Ian Galvin and Craig Mackiewicz developed a new motorcycle design, the NERO, as their senior project at CCS, the College for Creative Studies. The pair forsees the possibility of a new golden age of motorcycles in America due to the convergence of factors such as traffic congestion and restrictions on fossil fuels. They believe a mid sized naked bike might best address those issues.
The NERO draws on the Vincent name for the qualities of performance, price and technology it embodied during its day. They pulled design influence from some obvious sources such as the Confederate Wraith and Renovatio plus John Britten’s superbike.
I think the concept has a lot going for it, the girder front suspension and overall clean lines, but it looks to me as though the proportions are just a little off, either the wheels and tires are somewhat small or the rider sits very high. Looking at the one image they offer with riders on the bike, it seems like the center of gravity might be too high but maybe that’s just me.
More photos and links below:
Brian sent me this link without comment after seeing it here, I would be interested to hear his take, check out their portfolio and let us know what you think.
UPDATE: Brian Case added these observations:
My take, if I’m even qualified to do so, would probably have to focus on the fact that this is an exceptional student presentation. And for that I give it a solid A+. What drew me to it was the overall presentation in Ian Galvin’s portfolio, particularly how the Vincent brand and inspiration board was incorporated as a complete package. When I was in school, this is what teachers graded on. This style of presentation is more commonly associated with car and product design programs. I’m very pleased to see more and more schools, especially American schools, encourage motorcycle design and treat it as it’s own genre. Design software used to communicate concepts these days, such as Studiotools, Sketchbook, Photoshop, have certainly come along way, and are almost as essential to a designer as is a pencil. So, presentation of concept, A+.
The concept itself, I would have to say is good. I’m a sucker for funny front ends, so they sold me on that. And I like the light-weight minimalist approach. But this is a school project, so I can’t really say anything bad about it. If this were a concept released by a company, then my critique would be entirely different and probably based on my opinions of practicality, market, etc. I second what Paul wrote about the proportion being off. Assuming the front wheel is a 17″ rim, my ruler-to-monitor calculations tell me the seat height is ok at 32″, so maybe the scale of the motor is a bit too small. This can happen quite often in CAD, which is why full scale mock ups are usually the next step. However, I think the proportions become one of the most unique aspects about this concept. It is difficult to break conventions in shape and form, especially in motorcycles. People expect to see what they are already familiar with, that’s just the way our brains work. It seems to me, beauty, in terms of a unique design that stands out in the crowd, has a very fine line between slightly exaggerated proportions and whimsical nonsense.
As far as Confederate bikes being an inspiration? Well, that’s nice to say, but all I saw on the student’s inspiration board was references to Vincent, Britten, cars and aircraft, which happen to be some of the same references used in Confederate designs. The angle of the dual rear shocks on a Hellcat? Inspired by a Vincent. The Vincents were great bikes way ahead of their time, I’m sure lots of designers use them for inspiration. The Britten too. Although, the Britten V1000 had a hossack-style front suspension not a traditional girder, so I would say the story of John Britten’s remarkable achievements were used more as inspiration at Confederate than the actual design of the V1000. And despite popular belief, the Wraith carbon fiber and aluminum front end is every bit as light as conventional forks, and could be even lighter if it was re-engineered for mass production. The fact that it’s “heavy-looking” has nothing to do with physical weight. The girder’s demise after the ’50’s seems to be entirely based on materials and processes at the time. With new materials and processes developed everyday, I’m sure lots of out-dated concepts will continue to resurface. The Barber Museum has 1100+ examples of out-dated designs ripe for the picking, if you’re a budding designer looking for inspiration. It was JT Nesbitt who opened my eyes on the practicality of girder front ends, and motorcycle design itself, so I thank him for that.
Other aspects of the NERO concept seem to come entirely from Vincent bikes, as intended. The rear suspension looks like a direct reference to the Black Shadow, as is the minimal monocoque chassis and, of course, the aircraft-derived Vincent radial twin engine. I like it, and I think these guys will go far in their careers. Looking back, it’s a shame Bernard Li didn’t come out with something like this when he tried to re-launch Vincent a few years back.
Link: NERO design portfolio
Will says
take the seat away and looks like one big go ped. how about making it so it can fold for all those in the big cities, no need to worry about parking it outside
tom w. says
Not bad for a senior project. I’ve certainly seen uglier designs from actual manufacurers who do it professionally.
If I were their professor, I think I’d bust their balls a bit regarding details such as: Where’s the battery?
. . .but I’d give them an A.
Erik says
I like these bikes! I dig the final picture where you can’t see the seat and it looks like he’s floating above the back wheel. The freakout factor would be awesome!
