, and the figure that the lower part of the hull draws with the ground line had to follow an inclination that sharply accentuated the aggressiveness of the front end.

Identical principle in defining the profile of the tank; to be able to have it much loaded forward, therefore very low at the front end, the upper steering plate, having to align itself to the same height of the tank surface at that point, was made very thin; of the rest was the only possible solution not being able to raise excessively the tank in the area of ​​the cap: it would have hindered the pilot huddled in the hull. One thing seems obvious: a great deal of familiarity with this series of closely intertwined values is ​​ the basis of good style work. Surely the character and personality that have the products of Massimo Tamburini can be explained precisely in the episodes told; a passion and a probably unique experience, combined with a will and a determination of other times, make it unattainable; his shy and concrete character accompanies him with that aura of mystery and inscrutability that all the greatest ones always carry with them.

The decision not to have concealed the two silencers inside the codon was taken in function of the type of racing bike, and to avoid all the problems of heat dissipation that would have proved difficult to overcome, for example, in a subsequent two-seater version.

Talking with Tamburini it is difficult to understand the secrets of his work as a stylist; his eyes light up only when he describes, excited, all the work done during the geometric setting of the frame or when he tells the endless possibilities of optimizing the driving characteristics by intervening on cycling odds: “Journalists have never written what we really do and people can not even imagine the work behind it “. To confirm his words remains, in addition to the four consecutive World Championships won with a bike at the debut, an epic day lived on the Mugello circuit before the official presentation of the model. The prototype that turned that day was one of the seven built entirely to the CRC; the only peculiarity is an evolution engine supplied by the Ducati racing department. Chassis, suspensions and various standard ammunicoli; Davide Tardozzi driver (note that for a year he had stopped playing as a “world” driver), a small group of Ducati Corse technicians, I, Orlandi (CRC’s dean designer) and the “grandfather” on the track with the stopwatch but no. A lap, box, adjustments, three laps, boxes, adjustments ... at the fifteenth passage the bike with the Showa and the mono standard turned two seconds from the track record and on the longest straight in the circuit the telemetry indicated a top speed higher than 12 km / h compared to 888 that had 86

run in the last race made ... Tardozzi, with bewilderment and exaltation, struggled to explain the sensations of driving and thought about a return to the races, the telemetry technician could not read the top speed because the graphic indication came out of the diagram in memory in the computer, me and Orlandi were partying with the mechanics and Tamburini was already projected to improve the bike without showing any apparent emotion.

If we had told the whole world that the prototype had not yet been in the wind tunnel, probably no one would have believed it; rather curious is the test that Tamburini made some time before: It was a rainy morning, and wearing a helmet, overalls and gloves, leaving the CRC, leaving everyone a bit perplexed; he had the sneer of who knows what he’s going to do and is aware that he is not understood by others ... kind of “I’ll show you now”. On the way back, about two hours later, completely soaked and dirty, he controlled how the droplets of water mixed with mud had settled on the fairing and left the sign of their passage; in the eyes of the profane it was just a dirty motorcycle, but he called technicians and designers to explain how the air had acted in contact with the vehicle; here is fine, here you have to make a spoilerino to accelerate it and here you create a depression that should be avoided!

It is simply incredible how subsequently every word of his has been confirmed by wind tunnel tests; really a nice lesson.

by Sergio Robbiano.

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Kosakkosky 747

by Carlo Talamo March 1993 When I was a child and watched the photos of scooters I had my beautiful ideas. I wondered, “why don’t they put another couple of cylinders?”. I told myself: “why not to go at 250 ?”.

I thought that in the motorcycle factories they were all idiots. I drew on my checkered notebooks certain apocalyptic monstrosity of scooters and I told myself that yes, those were cool. I was tender, young and hundred percent ignorant. In older age I began to realize that some drawings were beautiful on paper but my steering geometries following alterations by LSD, certainly would kill any rider. I began to realize how many restrictions there were around each new motorcycle proposal. Since then many things have been added to my cultural basket (what intelligent people call “cultural baggage”, but it seems to me a bit “over the top”). Lately also the homologation rules, the safety and the pollution put their paw in making increasingly complex, costly and sometimes ugly motorcycles. Do not try to tell that the blinkers are beautiful! Do not explain to me that some aspiring box, looking like baggage trunks, are more sexy than aluminum horns, that I remember were firing noise, fuel and sometimes flames. Ah, good times.

