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Art on Two Wheels
If art is the most individual expression of one’s most individual emotion, motorcycles are sure the most artful vehicles on the planet. Ridden by artists, writers and musicians, mavericks and outlaws, the art of riding a motorcycle has inspired humankind to emotionally connect with the road, speed and no particular destinations like no other vehicle has ever achieved. So motorcycles tend to inspire designers straight from the soul, with no legislation to interfere in how one’s motorcycle ought to look. From the motorized bicycles to the powerful superbike, the individualistic art of designing a motorcycle has evoked individual emotion throughout its history.
Motorised bicycles as pioneers - 1906 Herdtle Bruneau
French company Herdtle-Bruneau produced motorbikes in Paris from 1902. They mounted their small, but technically advanced, even water-cooled engine blocks in bicycle frames. That was what just about everyone was doing before WWI. A light engine in a bicycle frame, a petrol tank between the frame beams, with design coming only from the tank and the engine block itself. The Herdtle-Bruneau company stopped motorbike production at the start of WWI.
When function becomes beautiful form - Vincent Black Shadow (1948-1955)
The moniker ‘superbike’ is still some 20 years away, but the Vincent Black Shadow is a superbike avant la lettre. Motorcycles become more compact. Suspension and stiff frames become a point of focus for all manufacturers. In those days, Vincent is years ahead of its time. Using maybe the most beautiful engine ever to grave a motorcycle as a stressed member, a frame is no longer needed. It took brands like Ducati or wonderful specials like the Britten 1000 many more decades to go the same way. Also the rear suspension was 25 years ahead of it’s time. It makes the Vincent Black Shadow together with Brough Superior the ultimate collection motorcycles for the connaisseur.
Going out with a bang - Norton Commando 750 Fastback
If Brittania no longer ruled the waves, it still ruled the roads way past WWII. Brittain built and exported motorcycles all over the globe with little or no competition when it came to do all, sporty motorcycles. The 1967 Norton Commando used proven running gear, but very sleek and modern styling made it an instant classic and inspiration for motorcycles in years to come. The fiberglass fuel tank deprived of rubber tank pads made it look sleek and modern. The slick back would set a design standard for decades to come. The Norton Commando came just as the Japanese motorcycle industry dropped their high quality, high performance multicilinders, starting with the Honda CB750 Four. An uppercut the British would never recover from. And by the 1980’s all the British brands were gone, leaving us with sure fire classics like the Commando Fastback.
Back to basics - 1992 Ducati Monster 900
In 1992, the basic ‘naked’ motorcycle has all but disappeared. A stroke of luck and genius brings it back. It is the small Italian firm Ducati that revives the basic motorcycle. The parts bin special, made up by 900SS engine hung in an 888 superbike trellis frame makes, it relatively cheap to develop. It is Miguel Galluzzi’s rounded tank, based on the stance of a charging bull, that makes it an instant design classic. When Ducati executives see the first prototype, it is dubbed ‘Il Mostro’ or the Monster. The name sticks. Many brands will follow Ducati in developing basic, sporty roadsters, often based on sports bikes from their range. It will become the best selling motorcycle class in Europe to this day.
Resurgence by design - 2004 MZ 1000S
The once East German MZ tried to reinvent itself after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It took a tremendous leap from dated two-stroke transport equipment to a super-sporty motorcycle. Their “New Edge” was designed by Peter Naumann and won a silver medal at the International Design Forum. The frame was an a perfect mix between a 'Japanese' twin spar frame and a 'Ducati' trellis frame. The water-cooled, 999cc parallel-twin was good for 117 horsepower and was praised by the press. But financial problems fairly quickly ushered in ruin for MZ.
New Avant Garde - 2020 Aston Martin AMB 001
In 2013, the Brough Superior brand is revived in Toulouse, France. With modern avant-garde motorbikes, based on the equally avant-garde SS100 in its day, the 90th anniversary of the brand is celebrated. In 2020, Brough Superior contracted with Aston Martin to build the first Aston Martin motorbike, the non-street-legal AMB 001. The frame, tucked away under a sleek design, consists of an expensive mix of magnesium, titanium, aluminium and carbon. The distinct suspension is a modern homage to the SS100's front fork and the front brake, consisting of four discs, is derived from the aircraft industry. And that's necessary, with a turbocharged 997cc V-twin engine, good for 180bhp. Whether two-wheeled art is still being built in this day and age? Of course.
