Gone but not forgotten-the Capricorn planetary gear wheel.

Via: motorcyclingmag

"The unique, if esoteric, pleasure of watching gears whirr and mesh has long been the province of lovers of grande complication watches. Motor-cyclists, being kinetic art aficionados, can find similarly transcendental pleasure in contemplating the unique workings of Involution, Capricorn Cyclo-Works’ planetary gear system motorcycle wheel. At rest or rolling speeds, its baroque visual effects are nothing short of mesmerizing.

Capricorn co-founder Ro Lehew explains: “The wheel is, in fact, inspired by classic watch movements. We’ve taken an existing engineering concept and applied it in a purely decorative manner. The gears bear no load, so the performance of the wheel is not impacted. Using high-grade aluminum and composites, we balance weight and mass carefully, so the weight remains within normal parameters. In fact, the entire system is safety-verified. If an object, such as a small stone, introduces itself into the mechanism, the gears will continue to rotate with the wheel.”

Sadly Capricorn seems to have vanished from the interweb....