Chris says
With that massive front end on it, I don’t think anyone is going to be accidentally popping a monster wheelie like the guy in the last rendering 😉
I agree with Paul. This thing looks like it needs to be lowered about three or four inches.
@Tom W.: no need for a battery if you put a kickstarter on it and a big capacitor to help the alternator deal with the load. I bet with enough creativity, you could even make a batteryless bike fuel-injected (mechanical FI for start, then electronic FI once the engine is running).
cl
hoyt says
“They pulled design influence from some obvious sources such as the Confederate Wraith and Renovatio plus John Britten’s superbike”
Plus, Moto Czysz swingarm and rear suspension. (see top photo on the left)
The battery could be inside the expansive space above the cylinder head.
todd says
At least the Saint Thomas Academy’s high schoolers actually built a bike. This looks like a quick 3D rendering with not much practical thought involved. Granted, I’ve never had any of my ideas posted on the internet (other than EBay and Craigslist).
-todd
Sean says
I actually like the concept. But it does look like they just nabbed the design ideas from the Confederate Wraith and that concept drawing by Confederate. Also, why is that front mudguard supported by the brake calipers?
mark says
Guess I feeling crusty this morning ’cause these design studies do nothing for me: cartoon bikes that are never going to see the light of day. Clearly the guys who put these together are designers and not motorcyclists; fun for a student project but much less interesting to me than a guy who builds a working 3l single, or creates something that actual exists.
From a design perspective, I find there is nothing original here, nor is there any sense of pleasing aesthetics. Just a cobbled together mish-mash of ideas that don’t congeal at all, IMO. Compare it to a 916, an RC30, or even an HRD-Vincent and you will see what I mean.
Sean says
Girder front suspension still [u]looks[/u] whacked… 😛
christopher says
where can i buy one? like it or not there needs to be more blue sky thinking like this about motorcycles. cars too, for that matter. i applaud them for a design that, in my opinion, takes some bold risks.
Scott says
“”With that massive front end on it, I don’t think anyone is going to be accidentally popping a monster wheelie like the guy in the last rendering””
Even though the front end ‘looks massive’, would I be incorrect that it is Carbon Fiber and probably weighs less than a standard fork system……?
Bobert says
WTF? I thought these guys were students at the “College for Creative Studies.” I don’t see a whole lot of ‘creative’ here; just the stealing and reconfiguring of other peoples’ ideas. Perhaps they should transfer to the “College of Derivative Studies.”
alex says
ok, not bad looking, definately a good rough first design with room for adjustments. In response to others, the girder would most likely be carbon fiber. And you would have to put the battery above the motor, because below is where the exhaust would be. Looks like it should be lowered a good 4 in. or so and possibly lengthened. As it is it looks too top and front heavy. Grab a fist full of brakes and superman off the front of it. I agree that it looks a bit plagiarised.
Charles says
I must admit, these concepts definitely have many of the individual features I’d hope to see in a motorcycle. However, it bothers me to no end that they’ve made no considerations towards the placement of turn signals and even the license plate. These are things that whether we like it or not, are necessary to the function of a road-worthy motorcycle, so they shouldn’t be added on as afterthoughts. Details are everything.
Matt in NC says
I dunno… I kind of like it.
I’d like to see it as a single, and lose the vertical cylinder. Keep the majority of the mass as low as possible, but keep the rider upright and higher up. It’d be like an enduro seating position with the low COG of a dirt track Jawa. Seems like it’d be just the ticket for an urban traffic carver.
Brian says
Actually, I think what Matt in NC describes would be a bad combination. But let me tell you why.
It has to do with polar moments, and having some of the weight real low and some weight high would make the bike handle poorly in my opinion. The concept above would handle poorly the way it’s proposed. Losing the vertical cylynder would make it handle worse.
For optimal handling, it’s best to centralize the mass around the CoG, wherever that may be. I noticed this first hand when I was wearing my test dummy hat at Confederate. We had prototyped an alternate seat for the Wraith that was longer and positioned the rider further back. Because the seat was so long and flat, I was able to slide back and forth while riding and instantly feel the handling change. The closer I got to the engine, the better. When I sat back as far as I could while turning, it was like my body mass was fighting the bike mass causing the bike to handle poorly.
Another example of this would be a figure skater, spinning in place with his/her arms out. When they pull their arms in what happens?
Tom Clasen says
Wow, those ‘pivot points’ are interesting, very Vincent-like. I’m currently building an Egli, Spine frame, Sportster and there are a lot of challenges to this design- here the motor is the frame,period. I love it.
rafe03 says
IMHO the Britten front suspension is much less massive looking that these girder forks or the ones on the Wraith, etc. Big visual masses of these carbon fiber forks bring the apparent center of interest too far forward no matter how light weight they are. And the Britten front end is structurally elegant & lithe, doesn’t need “styling”
rafe03