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The Alligator is a feet forwards motorcycle built by Dan Gurney Alligator Motorcycle Company which is the motorcycle division of the former driver/racing team owner's All American Racers workshop in Santa Ana, California. Although not the first of such design, it is unique for its unconventional low-slung seating position which allows for its low center of gravity.
The bike design traces itself back to the pioneering era when Gottlieb Daimler designed a similar prototype in 1886, [1] since then the conventional seating position has been used on all bikes with the exception of the few bikes like the commercially successful Ner-a-car and unsuccessful Quasar.
The bike design was first instigated when Gurney took a 1976 Honda XL350 as a base to develop the first design evolution known as the A-1 (a.k.a. "Grandpa Gator") and was completed in 1980. [2]
The bike was named after the reptile of the same name, due to the bike's long, low appearance and was also chosen to reflect the North American nature of the species. [3]
After several years of R & D, with eighty nine different riders consisting of professional motorcycle and car racers, prominent bike enthusiasts, engineers, journalists and regular Sunday riders to help develop the bikes through test rides along with Gurney's busy schedule running a team, six different prototype configurations all have logged thousands of miles before Gurney and his team decided on a sixth evolution, the A-6, with full fairing to be launched in 2002 with an intention to build no more than 36 as it was the number that appeared on the Eagle-Weslake Formula One racer which won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix. [3] The bike is then made available to consumers for $35,000, considering its price, beside its rare nature of the bike with a carbon fiber body over a chromoly frame powered by a 70 horsepower (52 kW) single-cylinder Honda XR650 engine, bored out to 710cc, [3] which is capable of 140 mph (230 km/h) and 0-60 mph in 3.1 seconds. [4] The weight of the Alligator is 320lbs. [3]
In 2002 AAR announced plans to build an updated version of the Alligator, called the 'Instigator', which was to be powered by a 1,820cc S&S V-twin engine, but production never began. [3]
A motorcycle, often called a motorbike, bike, or cycle, is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport including racing, and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies.
A Feet First (FF) Motorcycle is a class of motorcycle design that seeks to look at the two-wheeled concept afresh, and create a new form of practical personal transport. The name "feet first" was first used by Royce Creasey and refers to the rider's seating position, with feet ahead in a position, rather than below and astride, as with conventional bikes. As there are other types of motorcycle that have a 'feet forward' position, an alternative term sometimes used is Advanced Single Track Vehicle.
The Honda Magna was a cruiser motorcycle made from 1982 to 1988 and 1994 to 2003 and powered by Honda's V4 engine taken from the VF/VFR. The engine technology and layout was a descendant of Honda's racing V4 machines, such as the NS750 and NR750. The introduction of this engine on the Magna and the Sabre in 1982, was a milestone in the evolution of motorcycles that would culminate in 1983 with the introduction of the Interceptor V4. The V45's performance is comparable to that of Valkyries and Honda's 1800 cc V-twin cruisers. However, its mix of performance, reliability, and refinement was overshadowed by the more powerful 1,098 cc "V65" Magna in 1983.
The Honda CB750 is an air-cooled, transverse, in-line four-cylinder engine motorcycle made by Honda over several generations for year models 1969–2003 as well as 2007 with an upright or standard riding posture. It is often called the original Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM).
The Suzuki GSX-R is a series of sport bikes made by Japanese manufacturer Suzuki. Current models are the GSX-R125 and GSX-R150 since 2017; GSX-R600 which was manufactured from 1992 to 1993, and then since 1997; the GSX-R750 since 1985; and the GSX-R1000 since 2001.
A minibike is a miniature motorcycle. Most minibikes have a four-stroke engine and are chain driven. They are not to be confused with pocket bikes. There are many mini bike brands, with the "Doodlebug mini bikes" and the "Motovox mini bike" being two of the most common. They come from the factory with 2–2.5 HP engines, but are often upgraded with 5 HP engines.
A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle. Motorcycle engines are typically two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines, but other engine types, such as Wankels and electric motors, have been used.
