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unusual bikes

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana)here for Part 5 (Böhmerland)here for Part 6 (MTT Y2K and 420RR)here for Part 7 (Honda DN-01)here for Part 8 (BRP Can-Am Spyder), and here for Part 9 (Honda NR).

We’ve reached the final motorcycle in this collection. We’ve decided to leave out the older motorcycles prior to the 80’s and 90’s as they were too far back and most of the successful technologies and methodologies have been transferred to motorcycles in the following decades.

That doesn’t mean manufacturers have stopped researching and developing new ideas. Far from it, in fact. But manufacturers are more in tune to what the majority of potential buyers want these days to design bikes that don’t look totally out of this world, apart from a few.

Without much further ado, let’s check out this last bike.

BIMOTA TESI 3D

Truth is, any Bimota would be considered unusual compared to virtually any stock production bike, but that would mean all ten would be Bimotas in this article. Picking just one out from the Rimini, Italy-based company’s family isn’t easy either, like the 1998 SB8R and SB8 RS, DB3 Mantra.

Bimota Mantra DB3

For example, the YB4EI which come agonizingly close to winning the inaugural World Superbike Championship in 1988, ridden by one Davide Tardozzi. Tadozzi had won eight races that season but because of point scoring technicalities, Fred Merkel won on the Honda RC30 despite having just two victories.

Bimota YB4EI

Bimota only builds frames, chassis and other technologies around engines from other manufacturers. The first letter of a Bimota denotes where the engine was sourced from, for example: YB means Yamaha-Bimota, BB stands for BMW-Bimota, DB for Ducati-Bimota and so forth. As such, production is low volume. Only the Suzuki GSX-R1100 powered SB6 saw 1,144 bikes being produced from 1994 to 1996, while the next highest figure was just 600 bikes.

Bimota SB6 – Courtesy of totalmotorcycle.com

As such, one model, in our opinion which truly reflects upon that philosophy is the Tesi 3D which made its first appearance in 2007.

Remember we covered about the attempt to move away from hydraulic forks for the front suspension on the Yamaha GTS in Part 3? The Tesi was also developed in this vein. The concept of the Tesi differs slightly from the Yamaha GTS’s, however.

The Tesi 3D is the third iteration of this project, powered by the powerful Ducati 1098 engine. The engine is clamped between two machines aluminium plates, with all other components mated to these plates, including both front and rear swingarms.

The front swingarm mates to plate on both sides, with an Ohlins shock attached to the right in a cantilevered position. The handlebar’s shaft is connected to horizontal shafts on each side that steers the front wheel, for a hub centre steering setup.

Bimota is currently building the new Tesi 3D to celebrate their 40th year, called the Tesi 3D 40 Anniversario (pictured here). Only 40 examples will ever be built.

BONUS UNUSUAL PRODUCTION MOTORCYCLE

How could we leave out the Kawasaki Ninja H2 and its variants? Unleashed by Kawasaki in 2015 to be the bike to conquer the world, it’s supercharged.

The track-only H2R produces 300 bhp, while the road-legal version pumps out 200 bhp. Kawasaki had just announced the H2 SX and H2 SX SE sport-tourer. Still supercharged but made practical for daily riding and touring. (Please click here to know more about the H2 SX.)

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana)here for Part 5 (Böhmerland)here for Part 6 (MTT Y2K and 420RR)here for Part 7 (Honda DN-01)here for Part 8 (BRP Can-Am Spyder), and here for Part 9 (Honda NR).

Honda NR

The 1992 Honda NR (often mistakenly referred to as the NR750) was the most expensive production motorcycle at the time.

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana)here for Part 5 (Böhmerland)here for Part 6 (MTT Y2K and 420RR)here for Part 7 (Honda DN-01), and here for Part 8 (BRP Can-Am Spyder).

Honda had pulled out of motorcycle grand prix racing in 1967, only to re-enter in 1977. Two stroke machines had taken over the entire field in their absence, but Honda has always preferred to develop and race four-stroke bikes.