Growing up, cases of life led me to live with motorcycles. It’s very nice but added new knowledge and new unimaginable limits to my artistic hunger. Because now when I take a sheet of squared paper and a pen I do not know where to start with the fantasy. In fact there are too many rules and limitations that plague my big head. That’s why when I receive thousand proposals for a 3500 Harley V8 or a three-engined with a wheelbase of five meters and handlebar of three, I smile tenderly.

Among the many battles that are fought daily in a motorcycle factory is one that, from the beginning, is fought between administrative and commercial. It’s that story: a guy invents a motorcycle, that is a tricksy, the audience goes crazy and runs to the dealer, the dealer shall order a lot to the factory and the factory, merrily, begins to dish out a “number” of ‘these motorcycles. Really good story.

But the story continues: the factory bowl motorcycles and in return snatch a shovelful of money. Inside the factory the guy who invented the tricksy bike sees all that money and have an headache, because he understands little of money. Then takes an accountant. In a short time the guy is screwed. Because the accounting start challenge every expense useless to him. Will say, “if instead of these shock absorbers here we use those, we save an avalanche of millions”, “if on the tank instead of those beautiful written in relief, we stick these two beautiful adhesive paper, we save a zillion”, etc.

That’s the guy who in fact of money is stupid but not too much becomes corrupted by the lure of earning more (in companies is called “better profit”and is a more noble term). The guy starts to draw a tank that costs less, then he makes a muffler four in one, says so to save weight but actually saves three silencers. The handlebar welds directly on the frame so also saves the fork. And so on.

What happens? It happens that the public, which is “fuelled” but not too much, buy motorcycles built by the guy of the next factory, who is a true fan and at that time which has not any money but love motorcycles. This guy will sell motorcycle as potatoes, buy a jacket, tie, will begin to play golf. And his accountant will try to shut him the factory while he, a thousand miles away from the aesthetic and functional problems of his idiots motorcyclists clients,will be renegotiating rates on his many bank accounts.

This happens in all the factories from immemorial time. Then when noone will want anymore motorcycles of this factory we will run to look for someone who can do an exciting motorcycle. Suddenly returns the interest in motorcycles, for motorcyclists and their slaphead manias, for all the thousand small details that differentiate beautiful motorcycles by motorcycles pulled off “so much per pound”. Here is when the accounting of the factory, that does not sell anymore, decided to “invest”, to “believe in the future of the market”, besides explaining the “strategies”, “targets” and a series of big words from people who have studied.

And maybe one day there will be a guy in a distant plain, covered with ice, who invent a simple biky, intel88

ligent, full of passion and attention, call it “Cosakkosky 747” and it will sell a massacre. And then he will gain a lot of rubles. He will take an account ...

And that’s why I believe that in the places where they make motorcycles should be a balance. An unchanging dose of love for motorcycles (60%) and respect for the financial resources (40%). Because if money always drive, motorcycles move away from the heart of the people.

Harley Davidson Italian andvert 1996

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motofan.it pubblicato il 22/07/2013

Tomoya Murakami:

Designer of the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 m.y.2014

Suzuki accompanies the international launch of its new V-Strom 1000 with a series of interviews with those who have thought and developed it. Mr. Murakami is the chief designer of this unprecedented enduro road that will bring Suzuki to compete in the rich sector of the big trail. Let’s see how his line was designed ...

Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us its role within the project?

“I started working as a designer in Suzuki in 2003. My job was to design Quad ATV models like the LT-Z and the range of cross bikes. After this job I took part in the GSX-R and GSR team of designers and developers. Regarding the V-Strom, I am responsible for the design of the whole series and, specifically, the head designer for the V-Strom1000. I drew all the sketches starting from the ideas that emerged during the preliminary investigation and then arrived at the final design, which was also involved in the realization of his clay model. Personally I have always had off-road and supermoto bikes “.

Can you tell us something about the product concept and its development process?

“I can not be too detailed in telling you about the development process, but I assure you that we have spent a considerable amount of time on this project. I have personally visited Europe many times for surveys, drawing thousands of sketches. The customers of this type of motorcycles are experienced pilots who know very well the motorcycles they drive. We have had a number of internal discussions about how to build on customers’ opinions. After that we decided that the design concept had to be “Adventurous and Intelligent”.

Through this concept we have expressed essential qualities such as robustness, functionality, agility and the spirit of adventure “.

Is this a distinctive design, just what did you have in mind during the design?

