Motorcycles are inherently unstable, and more sure-footed three wheel setups like Piaggio’s MP3 and BRP’s Can-Am Spyder have expanded on the traditional trike layout… but why not arrange three wheels inline?

Parisian designer Julien Rondino has done exactly that, and his A.3.W. Motiv concept incorporates 50% more road contact via a front wheel with mechanical hub steering, a center wheel that drives power to the road, and a rear wheel that passively assists steering by using a hydraulic damper. According to Motorcycle News, power would come from a reversed KTM Super Duke 990 engine, and each wheel features an independent swingarm and suspension setup.

This three-wheeled concept may never see the light of day, but it sure offers a compelling way to offer more traction without losing the thrill of leaning into turns. See more photos of this unique creation below.

Inline Three-Wheeled Motorcycle Concept Twists the Trike Paradigm

Here’s some creative thinking for motorcycling off road, it’s a tracked motorcycle. Ready to do battle with sand, snow or anything else, the Hyanide and Baal design concepts are part of the Michelin Challenge Design 2006 that’s taking place at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Both the Hyanide and Baal designs are based on a bendable rubber track. The vehicles are steered by both hands and feet. The concepts are capable of many different engine variations, these were designed to accept a 500cc ATV engine, the type which are already mass produced. The Baal concept was thought to be the sort of vehicle that could be used in the Paris-Dakar or Baja races.

The German designers are Tilmann Schlootz and Oliver Keller. Nice work guys!

Motorcycle design often revolves around the engine. The size, shape, number of cylinders and configuration play a large part in much of what follows. What if you had an X4? 4 cylinders in an X configuration open up new design possibilities and that is exactly what we have here, not only that, it appears to be a 500cc 2 stroke! This is the JJ2S X4 500 by JJS Design. They have developed and patented a new engine and designed a motorcycle around it.

JJS Design is a Polish company and unfortunately my translating abilities here are not so good, so I can’t fill you in on many details but the design looks extremely impressive, both the motorcycle design itself and, of course, the X4 2 stroke engine.

I will try to get a translation of some of the information, any of our Polish readers care to lend a hand?

Thanks for the tip, Brian!

Lots of images below:

Link: JJS Design

The British have long mixed and matched motorcycle engines and frames, the Triton, Tribsa and similar mongrels have been running the roads for decades, leave it to a Frenchman to bring Italy into the mix. Daniel Delfour liked Nortons quite a lot and thought about building a track day special with Norton power, something like a Seeley or Rickman. Coming across a Laverda 650 trellis frame he liked it immediately and wondered if a late model Norton Commando 850 twin would fit. It wasn’t easy, but the bike you see here is the cross bred result, the Ala Verda 850.

The Laverda frame accepts the engine with no room to spare. The Commando engine has been massaged to yield 72 horsepower, the upside down Paioli forks and rear shock do the suspension work with Brembo discs all around. Total weight comes in at a very svelte 341 pounds.

The bike’s a beauty and certainly no “add a part” special, this is a handcrafted piece that looks right. Daniel heard about the Legend of the Motorcycle show from several friends who suggested he bring it to the U.S. and enter. He did just that and the bike was a hit and it has been featured in several publications, I found it myself in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Motorcycle Classics.

After seeing this Laverda frame, those old featherbed Nortons suddenly look a bit dated. Nice work Daniel, very nice!

Link: Daniel Delfour’s Vintage Motorbikes via Motorcycle Classics magazine

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Quadrazuma all-asphalt monster quad

Volkswagen’s recent foray into motorcycle-inspired cars with its GX-3 concept had us prowling the web for other hybrid creations, and we discovered this all-asphalt monster quad, the creation of French car and bike tuner Ludovic Lazareth. The Lazereth “Quadrazuma” is powered by a yamaha GTS 1000 4-cylinder engine, producing 120 hp at 12,000 rpm. Considering its curb weight of 837 pounds, performance should be, well, inspiring.

The yamaha frame is augmented with a tubular steel structure, sporting steering gear from a Renault Twingo and including two 20-liter side-mounted gas tanks. 17-inch wheels carry 205/40 front tires and 225/35s in the rear.

