TSS RS500 2 Cylinder 2 Stroke

While most everyone else has moved on to the land of 4 strokes, there's a group of intrepid engineers and builders in Australia devoted to the idea of building a 500cc 2 cylinder 2 stroke motorcycle, starting with the Aprilia RS250 chassis
and installing their own highly engineered 2 stroke powerplant.

Grand Prix Engineer Wayne "Wobbly" Wright who has a 30 year career building GP engines and pipes went to work on the engine and the finished piece puts out 112 horsepower and 60 foot pounds of torque. Mounted in a bike weighing 286 pounds total and having the power delivery you would expect from a 2 stroke gives you a bike that one might call entertaining.

The idea here is to bring 2 stroke technology up to the best that can be built right now and place it in a modern frame and suspension package, a combination you can't buy in your neighborhood showroom.



The company the group formed is called the Two Stroke Shop, and besides many other parts for the 2 stroke fanatic, they offer not only complete RS 500 motorcycles but also the engines alone or kits to adapt your own RS250 to accept their engine.

There are no prices on the site, expensive I'm sure, but what they offer seems somewhat unique. It's an extremely interesting setup and just the thing to surprise the heck out of your average GSX-R pilot. I like it.

D1200R

Every now and then, one of the many emails we receive from designers and builders stands out from the crowd, and this project, the BMW D1200R by Pablo Gonzalez de Chaves and Carlos Beltran, is one of the best to come along in quite some time.

Pablo started with the idea of improving and transforming the BMW R1200R into a new motorcycle, with a new front suspension, a new chassis, essentially a whole new design. His design work is first rate and if he stopped at that point, it would be considered well done, but he didn't stop there, the project continued with the creation of hard parts and assembly into the actual motorcycle he envisioned on the computer screen. There's nothing like testing your skills by making the actual pieces fit together and perform in the real world.



The year long project began with a BMW R1200R fitted with sensors and taken to the track where a great deal of performance data was gathered. Then the motorcycle was disassembled, extensive measurements were taken, entered into the computer and the redesign began.

The design started with pencil sketches, progressed to Photoshop and finally took shape in CAD and 3D modeling software. The design data was then used for the machining necessary to create the parts. Assembly surprises were limited due to the careful design work and after the motorcycle was complete, it was taken back to the track where the initial data was gathered and performance was compared with favorable results. Some areas for improvement were noted and some revisions will be incorporated as work continues.

The chassis for the D1200R is made from milled aluminum and sharp eyed readers may notice the front brake is from a Buell XB12. Lights are LEDs. The front suspension, similar to designs by Foale and Parker, was purposely left exposed for aesthetic reasons and I have to agree, it looks good that way, showing off the extensive redesign. Pablo's website visually documents the whole process to give you an idea of the work involved.

Pablo has considerable training in the field of motorcycle design, holds a MSc in Motorsport Engineering and has work experience with Lamborghini, among others. He has 2 earlier designs on his site, one a 600cc inline 4 cylinder streetfighter and the other an electric scooter. It looks like the he's putting his skills to good use. Excellent work!

UPDATE: Pablo wanted to add that Carlos Beltran also played a very large part in the mechanical design portion of this project and I have added his name above. Nice work, Carlos! (I should have noted his name earlier but I was relying on translations of the pages and it was a little confusing.)

ENGINE

In light of all of the V4 discussion surrounding Motus, here's some interesting engine news from Swissauto and Polaris. Richard, one of The Kneeslider's readers, pointed me to this press release I missed from back in February. Polaris Industries acquired the powersports portion of Swissauto, a company that designs and develops high-performance and high-efficiency engines and some pretty interesting vehicles. Polaris has been using engines from Swissauto in their snowmobiles and previously in personal watercraft. Looking over their engine lineup, it's a little hard to say what engines would be included or excluded from the powersports segment sold to Polaris and whether it goes beyond the engines Polaris already uses since the engines seem to have a lot of different applications depending on configuration.

Swissauto works closely with Weber Motor, a German company that develops many interesting engines. It's fascinating to compare their MPE (MultiPurpose Engine) V4 to the Motus KMV4, the MPE V4 is a 70 degree dual overhead cam 4 valve, the engine's displacement can vary from 1.8 to 2.2 liter with an output from 150 to 300 HP. The base engine is 75 kilograms or 165 pounds. It's 20.2 inches wide. They also promote their "Unique V8-like sound." Looks like there's some activity in the compact V4 engine arena, though Weber didn't go the pushrod route, this V4 is actually based on their OHC parallel twin engine used by Polaris. Although the MPE V4 is considered an automotive, marine or recreational vehicle engine, after all, their test vehicle was a Chrysler Crossfire, why not repurpose the 4 banger for motorcycle use? There is absolutely no indication of any efforts to do that but with Polaris already owning a portion of Swissauto, perhaps they could find a use for that V4 in a 2 wheeler.

motoGP motors

Nicky Hayden has leaked a photo from deep inside the Bologna factory of his 2010 MotoGP bike. Making a stop at the famous Italian factory on route to India, to help open a Ducati new store, Hayden got a chance to see the new Ducati GP10 up close. Armed with his mobile phone Nicky snapped a photo of the new bike and posted the photo to his own website.

Whether this was a clever little marketing ploy from Ducati or a genuine bit of sneakiness from Nicky we’ll never know, either way the bike looks great and we can’t wait to see more. Snap away Nicky!

2010 Ducati hypermotard

2010 Ducati Hypermotard 1100 first ride: “It’s more fun than ever”

First rides & tests

19 November 2009 10:40

The revamped Ducati Hypermotard 1100 is a blast, according to MCN Senior Road Tester Adam Child who is currently testing the bike in Sardinia.

* Ducati Hypermotards for sale

Chad said: “There’s now two versions, the 1100 Evo, which is the standard street version, and the higher spec Evo SP.

"Both have more power and less weight than before – 5bhp extra, to be exact plus a weight saving of 7kg, five of which has been shaved off the engine alone.


“I’ve first been out on the standard Evo, which, considering it’s straight out of the crate, is immense fun around the track here.

"The brakes were brilliant before, but now, with less weight to haul up, they’re outstanding.

"The Ducati Hypermotard was always good fun but now, thanks to the extra power and reduced weight, it’s more fun than ever.

"My only slight complain is, on track, a slight lack of ground clearance.

“Next I’m trying the Evo SP which I expect to impress even more thanks to its 30mm extra ground clearance, due to longer travel suspension with added ride height, grippier Super Corsa tyres and carbon fibre accessories. My full test will be in MCN next week.”

motor bikes

A motorcycle (also called a motorbike, bike, or cycle) is a single-track,[1] two-wheeled[2] motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.

Motorcycles are one of the most affordable forms of motorised transport in many parts of the world and, for most of the world's population, they are also the most common type of motor vehicle.[3][4][5] There are around 200 million motorcycles (including mopeds, motor scooters and other powered two and three-wheelers) in use worldwide,[6] or about 33 motorcycles per 1000 people. This compares to around 590 million cars, or about 91 per 1000 people. Most of the motorcycles, 58%, are in the developing countries of Asia—Southern and Eastern Asia, and the Asia Pacific countries, excluding Japan—while 33% of the cars (195 million) are concentrated in the United States and Japan. As of 2002[update], India with an estimated 37 million motorcycles/mopeds was home to the largest number of motorised two wheelers in the world. China came a close second with 34 million motorcycles/mopeds.[7][8]