“First of all we wanted to solicit an emotional response from customers with a bold and distinctive look suitable for the top model of the V-Strom family. Secondly, we have placed meticulous attention to the quality of the finishes and the design of the shapes to satisfy even the most demanding customers. Furthermore, when we discussed to decide which model of motorcycle touring we had to inspire, we decided to resume the adventurous spirit of the 1980 DR-Z. In 1988 the former Motocross World Champion Gaston Rahier participated in the Paris-Dakar to edge of a DR-Z. Suzuki then introduced the DR-BIG as a pro90

duction version derived from the DR-Z. With its distinctive and characteristic “beak”, the DR-Z had a strong impact on the stylistic evolution of motorcycle design. Now it has become quite common for other brands to emulate this feature. However, this particular design was introduced for the first time by Suzuki, and fully expresses its adventurous spirit. That’s why we have included this design element on the V-Strom 1000, to underline the strong personality of the new Enduro Tourer. In addition, the design of the headlights, vertically, is another distinctive element of Suzuki. It is part of Suzuki’s stylistic heritage and above all of the GSX-R and Hayabusa sports series “.

There are also some distinctive plastic parts and aluminum panels, could you give us some more information?

“To create a look that expressed strength and functionality at the same time, we used black plastic parts, just like the bumpers and fenders of all-wheel drive cars and SUVs. The aluminum parts that connect

the beak to the tank are important stylistic accents. Aluminum is also present in the side bags and in the trunk. In this way, in a fully equipped motorbike case, the overall design is more homogeneous and functional “.

Tell us something more than another key word: agility “Touring bikes are fun and easy to drive once in motion. However, this type of motorcycle, at first glance, may seem too large and unwieldy, intimidating the customer even before getting into the saddle. This new V-Strom, thanks to the slim design of the V-shaped biled engine, allows you to easily touch your feet on the ground, is easy to handle and manoeuvrable. So, my intention and my goal was to express these concepts through design at a glance. For example, we have slimmed down the part where the saddle and the tank meet; we have inserted some black plastic sections around the tank with the aim of having a more compact look. Now touching your feet on the ground is much easier, as well as lifting the bike from the side stand. In addition, the aluminum ten-spoke wheels are another example of the expression “diagility” In the end how do you feel your involvement in this project?

“The Enduro Tourer market has had a real boom in Europe. Suzuki is introducing this type of model to meet the growing demand from customers and dealers who have been waiting for the upcoming Suzuki Enduro Touring. We have worked to explore this segment and fully meet the demands of even the most demanding customers “.

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What kind of rider will particularly appreciate this bike?

“We are sure that it will satisfy a wide range of customers who will enjoy the driving comfort of the new V-Strom even on long journeys. I would really like to see all of you touch and experience this motion in person, because it is not enough to look at it through simple images. The definitive model will soon be on sale. I really think it will be worth the wait “.

Mr Teppei Eguchi layout manager Suzuki V-Strom 1000 m.y. 2014 After having read the interview with the designer of the most important Suzuki novelty for the next year, it is time to understand what the guidelines of this new project were, feeling what the person in charge of the general layout of the next Suzuki V- Strom 1000, Mr Teppei Eguchi.

The new bike had to be both versatile and sporty, so the chassis would have to guarantee great riding pleasure on the mix, but also the necessary stability even when driving at full load. This is why Mr. Teppei Eguchi has put his experience as a great motorbike user in the field (he has three), but above all the analysis of the needs of the typical customer of a large road enduro, derived from the direct analysis made in the places of election for this type of motion and user. Here, then, here is an exhaustive interview with Mr. Eguchi, on his new project in finishing straight.

Can you tell us something about yourself and your role within the V-Strom1000 project?

I started working in Suzuki in 2003. After a first experience as a suspension designer, I was called into question to deal with the design and design of the chassis. Specifically, for the V-Strom1000, my role concerns the design of the frame and other components in their first phase of development. In the private motorbike sector, I have a Bandit 250, a TL1000S and also a DR-Z400SM that I have been driving for more than 8 years.

The “Layout Designer” is a little known work. What are your main duties?

In short, my task is to transform the graphic drafts of the designers and the performance requirements of the Product Planner into a concrete product. Compared to the realization of the automotive design, the motorcycle is certainly more complex because the layout of the layout and stylistic designs must immediately be connected to the functionality. For example, the tank is a fundamental element for the design of a motorcycle. On the one hand it must be able to contain a certain capacity of fuel, on the other hand it must also take into account the air filter box located under the tank, whose capacity is directly linked to engine performance. The greater the capacity of these two containers, the better it is, but we must also take into account the size of the tank, both for an aesthetic discourse and for the rider’s comfort. Moreover, the size of these components will change the center of gravity of the entire bike, modifying its maneuverability.

