Two Wheels In Front?
TWO WHEELS IN FRONT?
Back when cars were too expensive for the average man and motorcycles were transportation, there was a brisk business done in vehicles known as cycle-cars. They were light and open, basically powered by motorcycle engines or their equals, and they ran in two tracks, that is, three wheels or four and you didn't fall over in snow or mud or when you didn’t balance. What we have here is a project based on the belief that this type of vehicle can make a comeback: Gasoline is expensive and in short supply, motorcycles crash more frequently per miles than cars do, thus a motorcycle that is inherently balanced, can be braked in turns w hile still banking into curves and steering the way a motorcycle should, will appeal to enough people to warrant production. That part remains to be seen.
The engineering, in the sense of how this vehicle was designed and how it operates, is impressive.
We don't know the background. The picture was supplied by Don Bright, president of Bright Engineering. Inc.. 1107 E. Homestead Rd., Sunnyvale. Calif. 94087. Bright Engineering has a patent on the front suspension and chassis, and has built a prototype of the design, based on a Honda CB750A.
What the system is, in brief, is a parallel transverse linkage with motorcycle forks and wheels at each end. Both transverse arms pivot on the motorcycle frame, so the wheels tilt with the rest of the chassis and the bike banks into a turn, like a singletracker. 4 he forks move up and down, again like the conventional bike. Steering is linkage, controlled by handlebars. Maximum lean, limited by wheel travel and the lateral roll linkage, is 25°, which corresponds to brisk highway cornering. Beyond that lean angle the inside wheel lifts off' the ground, the wav some racine cars do.
The claimed advantages are those of any double-tracker. You can brake harder, skid in mud. etc.
What now? It depends. We doubt that this vehicle will appeal to motorcyclists. We cannot even say it is a motorcycle, not as we know the term.
Interesting project, though, and when you consider all the money wasted on jillions of steam and electric tiddlers, on motorcycles with roll-over bars and with steering at the w rong end. well, this project was done by creative people with the courage to use their own time and money. We wish them well. Interested parties are directed to Don Bright, address given above.
