Feet Forward: The Quasar.
Via: real classic
"The feet-forward Quasar two-wheeler was designed during the 1970s by Ken Leaman and Malcolm Newell. Several were produced from 1976 onwards - there may be 20 in total in existence - and each took about a month to build. The result was a bike which would do 110mph but, more importantly, could sustain 100mph indefinitely at comfortable revs OR could give 90mpg at a steady 50mph. With its four-gallon fuel tank, this gave the Quasar a range of over 350 miles between petrol stops.
The performance came from a water-cooled, ohv, 850cc inline four, running 9:1 compression to produce 41bhp at 5500rpm. The shaft drive used two UJs to transmit the power to the rear wheel, while the rider selected one of four gears using a foot-operated gearchange. The motor was housed in a frame made of Reynolds 531 tubing, with pivoted fork suspension at both ends using air shocks. The alloy wheels were 18-inchers, fitted with twin disc brakes at the front and a singe disc at the rear - operated by hand and foot levers as on a standard motorcycle of the time. The throttle and clutch were similarly conventional, although the cockpit was a little more complicated than on the average 1970's motorcycle - it even had a facility to blow hot air at the rider's hands!
"Slug" the sports Quasar
The Quasar was designed so that routine maintenance could be done with the engine in the frame. Unusually, it had two sidestands - one on each side. The external panelling was intended to be sleek and easy to clean, without any cracks or ridges to accumulate dirt. A huge (66-litre) luggage compartment was incorporated into the tail unit."
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