Variable geometry R-Bike shape-shifts to adapt to riding conditions
Motorcycle geometry, like suspension, is a classic compromise. Extending the rake of the forks delivers additional stability and improved balance under brakes, but it also slows down steering and generally reduces ground clearance. A steeper steering head angle makes for lightning-fast handling but you pay for it with tank-slappers and headshakes in fast bumpy corners, and under hard braking the rear wheel lifts off the ground and you’re forced to back off on the brakes or flip the bike forward.
The premise of Erik Brinkman’s R-Bike is basically to deliver a motorcycle that can change its geometry on the fly to fit what you’re doing with it. Designed around a hinged cross frame, the bike is able to open and close like a pair of scissors, changing the geometry from a comfy, stretched out cruiser format to a squashed-up, quick-steering off-road machine with a trials-bike wheelbase and extra ground clearance.
The result, as you can see, is spectacularly ugly - but we’ll forgive that out of respect for creative thinking and a focus on quality componentry that will be interchangeable between current and future models of the R-Bike such that incremental upgrading may be as simple as replacing the steering assembly or seat unit.
The R-Bike will be a custom build for each buyer, with the many options chosen through a nifty build-your-own-bike feature on the R-Bike website. 750cc or 1000cc engines can be chosen, each compact single-cylinger jobs and available in regular, turbo or turbo diesel for additional dollars.
Gauges are nicely mounted in the headstock and the joints of the handlebars as above - a nice solution, although the design of the steering head and the separation of the bars from a direct connection to the forks raises some queries in my mind.
Sadly, as flashy as the 3D designs and mockup photos are, it doesn’t seem the R-Bike actually has a working prototype yet to prove the technology either works, or delivers any great benefit to the rider - but we’re told to expect something in early 2009. Pre-orders are being taken, and the website would appear to hint that the first customer bikes are as little as 6 or 9 months away, but it’s hard to tell whether it’s all hot air at this point. Either way, the R-Bike will go for somewhere between US$40,00 and US$80,000 depending on what options you choose.
It’s a lot of money, and the performance won’t be comparable to what’s already on the market, but this is a truly fascinating idea and we’d love to see one in motion.
December 10th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I seems too obvious that whoever wrote this article has a very limited understanding. First I take issue with the opinion that the bike is ugly.
I think it is a piece of art worthy of a museum. The writer takes issue with the steering unit and the seat. When one reads on about the double-wishbone suspension on both ends and the 8 inches of suspension travel, the steering appearance becomes all too understandable, It can look no other way. As for the seat, when the bike ShapeShifts it needs to have a seat that fits under all road and off-road conditions. The shape of the human body and the need to balance the comfort of a saddle and the off-road need to straddle determines the seat.
Before I ordered my Turbo Hemi with VVT, I looked into the matter very carefully. This bike is designed with military applications in mind and will serve in several militaries around the world. It was customer demand that lead the company to offer a civilian version. The ballistic grade bodywork and SuperAlloy 100% rust-free construction speaks to that.
When the writer says the performance will not be comparable to other bikes on the market, he spews a lot of hot air. Aside from being way better made than anything ever before it, name me any bike that can go where this goes. This is the first time ever that a bike has appeared that can go on hiways and in the woods without trade-offs.
The writer also mentions that the gauges are directly connected to the forks. That tells me he never bothered to do his homework. The gauges are not mounted on the forks. Maybe he should read up on suspensions.
The technology has been thoroughly tested or I would not have ordered one.
I ordered ceramic brakes, the 20-plate Kevlar-ceramic clutch, the 7-speed tranny with reverse, the Super-Alloy Turbo-Hemi with parts made of the same alloy used in the combustion chambers of military jet engines. There is not a rusting piece of metal anywhere on this bike. The gears in the tranny are also super-alloy and nano-diamond coated. It has 18 function instrumentation. My f grips adjust to my hand whether gloved or not.I can dial the power up or down as I want. ….. and he dares compare it to ordinary disposable bikes.
I spent just under $60k for mine. I designed it myself on their BYOB form.
The waiting list is long and I don’t expect mine until next Fall, but it is well worth it. The head of Special Vehicles for the Army pointed me toward this bike
and I could not be happier that the best made bike in the world is Made-In-America !
Maybe next time you will have a PhD engineer like myself review such a bike rather than someone who sees only shallow flash and can’t understand substance.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Thanks for your feedback Dr. Binder. We’re reviewing this bike more closely in consultation with its creator, and we applaud early adopters like yourself who put their cash on the line.
We’d want to see a working prototype of the frame before anything else - and test it to see what the effects of a variable wheelbase and geometry might be. We’ve also got our doubts about a 1000cc single, turbo diesel or no. The cylinder bore would be enormous. The piston would be gigantic. The moving mass would be colossal and the vibrations untenable. It would shake the ground. What would it rev to, 3000rpm? How much faster could you spin a chunk of metal that size? Is there a reason why no other bike currently on the market has a single cylinder engine bigger than 700cc? Do the R-Bike guys know something we don’t?
The reason we compare it to “ordinary disposable bikes” is that… It’s a motorbike - one with some nifty ideas but a motorbike nonetheless. It costs six times as much as a fireblade, but I wouldn’t expect it to compete with one of those on any of the usual criteria. That’s hardly the point; it makes claims to a unique set of features, which is great. We would love to see it working.
Have you seen or ridden a prototype, or have you ordered off the website?
December 11th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
My understanding from the Patent on the frame is that they took all the key points on the frames of the top bikes in each category and designed the frame to ShapeShift thru those points while also changing the center of mass, engine torque curve characteristics, apparent swing-arm length and several other parameters. I can see why it took him so long.
