Friday, November 5, 2010

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles l Magnificent and Cool Designs for Motorcycles



Even for those who have never ridden a motorcycle, there’s just something about these magnificent machines that make us simply stop and admire them. In this article, we take a look at the cool, the fascinating, the unusual and the ‘what the heck were they thinking’ designs for motorcycles that have appeared for over a hundred years.

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Let's start with some vintage beauties. The first motorcycle was designed and built in Germany in 1885

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
FN
or Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, a Belgian manufacturer of firearms, also made motorcycles from 1901 to 1967. This one is from 1913

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
1913 Garelli (left) and the Evans Power Cycle (right), from 1919:

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Indian Scout
from 1928

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
The Sokol 1000 was made in Poland and used by both civilians and the Polish military in the 1930’s:

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
1940 Indian four cylinder (left). On the right is the design for a Dream Motorcycle One from the early 1950’s

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
The NSU Sportmax motorcycle was a winner in the 250 cc class in the Grand Prix Season of 1955:

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
I’m not sure if I’d want to be racing across the battlefield in this machine:

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
This one on the other hand looks more impressive. The Vespa 150 TAP, equipped with a cannon, was used by the French army and was meant to join the battle after being dropped by parachute

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
This bike, which also featured a gun, was developed for the Danish military in the 1930’s

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.comWondrous Biking Machines

From the movies here we have the Hill Valley police motorcycle from Back to the Future (left). And how could we forget Batman’s two-wheeled mode of transportation as portrayed in The Dark Knight (right):

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.comBoldly go where no has gone before, on the Star Trike, which apparently appeared at the San Diego Comic Con in 1982
Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
The TrikeBack’s engine reminded me of the propulsion systems in the jetpacks and rocket belts

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
The TrikeBack’s engine reminded me of the propulsion systems in the jetpacks and rocket belts


Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Could this be the world’s largest, or perhaps tallest, motorcycle?

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Or how about this 48 cylinder machine, which apparently actually runs

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.comThe Panzerbike from Germany, weighing in at just under five tons, has an engine that once powered a Russian T55 tank and the sidecar used to be the casing of a Soviet missile:
Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Hopefully, this motorcycle isn’t a real death trap? Skeleton bikes

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Toys for big boys? The Burgerbike, ideal for visiting the drive-through window, perhaps? (left) Not sure what the top speed would be on this one?

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
This machine was apparently made from spare parts and bits of miscellaneous junk (left)... while this one is made of wood

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Not sure if you want to give up your motorcycle and buy a car, or vice versa? You can have the best of both worlds, with the Laverda sidecar bike

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.comWho said limousines had to be cars? Here is "Anaconda"
Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
The Jaguar motorcycle, such a cool design

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.comThe Allmond Rocket motorcycle fromn Roger Allmond and another unusual design from Japan
Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
These are actually part of the "Tuner Scooter" culture phenomenon in Japan

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Here’s a selection of really cool concept bikes. From motorcycle manufacturer Arlen Ness

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.comIcare concept (left) and Swordfish bike concept
Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
Ferrari V4
Motorcycle concept (left); Speed Racer motorcycle

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
The Magic Tricycle
might sound like a brightly painted kid’s toy, but it’s actually more like something from Transformers. If you prefer to be driving a car, the vehicle moves along on its side using three wheels, but can also flip upright and turn into a motorcycle.


Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
The 4-wheeled motorcycle? No, this is not an ATV: Japanese "Tesseract" is a unique dual scythe suspension system, allowing this sleek machine to lean into turns like a motorcycle:

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com
And finally, here is perhaps the weirdest vintage bike of all - this one includes a sewing machine!

Wonderful and Weird Motorcycles and Cool Designs for Motorcycles Seen On coolpicturegallery.blogspot.com

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