There are many systems for classifying types of motorcycles, describing how the motorcycles are put to use, or the designer's intent, or some combination of the two. Six main categories are widely recognized: cruiser, sport, touring, standard, dual-purpose, and dirt bike. Sometimes sport touring motorcycles are recognized as a seventh category. Strong lines are sometimes drawn between motorcycles and their smaller cousins, mopeds, scooters, and underbones, but other classification schemes include these as types of motorcycles.
The Honda CBR600F is a CBR series 600 cc (36.6 cu in) four-cylinder sport bike made by Honda. The first model of the CBR600F was sold from 1987 to 1990 and is known in the US as the Hurricane. In Austria and Mexico, a smaller version, called CBR500F, was offered. The subsequent models are designated as CBR600F2, F3, F4 and F4i respectively. In 2011, Honda released a more modern model with the same name.
The Honda Africa Twin is a dual-sport motorcycle made by Honda in three versions, 1988 to 1989 as the 650 cc (40 cu in) V-twin XRV650, then from 1990 to 2003 as the 750 cc (46 cu in) V-twin XRV750T, and then from 2016 to present as the 1,000 cc (61 cu in) parallel-twin CRF1000L.
The Honda NSR500 is a road racing motorcycle created by HRC and debuted in 1984 for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing's 500 cc class. Honda won ten 500cc World Championships with the NSR500 from 1984 to 2002, with six in a row from 1994 to 1999. With more than 100 wins to its credit, the NSR500 is the most dominant force in modern Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The 1989 NSR500 that won Honda's third 500 World Championship with Eddie Lawson exemplifies the overwhelming power, acceleration and raw speed that has always been synonymous with Honda's 500 cc two-stroke V4.
The Kawasaki triples were a range of 250 to 750 cc motorcycles made by Kawasaki from 1968 to 1980. The engines were air-cooled, three-cylinder, piston-controlled inlet port two-strokes with two exhaust pipes exiting on the right side of the bike, and one on the left. It was the first production street motorcycle with capacitor discharge ignition (CDI). Right from the first triple model, the 1968 Mach III H1 500 cc, it was a sales success that gained a reputation for almost unmatched acceleration as well as an air of danger for inexperienced riders trying to cope with the bike's increased power to weight ratio over any previously available stock motorcycles.
The Kawasaki Z1 is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, double-overhead camshaft, carbureted, chain-drive motorcycle introduced in 1972 by Kawasaki. Following the introduction of Honda's CB750 in 1968, the Z1 helped popularize the in-line, across-the-frame four-cylinder, a format that became known as the Universal Japanese Motorcycle or UJM.
The 50 cc class was the ultra-lightweight class in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and formed part of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) World Championships from 1962 until 1983; when the class was replaced by 80 cc.
The Yamaha YZ450F is a four-stroke racing motocross bike built by Yamaha Motor Corporation. It was the successor to the previous YZ426F which was discontinued in 2003. It is credited by Cycle World and Dirt Rider magazines as the bike that started the four-stroke dirt bike revolution. The 2006 YZ250F and YZ450F were the first production motorcycles equipped with titanium suspension springs.
The Honda CB900F is a Honda motorcycle made in two iterations which appeared some twenty years apart. Both generations of the CB900F are straight four-cylinder four-stroke 900 cc (55 cu in) roadsters.
The following outline is provided as an overview of motorcycles and motorcycling:
Bill VanTichelt born February 17, 1935, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is the creator of VanTech Motorcycles.
Cleveland CycleWerks is a privately held motorcycle manufacturer that designs and assembles small displacement retro style café racers and bobbers at its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, relying on offshore manufacturing in China by CPI Motor Company of Taiwan for most components, including frames and the Honda-derived engine used on all models.
Forced induction in motorcycles is the application of forced induction to a motorcycle engine. Special automotive engineering and human factors considerations exist for the application of forced induction with motorcycles, compared to other forms of motorized transportation.
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