Click to enlarge.

3/4 view. Vroom!

Front view. Apologies for the ugliness of this aspect. Structure before form, I'm afraid.

Left side. 'The pretty side'

Right side. 'The gubbins side'

Superbike

I built this model during summer 2000.The inspiration came to me quite by accident. I was on the bus, staring out of the window, when I saw a big red powerbike parked by the road. The wheels seemed very similar to the 8448 wheels, and that was when the idea was born. I went to the Honda Motorbike website and grabbed a profile of one of their bikes (sorry, I forget the model), pasted it into CorelDraw, resized it so the wheels were 8448 size and printed it out. I could now lay the model on the printout at any time to keep to scale. I stress that I was not copying any particular model, rather using one as a scale reference.

Due in part to my own whimsy, and part to technical factors, The workings of the bike are rather strange. Although I would have prefered to keep very strictly to real life, I now think of the model as a 'sci-fi' model. I think it would very much at home on the streets of Neo-Tokyo in Akira. Time for some stats I think:

Engine : 'Boxter' style flat V4 engine.

Motorised by micromotor (!)

Suspension : Twin springs rear, single wheel internal spring front.

Gears : 2, operated by lever at roughly foot position.

Fully removable bodywork. Dashboard, sculpted seat, folding stand.

Now for some more detailed disection......

Click to enlarge.

Nekkid! The large version shows the undressing sequence. Adults only!

Underside. See the flex cable linking the gearbox to the gear lever.

Side view of all the gubbins. The layout of the gearbox is more clear.

The innovative front suspension. See the top of the shock rubs slightly. This is relieved by ground contact.

That suspension in action.

One rather neat feature of the bike is that nearly all of the bodywork is removable. The fuel tank lifts off, the side panels fold down and off and the rear projection comes right off. This lets you examine all the workings closeup. Lets start with with the drive train.

The micromotor (yes it does move under its own power! Slowly mid, but it does!) hangs beneath the seat. The drive then goes via a universal joint to the engine. The engine is a flat 4, 'boxer' style (I think that's waht it's called..). From here, a rubber band transfers drive to the gear box. This is an exercise in compactness. Two selectable gears are ftted into a very tight space. Only 16 and 8 tooth gears are used. 8 tooth gears pick up the drive from either end of the selector. 8-8 and 16-8 ratios then transfer to the drive shaft. From here, a set of new bevel gears transfer drive to the rear suspension pivot axle. This axle also has two old bevel gears that press against the rear wheel. The level of friction is just right. I would have used chain links at this point, to remain authentic, but at the time of building I just could not find them (I have now, thank God).

The rear suspension is almost conventional. Two light grey, softer, shocks are at a shallow angle. The stiffness is good, and the wheel spins freely at all positions of travel. The front suspension is an entirely different matter. The shock and mechanism is contained entirely within the radius of the wheel. The 'hollowness' of the 8448 wheel allows this. When the bike is lifted off the ground, the shock rubs a little on the inner rim, but once on the ground, the wheel turns freely in all positions. You can push the bike down in the center of the seat and both wheels will depress by equal parts.

I liked this model, as did everyone I showed it to. The only thing I didn't like was the fact the the nosework moved with the steering. This is contrary to normal bikes. however, this is not a normal bike!

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