The promise of a production turbo diesel motorcycle has been long anticipated since we first saw photos and drawings of the prototypes and now Neander Motors is announcing the introduction of their first Neander Turbo Diesel motorcycle. The very first production unit will be on display at the international motorcycle show “Mondial du Deux-Roue†in Paris from September 28th to October 7th.
There have been several one off turbo diesel motorcycles built around the world, some, like the Thunder Star, with the intention of becoming production bikes, but Neander Motors has put it all together and they’ve done it with an unconventional twin crankshaft diesel engine designed to dramatically lower vibration.
The engine displaces 1340 cc with an output of 112 hp at 4200 rpm and 144 ft. lb of torque at 2600 rpm. Acceleration is 0-60 in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of approximately 140 mph. The engine is an air and oil cooled vertical twin cylinder with 4 valves per cylinder, 2 overhead cams and common rail injection. It is turbocharged with an intercooler. The transmission is a 6 speed with belt final drive.
The most unique feature of the engine are the twin counter rotating crankshafts with 2 connecting rods per piston, which, according to Neander, virtually eliminates the vibration you would expect, not only because it’s a diesel but also from the vertical twin configuration. The pistons both move up and down in unison. Technically, it’s extremely interesting and seems like it should do the job. We’ll have to wait for an independent road test to verify how well it actually works.
The motorcycle itself has a 75 inch wheelbase and is 98 inches in overall length. Rake is a leisurely 56 degrees. Seat height is only 26 inches making it easy to comfortably plant your feet and weight is 650 pounds. Range with 3.7 gallons of diesel fuel is approximately 186 miles which yields about 50 mpg, perhaps a bit less than you would expect until you consider the power and weight of the motorcycle and considering the engine is of their own design.
The other unique design feature are the twin 41 mm front fork tubes, that is, 2 tubes on each side. I’m not sure whether they all perform the same function or if suspension duties are somehow divided between the pairs but, in any case, it gives the Neander a very unique look.
The price for all of this engineering is 95,000 Euro which at today’s exchange rate is $133,000, certainly not cheap but far more conventional customs reach that price range and owning a Neander places you in a very limited group of riders.
The engine itself is a very neat piece and I have to wonder if there aren’t a few other applications for the twin crank design. Will this be the first of many turbo diesel motorcycles to begin production with other companies joining in or one of only a few? Time will tell but congratulations to Neander Motors for carrying through on their promise of getting their big rig on the road and into production. Nice job!
Link: Neander Motors
jordan birchbark says
for years one has been able to get get a royal enfield with a diesel powerplant albeit far more conventional. this seems a wee bit over the top doncha think?…i mean it’s not a bad looker but 133,000.00 is doable for whom? jay leno? i think they have priced themselves out of production. BUT kudos for puttin it out there.
steve says
I dont think they will sell huge numbers but maybe it will spur development of other more affordable diesel motorcycles.
anon says
HDT has been building Diesel (admittedly not turbo’d) Motorcycles for 20 years. Most production is for the US military in the form of Kawasaki KLR650’s with the engines replaced & other mods. They seem to have [temporarily] shelved plans for civilian versions.
“http://www.dieselmotorcycles.com”
kneeslider says
Before anyone else points out other previous diesel motorcycles, please check out our many earlier articles on the subject right here on The Kneeslider. Diesel Royal Enfields? Already covered, including those converted to biodiesel. Hayes Diversified Technologies? Lots of coverage of both their military and civilian version, the Bulldog and their trips to Bonneville. We have covered and really like diesel motorcycles, even a custom with hydrostatic drive.
As pointed out in the article above, only the Thunder Star 1200, a VERY cool bike, has a TURBO diesel and it has yet to see production, if it ever does.
The Neander is in a different league from previous production diesel motorcycles of any type, especially when you consider the counter rotating crankshafts. That alone makes it quite unique and worthy of attention. Of course it’s expensive. Try to design and build a new engine and custom motorcycle for limited production and see what it costs.
I personally hope they sell a lot of them and maybe it can evolve over time into something even better.
Bryce says
Amazing engineering. The quad tube fork is pretty quite interesting. I hope they can recoup some of their effort by selling those trick engines for use in other applications.
hoyt says
The engine is notable for sure. I’d like to hear a sound bite. Is it me or is that engine compact? Perhaps some of the large styling dwarfs the engine, giving it a more compact look….