Honda knew that they’d be beaten by two-strokes and there was no allowance for bigger capacity four-strokes to compensate. The rules had stated 500cc engines with a maximum of four-cylinders, regardless if they’re two- or four-strokes.

Honda engineers worked around this by creating a high-revving V-4 engine, but with oval pistons. The oval pistons looked like two pistons being joined as one (think of a burger oblong).

 

With two conrods and eight valves per cylinder (yes, eight, for a total of 32 valves!) the engine gave the impression of a V-8. The engineers hoped that the bigger piston area would provide a higher volume air/fuel mixture, resulting in more power.

Honda unveiled the NR500 (NR stands for New Racing) in 1978 but the bike only made its debut in the 11th round (British GP) of the 1979 racing season. However, both bikes retired. The engine was overly complex. But Honda kept developing the bike and engine and came away with 130 bhp at over 20,000 RPM, matching the two-strokes.

Yet, the bike wasn’t competitive and Honda ultimately went on to develop the NS500 two-stroke tiple in 1982, ridden by Freddie Spencer, Marco Lucchinelli and Takazumi Katayama.

Still, Honda kept plugging away and came up with the NR750 endurance race bike. The technology was finally transferred to a road bike in 1992. Built in limited numbers, the NR (also known as the RC40) made 125 bhp at 14,000 RPM in the standard configuration. Priced at US$50,000, only 300 were built.

The NR featured many other innovative technology, including a single-sided swingarm, side-mounted radiators (a la NR500), and underseat exhausts, among other things. It’s also no secret that Massimo Tamburini was inspired by the Honda NR when he penned his iconic Ducati 916.

BONUS TRIVIA:

One of the engineers who worked on the oval piston project revealed that while trying to reduce the number of valves to the more conventional 4 valves per cylinder to improve combustion and power in the low- and middle-RPM range. That development led to one of Honda’s most famous technology and was first featured on the CB400 Super Four.

The VTEC.

So, the VTEC wouldn’t have been possible if not for the oval piston research and development.

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana)here for Part 5 (Böhmerland)here for Part 6 (MTT Y2K and 420RR)here for Part 7 (Honda DN-01), and here for Part 8 (BRP Can-Am Spyder).

Honda DN-01

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana)here for Part 5 (Böhmerland), and here for Part 6 (MTT Y2K and 420RR).

Certain parties weren’t happy about our recent review of the Honda CRF250L and CRF250 Rally. We called it as it was, “soft.” It has also to be said here that “we” here included Oh Kah Beng. So if you’re reading this, go ahead and tell off the legend if you’re not happy.

Honda CRF250L & CRF250 Rally Test & Review

Why did I open with the above “intro?” Because in that same review, I mentioned that sometimes manufacturers aimed for too many segments in one model and ended up with a product that’s diluted at best (read: neither here nor there).

Take this bike, for instance. Honda meant the DN-01 to be a cruiser. Or more accurately, a cruiser/sportbike crossover. And a big scooter.

Courtesy of paratamoto.com

Firstly, the DN-01’s bodywork’s weird in anyone’s book, and wasn’t appealing to either the cruiser folks or sportbike fanatics. The ergonomics also took a bashing as was the lack of wind protection at speed, needing the rider to to hang on using the handlebar.

Customers were also unsatisfied due to the ridiculously low load capacity of only 147 kg. That meant if each the rider and passenger weigh 75 kg, their total weight of 150 kg has already overloaded the bike by 3 kg. That’s without figuring in luggage.

Wait, what luggage? There isn’t any storage space on the DN-01!

The transmission, however, was a different story. The continuously variable transmission (CVT) – marketed by Honda as “Human Friendly Transmission” – uses a hydraulic pump which varied the amount of fluid being pumped, changing the gearing as demanded. (It may sound the similar to the DCT in the current X-ADV, VFR1200X and CRF1000L Africa Twin, but no it isn’t.)

However, that brilliant CVT was mated to a 680cc engine (sourced from the Shadow) which produced an wheezing 43 bhp, which (sort of) propelled the 268kg DN-01 from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.41 seconds, and a quarter mile in 15.41 seconds at 140.7 km/h. Top speed? 182.0 km/h. Yawn.

