The Kneeslider

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Derbi DH 2.0 – Motorcycle Mountain Bike Concept

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Derbi DH 2.0 concept motorcycle mountain bike

Derbi DH 2.0 concept motorcycle mountain bikeIf you remember Project M85 Freeride, you’ll see the same idea in this new concept bike from Derbi, the Derbi DH 2.0, a mountain bike sized motorcycle with a small engine and very light weight. It has fuel in frame like a Buell, an automatic transmission, a 100cc air cooled 4 stroke engine, underseat exhaust, inverted fork, air monoshock out back and a dry weight of 88 pounds! That’s a lot closer to mountain bike weight than motorcycle. The DH in the name refers to downhill mountain biking. (They explain even the brand name Derbi originates from DERived from BIcycle. I didn’t know that!) And if I read things correctly, the engine can even be quickly dismounted for a fast downhill with less weight.

This is a pretty high tech little machine which also shows the guys who built Project M85 Freeride might be on to something. Cool.

Link: Derbi via Motoblog.it
Related: Project M85 Freeride

Comments

  2. This seems very similar, although lighter than the Sachs MadAss. I believe that even though Sachs is gone, the MadAss is still made in China

  4. they have some very nice bikes on there site. i really like the ones in the scrambler section. i like how they focus on smaller engine sizes.

  6. Add led lights and shave the knobbies and this could make a very cool eco commuter if made street legal. Who needs a scooter?

  7. With a removable engine, offer the 100cc engine for the speed crazies (for a mountain bike) and also a 50cc so it can be used as beautiful moped (if the price is not sky high, I would buy the bike and both motors).
    Also agree with Steve

  8. Man I really like that style of bike and I hope it catches on. With a really quiet pipe it could open up new riding areas.

    I don’t think taking the engine out for a downhill run is realistic though. You will eventually need power on most decents. And I hope you have someone to watch the engine for you while you are gone. 😀 Maybe I don’t understand the true target market. Regardless, it will make for quick and easy maintenance and cleaning.

  11. Since this has no pedals and is less than 150cc California would consider it a motorized scooter. A motorized scooter in California does not require a motorcycle license or registration (think “GO-PED”).

    In order for it to be considered a motorcycle it would need to be at least 150cc. In order for it to be considered a moped it would need to have pedals and less than two HP. Of course there is the fuzzyness between motor driven scooter and “motorized cycle” (no pedals). No distinction is given except that you need an M2 license for a motorized cycle and that the seat on a motor driven scooter should not interfere with the operators ability to stand on the foot boards (pegs).

    Who wants to be the first to spend the money and explain it to the CHP officer that pulls them over for not having a license plate?

    -todd

  12. just as a comparison factoid,

    in Michigan you need a motorcycle endorsement for anything over 49cc’s. so this would have to be plated as a motorcycle in Michigan if it were to be made street legal. I’m not against the idea, a lot of coworkers have started to ride there motorcycles or scooters in to work to save on gas. gas prices here today are $3.90/gallon right now and the scooter dealer down the road from us is selling 100mpg 49cc scooters left and right for $1,300 each. my only worry is will he service and fix those foreign scoots when or if they break.

    i went out and spent a little bit more money and got the honda crf 230L i can ride it to work and save gas if i choose, or i can take it for some light trail riding.

  13. Regarding the Derbi…way awesome! Not sure the woodland mt bike people will take to you rocking up hills in your 100cc mt bike motorcycle thing.

  14. Todd,

    Actually, in California sub-150cc machines are classified as “Motor-Driven Cycles”. They’re treated exactly the same as regular motorcycles but they’re not allowed on the freeways. This machine would need pedals to qualify as a moped in CA, which is the category you’re thinking of that doesn’t require a license.

  15. I can’t imagine anyone would be fool enough to take the engine out for a downhill run. The first question when you get to the buttom would be, “Where’s your engine?” “Oh, I left it at the top…of the mountain…crud.”

    I was considering buying an old Honda CT90, but if there’s any way I can buy one of these, I want the Derbi instead! I bet with the right gearing and some road tires (and some road-legal lights, etc.) this thing could get up to 60 mph.

  16. the problem with this is the people who will buy it.