As ex-F1 driver and TV commentator David Hobbs is fond of saying, it would take a driver “with rather large attachments” to explore the performance envelope of this beast. Videos of the Quadrazuma can be found at the Lazareth website – in the meantime we have more pictures after the jump.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/200…

Alright, these are our picks for the top 5 electric motorcycles of this year. As with our pick of cars, these are all models available for purchase in the USA by 2010 (well – except for one… see below) and are being gauged by innovation, design, and availability. I’ll dispense with my usual flowery commentary and present to you, now, our 2008 picks for Top 5 Electric Motorcycles! \insert drum roll sound file here\

#1 – Electric Motorsport GPR-S

Our contention for number one was close, with the number 2 Enertia nearly winning out. What put the GPR-S over the top, though, is it’s freeway readiness. The GPR-S is a stylin’ bike that won’t easily be confused as electric at first glance. Until you “fire it up” that is. Being the first street AND freeway-legal electric motorcycle in the USA, the GPR-S definitely gets points for innovation. With an affordable price tag to compete with like-sized and styled gasoline bikes and with a smart, modular component platform, this bike is definitely worthy of our top spot.

#2 – Brammo Motorsports Enertia

As I said, this was a close one. The Enertia missed the number one spot purely because it’s a commuter, not a freeway machine. For style, though, this one is top of the list. The Enertia has to be seen to be understood for it’s awesome looks. It comes with strong innovation and good power too, though it’s price tag is higher than an equivalent gas-powered model by more than double. Sleek, fast, and innovative, this is a great product from Oregon that we hope to see more of.

#3 – Zero Motorcycles Zero-X

Our list features two dirt bikes, which wouldn’t have happened last year. Previously only available to those who live in the country or have access to remote riding areas, motocross had a limited appeal. Until now. With quiet electrics, new motocross tracks could be appearing right off the freeway, in neighborhoods near you. The Zero-X is one of the innovators to make that happen, delivering great style, strong performance, and electric innovation, this one easily made our list. How can you argue with 0-60 in less than 4 seconds?

#4 – KTM Race-Ready

Austrian motocross firm KTM announced their race-ready dirt bike to be released by 2010, powered entirely by electricity. With standard motocross styling, this bike doesn’t win any design awards, but it will deliver definite race-ready performance. With the popular enduro frame of most racing dirt bike, the KTM model delivers great performance and strong appeal to those in the “better than amateur” level of motocross. The KTM name doesn’t hurt either.

#5 – KillaCycle

I admit that this one doesn’t meet any of the requirements we listed for electric motorcycles except that its’ electric. That being said, it’s just too frikkin’ cool to ignore. The world’s fastest motorcycle on the drag strip, the KillaCycle has been consistently setting, then beating, then re-setting and beating again it’s own records. This is the fastest electric vehicle right now, bar none. The coolest part? It costs about 7 cents to run this thing down the quarter mile strip, including the burnout. Definitely worthy of it’s name, we had to put KillaCycle on this list.

There you have it, our top 5 picks for electric motorcycles in 2008. No pedals, no engine noise, just pure, 2-wheeled electric performance!

Dubbed the Uno, this crazy Segway / crotch rocket hybrid is the result of teen, Ben Gulak’s preternatural engineering skills combined with his desire to help the environment.  This “motorUnicycle” actually has two wheels, side by side, and is reportedly easy to ride.  Pictured above is an actual working prototype that weights about 120 lbs and runs for about 2.5 hours on an electric motor.  The bike really has no controls other than the handle bars and the drivers ability to shift his/her weight.  Similar to the Segway, the Uno uses two Gyros to keep itself upright and to operate.  Simply lean in the direction you want to go… forward to accelerate, backwards to go back, and to either side…

Gulak came up with the idea after a 2006 trip to China where he noticed a lot of people riding internal combustion bikes and horrendous smog.  According to Gulak, “The smog was so thick, we never saw the sun.”  The trip made him realize that there was a need for a compact electric vehicle that would ease congestion and not take it’s toll on the environment.

All things considered this is great Green innovation, and its’s amazing that it was developed by a teenager!  Let me leave you with this question, will you miss the joy of popping a wheelie or is this like riding a wheelie all the time?  [via: MotorcycleMojo]