fully functional high performance recumbent motorcycle inspired by Kaneda's ride in "Akira"
Recumbents
Other Recumbent Motorcycle designs and builds...
The motorcycle prominently featured in "Akira" is a recumbent, or Feet-Forward bike. While none have entered mass production, many popular designs have sprung up over the years with ambitious and highly comptetent designers behind them.
Here are a few...
The Acabion got a lot of press a few years back, with reported top speeds in excess of 300 mph and a reported price tag in excess of $2.7 million USD. Check out Gizmodo's article on it http://gizmodo.com/346802/acabions-750bhp-gtbo-motorcycle-blazes-at-340mph or their official page at http://www.acabion.com/
They have since unveiled a 4 seater version, and also apparently are no longer single track two-wheeled motorcycles.
Akira Bike Project
Found only as the "Ewan design study" looks to have a futuristic 80's esque styling.
Royce Creasey's "Voyager" feet forward, a favorite among Feet Forward enthusiasts. A pre-production run of 5 made it to the market
A fully enclosed recumbent motorcycle, Swiss manufacturer Pereaves made 95 "Ecomobiles" followed by the updated MonoTracer and MonoTracer E. Price tags are around $100,000 USD http://peraves.wordpress.com/
The 1922 "Ner-a-car" from Wikipedia "The Ner-A-Car was a type of feet forwards motorcycle designed by Carl Neracher in 1918. About 10,000 of these motorcycles were manufactured in the United States by the Ner-A-Car Corporation under the Neracar name, while around 6,500 are believed to have been produced in England under licence in England by the Sheffield-Simplex company between 1921 and 1926 under the Ner-A-Car name."
The NSU Flying Hammock from 1950 showed what kind of performance was possible with proper streamlining, achieving an amazing 150mph on 1950's era 150cc engine.
The late 1980's "Pulse" a 'Recreational Ground Cruising Vehicle" according to Road and Track
Racing car designer Dan Gurney's Semi Recumbent limited production "Alligator" with the fastest 0-30 time Cycle World magazine had ever tested.
The venerable Quasar, from Wikipedia "The Quasar was a semi-enclosed feet forward motorcycle, created by Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman,[1] who made a number of similar vehicles.[2] It used an 850 cc engine built by Reliant Motors and was capable of cruising at 90–100 mph (145–160 km/h) and exceeding 100 mph in favourable conditions ... Although the Quasar lacked funding to continue production and only 21 of the original design were ever made, with about 10 still on the road as of 2012, it is still well known in the feet forward motorcycle community. Riders of Quasars still gather at bike meetings."
The circa 1927 Avro Monocar
A concept semi-enclosed recumbent unveiled at a motorcycle show, the name "Sbarro" was usually associated with it. Cool concept, though I can't find much info about it.
Starting the transitional thought into recumbents, Wilkinson TMC 1911-1916
Like Matus1976's Akira Bike Project Facebook page for more frequent updates and to submit questions / comments
Help bring a fully functional high performance production version of Kaneda's bike into existence...
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