    I am a keen mountainbiker, and we have a lot of problems with idiots on pitbikes completely ruining the tracks (even though they are on park land and not allowed to be there). This is a motorcycle, and the muppets who will own them will ride them in bike areas. Its very dangerous, not to mention bad for the image of mountainbikers in general (and DH has enough of an image problem already!). A BAD IDEA!

    also, its not THAT light. A heavy DH rig is 42-45 pounds, this is nearly double that.

    It is neither fish nor fowl. Its the four-assed monkey from Southpark.

  17. holy !@#$%*!!! that is the sweetest “motorcycle” i have ever seen!!! i want 5!

  18. At 88lb, it’s one of the lightest motorcycles I’ve ever seen. It’s also one of the heaviest bicycles I’ve ever seen. Still, I want one. I’m a definite scooter fiend, but this speaks to me. I love the Lotus philosophy of adding lightness. This bike does that.

  19. If Derbi would like to give me one to test to destruction, at 345 lbs, i would love to help them out! But by the same token, like a lot of folks, I think this is the wave of the future.I think it’s cool as hell.

  20. So, how much?

    The best part is I could put it on my car’s bike rack to get it to school and back if I threw the motor in the trunk.

  21. Out of curiosity, do any of you have a MadAss? I’ve been interested in them for a while, but I can’t really justify the cost of one right now.

  22. I got to sit on a Madass at one point, and my impression was that the seat is rather high for something so small. Reviews I’ve heard have been mixed.

  23. The local bike dealer here in Korea has let me use the 125cc MadAss as a loaner a couple times. A hoot to ride, really peppy engine especially when the ram air kicks in, strong breaks, good handling, great for negotiating city traffic, and a real looker..but a bit uncomfortable, a really crappy seat and bad ergonomics for my 6′ frame. Still, hitting 120 km/hr on it felt a lot like hitting 120 mph back home 🙂

    It wasn’t nearly so much fun when a guy in a huge hyundai SUV took a sudden u-turn right in front of me and I found myself under his tires…the brakes weren’t good enough! (I was riding rather recklessly at the time, hurrying to catch sunset with a girl…) I guess I should thank the cheap chinese parts that the bent forks and twisted handlebars and whatnot only set me back 400 bucks :-/

    That being said, I like this bike, the design is superb, but dang, it seems too close to a bicycle not to have pedals! They should be removable like the engine is…

  24. I would definitely buy a street-legal version of this bike. However Piaggio Corp does not import Derbi to the USA. I think Aprilia (also owned by Piaggio) should get rid of their scooters and offer this bike as a 49cc and 100cc. Simply restrict the one-hundred down to forty-nine so people can buy it without a MC-endorsement and then mod it back up to one-hundred. They could even make money selling the mod kit.

  26. Heck, regular mountain bikes are as fun to ride as motorcycles.
    This Derby would have to be a blast.
    A street legal version would be great.

  27. if this could be street legal with an ultra quiet motor you could have a lot of fun

  28. Qual a Velocidade máx. dá DH 2.0

    e qual seu valor no BRASIL e quando ela virá pra cá!

  29. QUOTE:
    # WRXr Says:
    “May 8th, 2008 at 9:45 am

    This seems very similar, although lighter than the Sachs MadAss. I believe that even though Sachs is gone, the MadAss is still made in China”

    WRONG!! Sachs is very much alive. Although many of the bikes are being made in China, some are still made in Germany. Google Sachs and read the various websites 😉 The best one is the UK one which is over at http://www.sachsbikes.co.uk or something like that.

    The Derbi looks great, I love concept stuff like that . . .

