Carbon-Fiber Thesis

CARBON-FIBER THESIS

Look what they're teaching kids at school these days. Hans Moritz is a transportation-design student at the famed Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and this is the motorcycle he wants to see in production. It's a monocoque design made from "prepreg" carbon-fiber, the same material used to

build the F-117 Stealth Fighter. "With a single body/chassis structure made of carbon-fiber, the cycle would be simpler, less expensive to make and lighter," says the 24-year-old. To prove the point, Moritz is building a running prototype, using Suzuki GSX-Rl 100 power. He expects the finished machine to weigh less than 350 pounds.