Why does an HD or HD-derived aftermarket Big Twin engines have such an enormous drivetrain? The big torque numbers must have something to do with it, but look how compact this drivetrain/gearbox is and it is managing more torque than many of those engines.
Bert Baker designed a compact drivetrain for Ecosse, Confederate contracted someone to do their compact drivetrain, Victory & Star have compact gear-driven primaries….when will HD, S&S, or other aftermarket engine builders step up and build a more compact drivetrain?
Sid says
who said anything about making sense?
The person behind all of this must have some cash to pursue this adventure. I would be surprised if this was not a side business of someone who is already set financially.
A 60k – 200k rigid chopper makes less sense than this bike, but look how those took off.
OMMAG says
Well Paul that’s another really interesting post!
I’m in the habit now of reading your online work every day now and I’m please to say never disappointed….. except on those days there’s nothing new!
Keep up the good work.
Matt in NC says
I’m not really sure about the styling yet, but I think with a couple detail changes I could really like this bike. The pipes seem like an afterthought, and they look like they might be hiding an attractive swingarm, but you can’t tell. The front to rear proportions seem a little off, but I can imagine with a rider it’d look better.
One thing I love is the torque numbers. 144Ft. lbs! Awesome! A Toyota Tacoma pickup, standard model, only has 180 ft. lbs. and it’s gotta be wound up to 3800 rpm for that!
I think someone needs to take this powerplant and install it in a Smart, make a mini-monster out of it and call it a Neander-thall!
GenWaylaid says
I agree with Matt, this engine needs to go in a sports car. The low-vibration design would allow it to be mounted very close to the driver on a very stiff frame. That allows you to put all that torque down on the road with little chassis flex.
I can’t think of many other applications for a low-vibration diesel except quiet generators and small aircraft. I have a hunch the double crankshaft design has been used in aircraft before.
no_slushbox says
I’m extremely excited to see someone trying a (limited) production twin crank engine.
1) Perfect primary balance.
2) Piston skirts are not needed, dramatically ligtening the piston.
3) Two con-rods are supporting the pison, increasing possible piston speeds.
This bike is not perfect, but I would love to see some of the major manufacturers utilize the twin crank design.
JC says
Sounds like a heck of a motor for a Lotus Seven replica, love the torque!
Keith says
No doubt about it , that is a torquey bike . Just waiting to see a v-twin diesel , that would be a mega torque monster .
todd says
Keith, the V-configuration would have absolutely no affect on torque.
-todd
DW says
todd, the v-twin may actually have LESS torque. The twin crank design offsets the crank centerline from the piston bore centerline. This means that when the piston is at TDC the rods are NOT vertical or inline with the centerline of the crank, which gives the piston more leverage on the crank during the power stroke and thus MORE torque. It also has the side benefit of reducing side loading of the piston and thus friction.
C-Petteri says
What an ugly duck that is, yikes ! Interesting concept nonetheless, but based on those early prototype pictures I was waiting for something else. This one looks like the design team panicked right before the launching and decited to throw some new parts to it. I mean, the seat sucks, tank smells, but otherwise the bike looks good 🙂
Cortonj says
Go hybrid with the engine and stuff it into a Lotus Elise. Check that; just install it in the Elise and run!
Great Bike. I’ve been tracking it for couple of years in development, yet am very surprised at the price. Initially, $85k — steep to begin with, and now $133k?! Has the dollar fallen THAT much against the Euro?
There’s the early adopters, the early majority, the late majority, and the laggards. In this story of adopting technology, I think the price/product mix is off the mark. How many early adopters with the money to spend on this bike — regardless of how great it is — will pony up for the pleasure? In my (mildly limited) estimation, this bike doesn’t have the pedigree, styling, historical importance, technological impact, or industry buzz to find the buyers at $133,000.00. The technology MIGHT be closest to securing a buyer, but do the monied technophiles want choppers? Do the purely monied want the technology? Would a Harley owner want to sacrifice $133k worth of V-Twin HD’s for this? There will be some, but I’m sorry; it’s difficult to imagine this bike ever becoming the root of popular diesel motorcycling. Neander seems to be selling the motorcycling equivalent of a hot-rodded diesel Veyron; a tangential answer to the markets’ low priority question.
But look, that’s just my opinion — I’d be very happy to hear anyone else’s thoughts!
JC