  31. very nice
    but the price is going to be very high
    so i better start saving now and hope it comes into production
    it is sorta a lighter and smaller engined yamaha tricker

  34. I love the little bike and would buy one in a heart beat…an earlier comment by a “mountain biker” sort of set me off…he can totally tear the crap out of the back woods of public parks and lands..(cause he’s got no motor)..but he thinks people would be on the bike paths with it because it has a motor…they let the mountain bikes in because they are bikes..this is a motorized vehicle…I have been in judicial and law enforcement most of my life and I am an avid hunter and woodsman…keep you mountian bikes out of the public woods…the errosion is cutting the crap out of the hillsides….and landscape and it is a terrible intrusion into “wilderness and quiet areas of public land…the Mountain bikers are a great bunch and I love what they do…but they didn’t invent it…and they need to have their own playgrounds…and stay out of the public parks and woods..you are ruining the landscape sliding down steep grades ect…they just as well have motors as it creates the same damage…anyway..back to the little bike..I love it…as an old flattrack rider..I think it would be a cool play toy..and a great way to introduce cycles to my grandkids…I want one..get it marketed asap…

  35. Wow this was my idea 10 years ago, after realizing that mtb’s are a full suspension frame that carrys a human just fine, so why not add a small very high output engine and only add a few lbs. Should be plenty hp to hammer the trails and be a blast to ride.

    If we werent so green these days, this could be a 2-stroker and be even more power/less weight. And noisier 😉 My full suspension racing bike is already 30 lbs, so could the whole thing be kept around… 55/60ish? amazing idea.

  37. Sikk Toys have had similar bikes on the market for some time, and some innovative individuals have been building custom machines on a similar theme. I like it. Looks like an ideal playbike that is much more practical than the pitbikes that are so popular.

  39. I live in NY not too far from city and that bike right there would make my day…Plus there are fools out that’ll spend 5
    to 6 grand on regular bicycle. All, I’m going to say is does it come in black with turbo?…. that bike will make money.

  40. The main problem as I see it is the name. Maybe it would fly in Europe, but “Derbi” would be a serious deal-killer in the states for a lot of people. That is, unless they wore speedos….

  41. The Derbi and the M85 projects are just a copy of the original which is to be found at http://www.fxbikes.com the products are for sale.

    I’m in contact with the owners and they are super cool dudes. They’ll be making em with 250cc Honda 4 stroke MotoX engines soon I hope (Just a Joke).

    P Yak

  42. Do any other mountain bikers question whether this needs to have movable pedals… to ride mountain bikes effectively down hill you need to transfer your weight between them, so a standard mtb would certainly be faster downhill.

    that said this is a cool looking bike.

  43. I like it, though i think the tires should be a tad larger for off road use, could be fun though, depending on the price. if its too expensive, just get a dirt bike.

  44. Hey y’all, this is really a trials motorcycle; Derbi and GasGas apparently rule the roost for those. Check out their websites. GasGas has some amazing video of guys wringing these things out, and you can really see that a modern trials bike IS a motorized mountain bike.

    FYI, GasGas has a new model out with an old trick. It’s a side-valve (flathead) single (350cc I think), with all the modern tech: fuel injection etc. The engine’s no bigger than a two-stroke and revs to a very two stroke-like 10,000 rpm. I’ll try to pull the link for you.

  49. What cracking machine, I have been keeping an eye on the Derbi web site for ages, but no sign of a production model yet. Its ideal as an old mans (like me) toy I want one–NOW.

  50. Put a dual range tranny in it like the Honda CT series and they will son discover an *explosive* market that Honda abandoned. I’d rather have it than a larger bike.

  51. They seem to have invented a dramatically under-powered trials bike. But then it also completely lacks to flexibility -required on trails- provided by a gear box. Double the engine size and give it a gear box and I’d think it was cool.

  52. It doesn’t fit anywhere. It won’t be welcome on bicycle trails and won’t be competitive on motorcycle trails. It is a misfit that looks cool to the untrained teeny eye but will never make it in the real world.

  53. I like it. I consider it more of a true 100cc off-road motorcycle than any kind of a bicycle. I think the primary market for this would be commuters. If it becomes popular, I can see a new genre – ultra-lite motorcycle… I think mountain biker’s fears are without merit. The difference between 45 pounds and 88 pounds is moot considering that riders vary in weight from 90 pounds to 290 pounds. DH bikers are hitting speeds that make this machine’s engine useless, so I don’t see what the problem is. As long as it’s quiet and everyone plays nice together, it should be a no brainer.

  56. if it comes out i will buy one and park it behind a nice car and so when i say that is mine i mean the bike.

  57. I’d go for the fx bikes. Although its heavier, at least it can do some light trial riding. The Derbi just looks soo fragile.