It
saddens me that there's no such thing as an American sportbike.
Yeah, I know, what about Buell? I'm sorry, any bike based around
a 40-year-old engine is not a true sportbike, no matter how
well it handles. A true American sportbike should be able to
go toe-to-toe with the best from Honda, Suzuki, Ducati and the
like, in performance, style, technology and price.
Don't
get me wrong -- Erik Buell is one of my heroes. He's a brilliant
engineer, and a true visionary in the motorcycle world. Too
bad he hooked up with Harley. Not that there's anything wrong
with Harley per se, but they're not the company to join forces
with to design a state-of-the-art bike. Harley-Davidson is steeped
(some would say mired) in tradition, otherwise known as "old
stuff." Old doesn't cut it in the cut-throat world of modern
sportbikes.
I
want to follow in Erik's footsteps, without making his mistakes.
I want to build the American sportbike. Unfortunately, I'm just
a poor journalist, and I won't have my engineering degree for
a few more years. So, here's my plan (are you listening, Polaris?)
to be stolen at will. The only thing I ask for are some royalties,
and an engineering job after graduation. Of course, if these
plans go unclaimed, I still reserve the right to try it myself.
First,
to keep costs down (I'm writing this under the premise that
it's a start-up company), I'd make the chassis out of steel.
I'd make it a trellis-style tube frame, similar to a Ducati
but of my own design. This frame will be modular, to eventually
be used in a naked bike and a sport-tourer. I'd also use a double-sided
swingarm, again to ease costs.
Engine-wise,
I'm thinking inline-3. Why? Well, the V-twin is used to death,
and I want something with character. Also, this bike will be
raced (AMA Superbike, at least) and the 3-cylinder configuration
will split the difference between the low-end torque of the
twins and the high-speed advantage of the inline-4s. The engine,
too, would be modular, as a twin-cylinder version will be used
to make a middleweight bike (750cc twin to compete with 600cc
fours). This bike, too, will be raced, although it may not have
too much of an advantage over 600cc fours.
Of
course, it will be a water-cooled, twin-cam, four-valve design,
and it should be fuel injected, although that may depend on
cost. It'll also have a 6-speed gearbox, chain drive (the obvious
sportbike stuff) as well as high-quality suspension and brakes
-- higher quality on the race replica (I'm thinking Mille R
here) and not-quite-as-high quality on the more pedestrian version.
I'm
also all for mass centralization, a la Buell and Honda. Although
the chassis isn't designed yet -- that's something I'm saving
for a senior project -- I'm sure I'll toy with some sort of
low-mounted gas tank, even a tank under the seat, if it's possible.
The riding position should be race-ready, but also moderately
comfortable for all-day use. It'll still be a bit extreme, but
not as much as a GSX-R or 996.
As
for the looks, I admit I'm no designer. I'd probably turn the
bodywork over to a professional. Maybe, if I get lucky, I can
make one myself that looks half-decent. But I don't want to
take any chances.
So
there it is -- the Cygnus X1. Designed and built in America.
I hope.
The
Eclectic Biker: August 2003