This is just an example to understand how each part is composed of different elements that influence each other. I think the work related to the design of the layout of a motorcycle is a really important part for the construction of a motorcycle.

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How did you communicate with designers and engineers?

I believe that communication between designers and engineers is very important. To create an aesthetically pleasing and high performance product, engineers must correctly understand the concept style, while the designers must understand the engineering requirements. It is necessary to respect each other in a balanced way to proceed positively in the project. I have long and constantly discussed with the Styling Designer to relate technical data with graphic sketches. In fact I have a lot of bond with Mr. Murakami, who is a friend of mine and a friend even outside of work. We are both excited to work together on this great project; often we found ourselves discussing work until late at night to improve both the aesthetic and functional aspects of the bike. I asked the other engineers to propose the technical requirements of each part and then connect them to the general layout of the bike. In some cases it was necessary to revise some proposals to bring us, step by step, to the best possible design. With this continuous communication exchange between designers and engineers we worked on the realization of the clay model.

Can you tell us something about the survey carried out in Europe and your driving experience on European roads?

I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to drive on European roads and to experience the driving experience among European pilots. We drove on motorways, crossing the Alps on winding roads in the borders between the different countries, where we could see live the real use of motorcycles by motorcyclists. From this experience we have better understood how much driving comfort and stability are important on the highway. If you are already tired of driving on the highway you certainly can not appreciate driving in more tortuous roads. We have also seen the high percentage of people who make the bike a touring use, often assembling three small trunks. These were important considerations in the decision-making process for the design and “character” of the V-Strom 1000.

Could you better explain the objectives and ideas behind the bike and the design of the bike?

As I have already said, stability on the motorway, comfort and the possibility of accessorising the bike with three trunks are extremely important factors for designing a motorcycle suitable for long distances.

However, one can not just think of stability and comfort, otherwise the motion would be very big and cumbersome. We thought that the identity of the new V-Strom1000 should have formed precisely on these characterizing elements. What is the true identity of the V-Strom? At the same time fun to drive in the most tortuous streets, but also handy and comfortable for everyday use. We believe that versatility and sportiness are the identities of the V-Strom. Precisely to ensure ride comfort, performance, versatility and driving enjoyment, we have reviewed several aspects such as dimensions, including engine layout, wheelbase, chassis stiffness and driving position.

What is your final opinion on the V-Strom project?

My priority is to make a fun bike. As a pilot, you can enjoy a pleasant drive on the most tortuous roads, while driving is comfortable on the highway. My second priority is to reduce weight. The reduced weight is always one of the pillars for the construction of a motorcycle. Especially for a person not very tall like me, having a bike with reduced weight means having a more maneuverable bike. Prior to this project, my preference was to drive a sports bike in closed circuits. I enjoyed driving long journeys, but my priorities were performance and sportiness. However, after my experience on the roads of the Alps, my perception of the bike and my way of thinking have been expanded. I literally fell in love with touring bikes. I worked hard to make my dream bike.

What kind of motorcyclist would you like to try this bike?

It is the ideal bike for demanding users like me who love sporty driving without giving up the comfort and functionality typical of a touring bike. I would like this type of pilot to try the new V-Strom 1000 both for everyday use and for long journeys. I’m sure you’ll like it!

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A Beginner’s Guide to Drawing Bikes

by Kerr Glynn The bikes you see pictured on my website are the result of nearly twenty years experience as a professional motorcycle designer and illustrator for the biking press. But even as a child, I was always busy scribbling bikes and cars, much to the dismay of my mother, who assured me that no good could possibly come of it.

The desire to draw bikes came through frustration. As a young teenager, I desperately wanted a motorcycle, but age, money and disapproving parents made that seem an unachievable dream. So I drew them, hundreds of the things, in an attempt to satisfy that desire. The first ones were, frankly, crap. They improved with time though, and any ignorance of what filled that complex space under the fuel tank was gradually understood by trawling through bike mags, or studying the machines the older kids turned up to high-school on.

Of course, most readers will never feel the need to draw a motorcycle in their lives, but anyone who plans to modify their bike will find it easier to try things out on paper first - its certainly quicker and mistakes are considerably cheaper to rectify. A few readers may consider developing a career in design, or simply fancy sketching bikes as a cheap and creative pastime, but whatever the reason, you’ll find you learn a lot about motorcycles in the process. For all potential scribblers, here are a few hints to help get started.

