Motorcycle oddities

I’m not a motorcyclist, but here’s a companion thread to the Automobile Oddities thread.

BMW C1

Dodge Tomahawk

I figure most everything else would fit in somewhere in the middle. :smiley:

This won’t fit in the middle of anything.

Behold the Roadog!

Supposed to be at least two of these out there. I ain’t seen one yet, but Buzz Walneck is supposed to have one.
odd enuff fer ya?

Holy crap!

“Well, sir. I started out to build me a motorcycle and I just couldn’t stop.”

How about a motorcycle with a radial engine…

…in the front wheel?

Oh yeah, The Megola
I read once that these were used by spies during WWII in France to smuggle small parcels and documents inside the monocoque bodywork (classic bike or some similar european bike magazine).
The engine rotated inside the wheel, but not at the same speed, as it used a planetary gear transmission. To bring it to a full stop you had to shut it off, so the manufacturer suggested that one “orbit” at stops. Not very practical if you ask me :smiley:

Easily in the top 10 of wierd bikes.

The Sbarro
I always thought this was cool.

Not really weird, except for the engine. A flathead powered motorcycle.

Dunno. The C-1 is a scooter, really, not exactly a motorcycle. And the Tomahawk is a pretty non-functional bike (all it can do is go in a straight line) and only a few of them were ever made. And it’s got four wheels, which, IMHO, disqualifies it from being considered a motorcycle.

Hmmm, that IS odd, isn’t it. :dubious:

It was a kit car, based upon a suzuki motorcycle, and made by a company in Milpitas, CA, in the mid to late 1970’s.
They really lloked cool…has anyone a link?

This?

The Rokon , a 2-wheel drive off-road bike.

Here’s an older 3-wheeler by Messerschmitt .

3 wheels? 2 wheels? Let us simplify more:

Yes, a motorized Unicycle!!

I am making a model of this for my 3D project for College, Which is why I had this info handy.

The entire product line of Harley-Davidson?

“If 30’s technologies were good enough to defeat Hitler, thar good enough for me!”

He He! :smiley:

Speaking of that, anybody know about those tank-treaded cycles used by the Germans for towing in WW2?

I nominate the Neracar
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/neracar/index.jhtml

BOSDA, here you go
http://www.kettenkrad.de/

Unclviny

Well, given that Harleys are the best-selling motorcycles in the country right now (or at least recently, according to an article I read somewhere in the motorcycle press), one can hardly call them “oddities.”

Yes, they’re kind of old-tech, although they’ve finally gotten around to putting counterbalancing on some models, and they’re adding fuel injection gradually throughout the whole lineup (no doubt so that their old technology can meet increasingly stringent EPA emissions regulations).

That said, they still make some decent bikes. The Sportster is a really fun motorcyle. And the various Electra-Glide models are not bad tourers, if one isn’t in too much of a hurry. They’re comfortable, simple, and quite reliable these days. The days when people were afraid to ride a Harley more than a hundred miles from home are long gone.

That said, I don’t ride one, because their performance simply isn’t up to modern standards. I don’t ride a sportbike, either, and I prefer mechanically simple bikes, but I do want a bike with some power, reasonable cornering clearance, and decent brakes. So I ride a BMW.

Thank you, unclviny. :slight_smile:

Submitted for your appreciation:

The Spagthorpe Airedale :smiley: