Feet-Forwards motorbikes

[garethj]

I think most of us here have a warm place in our heart for the underdog, the vehicle that was maybe brilliant at something but just didn't sell. Bollox's translated road tests, Trigger's scanned road tests, Barrett's recent threads on specialist cars, they can take us from complete ignorance of something to a huge desire to own it. This may lead to financial ruin, arguments at home, hours on the hard shoulder, but we love it.

 

Let me introduce the Autoshite of the 2-wheel world, Feet Forwards motorbikes

 

FF fans say that a motorbike is just a very developed bicycle, with an engine. It has lots of compromises, such as:

 

1. Why have an upright seating position when you don't have to push down on pedals?

2. Why is it so crap at aerodynamics?

3. Why do you get piss wet through in the rain?

4. Why have such a high centre of gravity?

 

But in today's environment, cars are also rubbish:

 

1. They take up a load of room. Parking, driving, having 5 of them in states of disrepair in your garden, the list goes on.

2. They use lots of fuel, and take lots of resource to make.

3. Journey times - if you meet a traffic jam you're stuffed. On a bike you can filter through.

 

A FF bike should have the advantages of both with the drawbacks of neither. As per the description, FF has the rider's feet forwards, but it's not just a chopper. It should have a car-like seat, with a backrest. The centre of gravity should be low to make it more stable in acceleration, braking, and quicker to turn.

 

Still awake? This is the kind of thing that British boffins in their sheds work on, so you're quite safe that none have ever been made in volume production. Traditional bikers see them as a bit limp-wristed, car drivers see them just as dangerous as motorbikes. Chance of commercial success = 0

 

So, some blokes in a shed have a go, this is the chassis

http://www.oesten-creasey.eu/hightech/pictures/bare0021.jpg

 

And here's a better view, this one's called a Voyager. It's got a Reliant engine and gearbox because it was the lightest available, the throttle was on a trigger and the front suspension is more like a car. Hub centre steering is much more stable than a motorbike

Big pic: http://www.oesten-creasey.eu/hightech/drawings/voyager.jpg

 

Now these guys in their sheds tend to leave bodyshell styling to the bottom of their priority list. Even so, it's not bad

 

There's storage space, it keeps you dry and thanks to the chassis design it's actually quite safe in a front end crash.

 

The Quasar looks a bit more like it, but the roof probably isn't worth much to keep you dry, it just raises the centre of gravity.

 

There's a few links on the web, mostly manned by people with beards. Here's a brochure for the Voyager: http://www.yamamura.unospace.net/Voyager03/Voyager.pdf

[garethj]

And it's personally endorsed by William Woolard, what more could you ask for??

 

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7725322292568035533#

[barrett]

Hey, these are great! I always had a thing about the Quasar, I think because my step dad used to have bikes and would piss his pants at the mention of FF 'bikes. This from a man who coveted a Gold Wing!

These seem to be the preserve of slightly shit motor museums 'curiosity corner' type displays (see also - any car with 'revolutionary suspension that leans into corners!'), I'm sure I've never seen an FF actually being driven on the roads.

Am I totally mistaken in thinking BMW actually put one into production in the 90s?

[face]

Am I totally mistaken in thinking BMW actually put one into production in the 90s?

 

that'll be the BMW C1:

 

[garethj]

Am I totally mistaken in thinking BMW actually put one into production in the 90s?

The BMW C1 was a sort of half hearted attempt, and pretty much sank without trace. In Europe you could ride one without a helmet, but in the UK you needed one. They also only had little engines so it wasn’t that great as a mode of transport.

[garethj]

Arse. I LOOZ @ TE INTENET!!1!

 

The C1 isn't really a FF bike, it's still got a motorbike seating position. It's really just a scooter with a roof

[barrett]

that's the begger! What an absolute tool you'd look riding one of those about. I suppose those laughable three-wheeled scooters are the 21st century equivalent in terms of looking like a nonce whilst riding a 'bike.

[barrett]

Arse. I LOOZ @ TE INTENET!!1!

 

The C1 isn't really a FF bike, it's still got a motorbike seating position. It's really just a scooter with a roof

 

Haha good point! Sorry, my fault for bringing it up. It's still suitably wank for this topic.

I should make it clear I genuinely do like the Quasar though

[Justin Case]

Too late by 90 years

 

http://www.neracar.com/main.htm

 

This seems to have all the essentials, feet forward, low CofG, hub steering, and as a bonus a designer with a name made for the job

 

Edit: I've just looked at the WW video and there's one in action at 1.26

[autofive]

my mother knew someone with a quaser in the mid-eighties - he was involved in a collision with a traffic sign and broke both legs, a wrist and cracked almost all his ribs

 

he cant ride a bike of any description now, and can barely walk 100 yards

[warren t claim]

Am I totally mistaken in thinking BMW actually put one into production in the 90s?

The BMW C1 was a sort of half hearted attempt, and pretty much sank without trace. In Europe you could ride one without a helmet, but in the UK you needed one. They also only had little engines so it wasn’t that great as a mode of transport.

 

When I was a bike instructor I got a memo of the ministry telling us that the C1 was classed as an unsuitable bike for learners to take their test on.

[RoadworkUK]

A friend of mine has a C1, I couldn't really endorse it apart from the fact that it's a slow motorbike with a windscreen wiper.

 

A properly updated and re-engineered Quasar, though, what a machine that would be. I mean, you'd look a tool "riding" it and none of your freinds would ever speak to you again but....

 

I retract my previous statement.

[CIH]

[j-j]

Ah the 'Akira' bike! brilliant 2 wheel drive made up-ness! I'd still hit it tho

 

Wasn't there another BMW FF bike that was fully enclosed and had these like automatic stabilisers that folded down when it stopped?

[Richard]

That's a good point, how do you keep upright at junctions on these things?

 

Here's a variation on the theme. They don't seem to have it any more and I'm not surprised, it looked terrifying on the move.

 

[RoadworkUK]

Wasn't there another BMW FF bike that was fully enclosed and had these like automatic stabilisers that folded down when it stopped?

 

That's the strangely named Ecomobile, but then again it's Swiss so everything has to be eco-something...

 

Youtube linky

[M'coli]

I like FF bikes - this one's the Ecomobile, originally built in the 1980s:

[Gompo]

The BMW C1 was a sort of half hearted attempt, and pretty much sank without trace. In Europe you could ride one without a helmet, but in the UK you needed one. They also only had little engines so it wasn’t that great as a mode of transport.

 

While n doubt they're rare, I saw quite a few while driving around central London. Was surprising as I thought similar to you.

[wuvvum]

LOL @ the sunroof on the Ecomobile.

 

Benelli did something similar to the C1, called the Adiva. The difference was that the Adiva had a folding roof, SLK style - the world's only convertible scooter.