This is the world’s first split-wheel motorcycle and it’s the product of some crazy redneck engineering.
Built by the guys over at Bikes and Beards, they got the idea from a DIY bicycle.
And according to them, “anything that you can do on a bicycle can be done on a motorcycle”.
So, off they went.
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The build
Using a Honda CBR, Sean Kerr and Craig planned to extend the factory swing arm and add another wheel onto the back.
Then they planned to modify the front-drive wheel with another sprocket so they could drive the rear-drive wheel.
It sounded like a great plan, but it wasn’t long before they realized it wouldn’t be quite so straightforward.
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Their first challenge was the bike’s suspension.
“If we secure the third tire directly to the swing arm, it might cause the rear tire to lift every time the suspension is compressed,” Kerr said.
“But I’m no physics mathematician, so we’re going to cross that bridge when we get there.”
Unfazed, they forged ahead.
The tires
Next step, was to tackle the tires.
First, they cut them in half, and decided to fill them with spray foam to hold their shape.
But the spray foam didn’t quite do the job, so they changed direction and filled the tires with a pipe instead.
Then they filled the pipe with rubber mulch and capped the ends off with spray foam.
This seemed to do the job.
“After almost two entire days of us working on this, things started falling into place better than we thought they would,” Kerr said.
With the wheels in place, it was time to put the DIY bike to the test.
The ride
To the guys’ credit, it actually worked.
But not perfectly.
“Why is it going up and down? Why is it doing that?” Kerr said while riding it for the first time.
“It’s almost like one tire’s bigger than the other.”
Despite the bumpiness, Kerr was able to get the split-wheel motorcycle up to a top speed of 48 km/h (30 mph).
“As I rode the bike I realized I had finally bridged the gap between motorcycle and jackhammer,” he said.
It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn close.
A+ for creativity.