At first, begin with a picture of an existing bike. The best way is to photocopy an image from a magazine, enlarge it to the correct size, and use this as an underlay. Work with slightly transparent paper - “layout” paper is best, which is relatively cheap and has the right amount of opacity to see through whilst allowing your drawing to remain dominant. Tracing paper is too clear. Pads of layout paper, usually sold in blocks of around eighty sheets, are available at most art stores. It’s best not to go too large on size. The smaller the page, the less detail you’ll need to draw, and the less paper you need to cover. Too small though, and it can get fiddly, so I find A-3 size (420 x 297mm) ideal.

Use a medium pencil (mine is a humble HB), which is soft enough to allow shading, but which can be erased without smudging. Keep that erasor clean too, by rubbing off the excess graphite onto a piece of textured paper, or even the carpet, otherwise you’ll smear more onto the page than you erase. As you gain confidence, you’ll find a dark, coloured pencil gives more depth and feeling, and markers can be used to block in solid colours on rough sketches. Neither of these can be erased, though, so the trusty pencil is still the best starting point unless you have an unlimited supply of paper. And patience.

In terms of design, start by keeping the areas you like, then try modifying those you don’t. Any sketches you like can be used as an underlay for further development.

There are an awful lot of parts on a bike, and it’s easy to get bogged down with detail, so concentrate on the major areas of bodywork like the tank, seat and any fairings. Over time, you will develop a good feeling for styling by copying aspects of the best designs, and modifying them, but ultimately those origins should not be recogniseable.

If starting afresh, without an underlay, get the general proportions right first. Experiment with the wheel size, wheelbase and larger visual areas like the cylinders, engine casings and major body parts, and try to make them look like they belong together. Lines and features in one area can be picked up in another, or parts can be made to interlock, like pieces of a jigsaw (as those intake trumpets on a V-Max are used to merge both tank and carbs). Large, flat sections of bodywork can be broken up into more interesting shapes by adding body lines, air intakes/outlets and material or colour splits. Each feature has to work with all the others though, so try to maintain a similar feeling to the forms and the general direction of line. And keep the styling simple. The more flamboyant you make something, the more you will hate it in years to come.

Motorcycles being virtually two-dimensional, most designs can be understood when seen only in profile. This is very fortunate, as bikes are notoriously complicated to draw in perspective. When drawn from three-quarter angle, all those circles become ellipses, and the angle of each ellipse changes slightly from front to rear. Perspective laws come into play too, a subject many people, including some professionals, find difficult to grasp. And don’t even think about turning the front wheel until you’ve had a bit of practice - the headstock angle changes the wheel’s perspective drastically, and it requires a mind like Einstein’s to figure out where it goes.

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The only time three-quarter views are really necessary is when there is a lot of bodywork, as with fullyfaired bikes, or if the “face” is an important feature, with complex headlamp shapes.

If you really must draw in perspective, again choose a good photo with sufficiently high definition and work directly from it - that way, the ellipses and perspective are already sorted out and can be traced off. If you want to experiment with different details, like that headlamp region, then just draw the area in question which will save a lot of work.

For the rest of the time, take my advice and stick to side-views. In profile, most mechanical parts can be drawn with the aid of a ruler and compass. Curvaceous body lines are best sketched initially by hand, then corrected using a template such as “French curves” which are available at many stationers, or preferably with “faster” and less baroque templates known as “sweeps”. For these you will need to find a more professional supplier. Likewise, ellipse templates exist in a variety of sizes and angles, but these are not cheap and require a basic understanding of perspective principles. If you keep to side-views, you won’t need them.

Once you’re happy with the design, the next step is to try a more polished sketch. Look through the bike magazines for “artist’s impressions” or design sketches, and note the techniques used by different illustrators. Don’t be ashamed to copy at the beginning - after some practice you will start to develop your own style.

Coloured markers are used to fill in block areas for the main colour and any shadows. Layout paper will handle this reasonably well, although some do bleed through to the page beneath, so beware if your underlay is precious. For higher standards of rendering a better paper will be required, such as “Marker paper”, which has a bleed-proof coating. This is less transparent, although you can still just about trace through from an underlay. Always keep the work surface clean, and rest on a sheet of scrap paper to avoid getting dirt or grease on the sketch.