The single is indeed very large. It is as if you cut a cylinder off the very popular 124 cu. in. sized V-Twin Harley engine. He made the crankcase wall twice as thick, has 2 counter rotating shafts and a longer skirt on the piston to keep it from chattering under load. The engine is also both actively and passively dampened using a special Dupont material that absorbs vibration better than any other substance known.
The engine is connected to the frame via hollow oil-filled rods to help fluid dampen any vibration. Those tubes also feed oil directly to both to the top-end and bottom end via 2 oil pumps.
The rider is isolated from both the suspension and drivetrain because the rider’s butt and feet are mounted on the short-spar. That spar moves on teflon pads and is further isolated with a Dupont exotic material “Blue Foam” that is a solid-phase-gell. Real trick stuff.
The “feel” that is left is control dampened thru the handlebars. Those bars are not connected directly to the “forks”.
The bore, according to the brochures is (if memory serves) 4.25 inches (as is the stroke). The diesel revs to 5k and the gas version revs to 7k.
Erik Brinkman is well known in my MIT circles as one of the best designers the world has ever produced. Some of his work is in the Smithsonian. He has been in Business Week, the cover of American Machinist and is in College Textbooks. He spent 9 years on this bike. It opens up a new segment in the industry and moves it forward to a degree that nobody else ever imagined.
The “ugly” comment which got me started writing earlier is an interesting one. The side-pod, for example it to keep the leg from being crushed in a fall. Loss of legs is far more common than head injuries. It also protects the computers and fuel injection parts and keeps the wind off the lower torso. It also keeps dust and water away from the intakes. So many things on this bike serve multiple duties. The odd front end is because he wanted 8-inches of travel and a 90 degree steering movement. The seat looks odd because he wanted good butt support and yet a good thigh-clench when straddling. He brought in one of the top English Saddle makers in the world to help with the design.
You are right when you bring up the expense. It starts around 38k and goes up to around 80k. We can point to the ballistic grade bodywork, the Kevlar-ceramic 20-plate clutch or the Alpha-Prime Super-Alloys for the internal engine and tranny parts, but bottom line is that to introduce the best made bike in the world means price. He told me that he wanted the best bike every built in the world to be North American, damn the price.
I will ride this forever and hand it down. I expect to get 500,000 miles out of the engine and tranny. I bought one simply because I am tired of all the neat new technologies coming out of Asia and the quality coming out of Europe
while America is known for 1950’s motorcycles with 1950’s levels of quality.
Worst yet 40% of a Harley is made in China. This bike is 100% North American except for the quad-tipped Iridium-Platinum dual spark plugs (German) and the LED headlight (Asian).
The best in the world needs to be American. I am proud to support that.
(I speak as a Beemer owner). This bike will be owned by a small technically minded prosperous sector of the economy, but one day I hope some of these standards make into showrooms for the average Joe six-pack. It always starts with a few of us with the means to support this kind of change. After all power seats, power windows and cruise control used to be just for the Cadillac crowd. Now it is for everyone.
BTW- This bike was designed for military applications and they did not decide to offer it to the civilian market until the news of it leaked out. I have been waiting for them to open their doors for over a year now. They are getting tons of Web-traffic and well deserved. It took me forever to finish downloading the BYOB (Build Your Own Bike) form so I could design my bike. Well worth the wait.
The form was lots of fun. As I made my choices, the picture of the bike changed. I then went tot their store and ordered a life-sized wall graphic of the bike the way I designed it. It goes on the garage wall until my bike is delivered.
Ordered a half-scale one for my son.
PS-
Sorry if I sounded upset and impatient with you in the earlier writing. I am just frustrated how we as Americans are so often seen as looking at the surface and accepting lesser substance for the sake of flash. It is an international reputation we need to shed.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
PS-
The mini-gauges on the risers have been replaced by an 18 function single speedo-type gauge. The BYOB form discusses all the functions.
You have an older image of the bike itself too. The seat no longer comes up so high in the back and the side-pod is tilted a bit to hide the upper A-arm better and to give the knee more room.
Erik spent almost an hour explaining and answering questions for me.
I don’t know where he gets the time.
December 14th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I pointed him to this site. He has responded by telling me that 3 different seats are going to be available; the regular seat, a high-backed version and a short version They are already posted on the BYOB form. He also suggested that if someone thinks that something about the bike is ugly, they should go to the FAQ page, where he explains the finer points and invites people to submit any comments, sketches or suggestions for changes. He was quick to say that this was our bike and not his. He also said to me that he is an engineer and not an artist or marketing talent.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Hello there.
One of my customers point me to this site.
Interesting, passionate discussion.
Who am I talking to ?
December 18th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
In February, the bike is in “Inventors Digest”, the world’s bible of invention
that has people like Steve Jobs and Dean Kamen (SegWay) on their board.
The new “PantherMotorcycle.com” domain is now active.
We will unlink it from the Research website this Spring.
The top name in the Baja 1000 race. Russ Wernimont,
has asked to use the bike in an upcoming 1000.
Visits to the WebSite are averaging over 12,000 per day.
The Build-a-Bike form that allows people to design their own bike
is now duplicated in several locations so it has stopped crashing
and is working fine now although it is slow to load (5-meg).
If anyone has any questions, you are welcome to give out our helpline ….
January 5th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
This sounds interesting at first but if I understand this correctly, I can’t imagine it is going to be much fun to ride in its “non-cruiser” mode. While the idea of a steeper steering head angle and shorter wheel-base will improve handling, it is at the expense of the lower center of gravity. Jack up that engine 8 inches and the fun quickly leaves when the road turns to dirt.
Some dual purpose bikes make sense, like dual sports and sport tourers. This doesn’t make any sense to me, although I will give it a huge thumbs up for the engineering that went into it. For $60 grand I can buy a dirt bike, sportbike and cruiser and use the extra money left for gas so I can ride them the way they were designed.