Ray Amm brings the Norton “Kneeler” out for practice. Designed by Rex McCandles to succeed his Featherbed frame, it was only used in practice and was shelved by Norton after a few development outings. This bike is on display at the Sammy Miller Museum.
(The Kieg Collection) Via: The Norton Club
T.E. Lawrence's Brough Superior under glass and on display inside the Imperial War museum. Via: ChrisRudge's photostream
Power for this strange looking bike is a MZ 250 engine. Other pieces are the MZ rear wheel and fender, and a NSU moped gas tank. No information on who built this, or why-but we approve.
Via: dirtbike.off-road.com
In the days when a motorcycle and sidecar was a viable means of everyday transport, sidecar racing was also a highlight of any race programme, not least the annual Easter bash at Mount Panorama. Spectators identified the racing bike and chair with what they saw on the road, and in many cases there was little difference.
In 1952 Sandy McCrae constructed what became known as the McCrae Special – a Vincent Black Lightning engine shoe-horned into a Norton Featherbed frame that had been lowered and lengthened.
Read the full story of Sandy McCrae's very special Vincent/Norton here.
'Bullet' by Subodh Gupta, 2007 image courtesy Mori Art MuseumSubodh Gupta (born 1964) is an artist based in New Delhi. Gupta was born in Khagaul, Bihar, India. His work encompasses sculpture, installation, painting, photography, performance and video. Common images and objects in Gupta’s work are taken from prominent clichés about Indian culture, for example, his prevalent use of stainless steel cooking utensils.
Maya Pedal in Guatemala has created the Bicimáquinas ("bicycle machines") pedal-powered machines that act as an intermediate technology to assist the family economy in obtaining a higher production capacity in agriculture and in small business. Each bicimáquina is produced individually with a combination of old bikes, concrete, wood, and metal.
Via: Make
Hang Glider Richard Cobb gives a short history of the creation of his Chopper he built in the early seventies, complete with lots of great period photos. The full story can be seen here.
An experiment from the French government's safety program for young riders gives us this slide simulator. The metal cage and small wheels are placed around the 50 cc scooter, and then the learners are supposed to tide over a wet ground at an angle that will cause the scooter to lose control. The small wheels will prevent the scooter from falling, and the student can learn how to control the scooter in the wet.
Via: Bikes in the Fast Lane
"Motorcycle designer Tim Cameron has designed a new motorcycle called the CAF-E that relies on a hybrid drivetrain that he says is similar in principle to the Hybrid Synergy Drive that powers the Toyota Prius. The internal combustion engine is a parallel-twin design that gets extra juice from an electric supercharger.
That engine is mated up to an electric motor through an electronically-controlled continuously variable transmission that sends power to the rear wheel through a shaft drive. A large 180V lithium ion battery pack sits low in the chassis, likely for optimal weight distribution."
Via: Car News Web