To give the effect of shine you will need to gradate the colour in some areas, and there are several solutions for this. Pastel was the traditional method, being available in chalk-like sticks, which can be applied to the paper via a tissue or cotton wool. It is extremely messy though, and there is a limit to the depth of colour which can be achieved, although various spay fixatives exist which allow multiple applications. To restrict the spread of pastel powder to the desired area, it is best to use masking film, a transparent self-adhesive sheet applied to the paper and cut with a scalpel to the exact shape required. This is a tricky and timeconsuming business beyond the level of this introduction, as is airbrush, which is far preferable to pastel if you’re taking the trouble to cut masks. Masking film will also destroy the surface of layout paper. Marker paper will just about take it, if removed with extreme care, or there are various specialist papers available for that purpose, but not all these like marker.At the opposite end of the scale to airbrush, there’s always the coloured pencil, which is a cheap and simple way to gradate tones, although the final effect is clearly limited.

Let shadows show the bike’s contours, which even in side view can give a feeling of width, responding to the depth of shadow drawn. If a shadow falls on a flat surface, it will be straight - if it falls on a curved surface, then the shadow will bend. Likewise, reflections and highlights can help emphasize the forms, although try to keep these fairly simple or they can overpower the picture. Beware of over-clever backgrounds too which can take a disproportionate amount of time and actually detract from the bike you’re trying to show. Light use of reflecting colours, typically blue from the sky and beige from the ground (or “desertscape” as it is known) can also help show whether surfaces are facing upward or downward, depending on which colour is reflected. This is especially useful for illustrating white, silver and chrome where there is little or no inherent hue.

An alternative method of sketching is to start with coloured paper. This is taken as the base tone for the bodywork, and then darkened or highlighted as required. Photo-realism is not the aim with this method, but the overall effect can be very pleasing. The paper’s opacity will be 100%, so underlays can’t be used directly, but designs can be developed on regular paper and transferred over for the final rendering using erasable carbon paper. This technique was very popular with car stylists during the fifties and sixties.

But whatever method is used, it is vital to be consistent with any principle you apply, otherwise it will confuse the viewer. The illustrator is an illusionist, creating the impression that you are looking, not at a piece of paper with some lines and colour, but a real object. Every method used must help create this illusion.

For example, light must come from the same source, so shadows must always fall in the same direction. It’s 95

just basic logic.

To finish off a rendering, and give a little sparkle to the picture, highlights can be applied using a soft white pencil and/or paint. Again, don’t overdo it, or it will look like a scene from The Birds.

Of course, all the above can now be done on the computer, using 2-D graphics programs like Photoshop, Micrographx or Corel Draw. There are many advantages to this, not least the ability to press “undo” if you really mess up. Photos can be scanned in and reworked with amazingly high levels of realism, although drawing on a graphics pad to move a cursor on the screen is like operating a machine by remote control.

College students seem to manage fine, but when you’ve been drawing by hand for thirty years, it’s not so easy to adapt. Tactile screens are starting to hit the market, but for recreational purposes these are prohibitively expensive. Computers do, however, save a fortune in art materials.

Drawing principles on the computer are virtually identical to the manual approach, with most materials being reproduced electronically and masking used to create parameters for specific areas. Images of real components can be interspersed with computer-drawn parts, athough to be done properly, this is not as straightforward as it may seem. All photos used to create any one picture must have a similar light source, contrast and colour bias, or be modified to do so in order to continue the illusion. That takes time, and a good image produced in this way is no faster than using the manual approach.

(Glynn Kerr, marzo 2001)

Draw the upper tank line in marker, to the body colour you require. Try to taper the marker to match the varying thickness of the tank to show width - here it narrows towards the rear.

In the same tone, draw in the horizon or main body contour Fill in the encircled area in a lighter tone of the same hue if using a bold colour, or with a little of the ground colour added if not Now for the tricky bit.

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Blend in a gradated core of the body colour, leaving a “shine� of white paper on either side. Into this merge some sky colour for upward-facing surfaces, and ground colour for those facing downwards.

Finish off by picking out the highlights in white pencil and/or paint, and sketching in any reflections and shadows . In computer, this kind of effect can be done afterwards by masking areas and altering the properties within. By hand, the colour splits and shadows need to be planned out in advance. Either way, ensure that any reflections, highlights and shadows follow the same rules, irrespective of colour.

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Marker shading tutorial

By Allen Yang Design (China)

With a similar approach, using photographic parts for the mechanicals, with a computer software it’s possible to achieve an higher definition going close to photorealism.

Esempi si sketches non colorati:

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Esempi si sketches ombreggiati e colorati:

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Esempi si rendering:

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