Adding insult to injury was the US$15,599 asking price in 2009.

The DN-01 was only sold from 2008 to 2010.

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana)here for Part 5 (Böhmerland), and here for Part 6 (MTT Y2K and 420RR).

MTT Y2K and MTT 420RR

Here’s something outrageous, in terms of power, price and the sheer audacity of it all.

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana), and here for Part 5 (Böhmerland).

In 2000, MTT, Marine Turbine Technologies’ President Ted McIntyre appointed Christian Travert, a former motorcycle racer and custom motorcycle builder to head the motorcycle venture. Turbocharger? Supercharger? V8?

Nope.

Called the Y2K, MTT chose the Rolls-Royce-Allison Model 250-C18 gas turbine to power the bike. Oh, the gas turbine is just another name for a jet engine. However, it was a turboshaft, the variety used in helicopter. It made 320 bhp at 52000 RPM (not a typo) and over 400 lb. ft. of torque. Good news was, it didn’t require jet fuel to run; it burned kerosene, diesel or Bio-fuel.

MTT showed off the Street Fighter variant at the 2006 SEMA show in Las Vegas. The model marked the switch to the more powerful (as if 350 bhp on a motorcycle isn’t enough) Allison 250-C20 engine.

Last year, MTT announced the new 420RR, which they called, “New (Race Ready) Superbike.” The spec sheet reads like a it was put together by a mad scientist, more significantly, the 420RR is named so because the engine blows out 420 bhp @ 52000 RPM and 680 Nm of torque from just 2000 RPM. The fairing is carbon fiber and so are the wheels.

Each MTT 420RR is handbuilt to specific specifications of the buyer and only five are produced each year.

MTT 420RR Turbine Hyperbike – 420hp & 810Nm of MADNESS!

Jay Leno owns the first production Y2K and remarked that it’s his favourite bike despite being scared half to death. He also said the bike melted the bumper of the car behind.

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000)here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana), and here for Part 5 (Böhmerland).

BÖHMERLAND

We’ve covered a few unusual motorcycles thus far, but next to this one, they seem normal next to this one.

Please click here for Part 1 (Suzuki RE5), here for Part 2 (Honda CBX1000)here for Part 3 (Yamaha GTS1000), and here for Part 4 (Suzuki Katana).

Böhmerland or Čechie as its known domestically, manufactured motorcycles from 1924 up to the onset of World War II in 1939. All aspects of the bikes were designed by Albin Hugo Leibisch (who fought in WWI and was wounded in the Eastern Front); including the front-link forks and solid cast aluminum wheels. Böhmerlands were the first production motorcycles to be fitted with 27-inch aluminium cast wheels, before being fully adopted in the 1970s, almost 5 decades later.

Böhmerland’s motorcycles feature a variety of wheelbases. The Sport was a two-seater, the Touren was a three-seater and the four-seater Langtouren. The Langtouren still holds the record for the production motorcycle with the longest wheelbase, measuring 3.2 metres. A few models had two fuel tanks while the long-wheelbased ones feature three fuel “canisters” shaped like bombs.

They also build a Langtouren with a bomb-shaped side car. You could bring your wife, two kids and mother-in-law. How’s that for the ultimate family bonding?

If the Langtouren was not unusual enough, Böhmerland also experimented with a four-seater for the military. It had two gearboxes, the one in the rear operated by a passenger, giving a total of 9 ratios.

The bikes were powered by a single-cylinder, OHV, 598cc engine. However, the valvegear fully visible to the rider and being uncovered means he had to splash the valvegear with a cup of oil every time he stopped. Needless to say that oil eventually ended up on the rider’s clothes.

Leibisch found his factory turned over for military use when Nazi Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939. He refused to coorporate with the Nazis and he along with his were sent to a Czech Gulag and forced to work manual labour at gunpoint. His dreams of restarting the company after the war didn’t work out as the factory and machinery were all destroyed.

Ultimately, some 3,000 of various models were built by a production crew of 20.

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