Minggu, 16 Januari 2011

Motorcycle body styles?

I write about Cars on my blog more but motorcycles remain my first love. There is a distinctive aura and charisma exuded by motorcycles which cars can never match.  But the image differs from motorcycle to motorcycle and country to country too. for e.g. in Canada motorcycles are only used by a handful of the populace for recreation while in India motorcycles are used by a majority for their everyday commute. Also, India is the largest two wheeler market in the world. Just like cars motorcycles also have body styles.




1. Cruiser : Cruiser is the term for motorcycles that mimic the design style of American machines from the 1930s to the early 1960s. The riding position on a cruiser usually but not always places the feet forward and the hands up, with the spine erect or leaning back slightly.  Mostly the engine capacities are much higher than normal bikes and also feature car engines on various examples.

Cruisers that are built uniquely or custom designed are called Choppers and mostly American in their origin.
Bobbers are cruisers which dont have front fenders mostly seen on Choppers.


2. Sportbike: A sport bike, also written as sportbike, is a motorcycle optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on paved roads, typically at the expense of comfort and fuel economy in comparison to less specialized motorcycles. The bodies are mostly fully faired (clothed) to providing for the best aerodynamic efficiencies aiding in performance and termed superbikes. Sportbikes are mostly classified bytheir displacements as

Lightweight (250cc),
Middleweight (600 cc),
Superbiker (1000cc) and
Hyperbike (above 1000cc).

3. Street bikes: A street version of sportbikes are known as street bikes. Mostly, the street versions are semi-fared or naked. Street bikes are classified as streetfighter, Naked bike. A Streetfighter is a street bike that is customized by removing the fairing, and making other changes that result in an overall more aggressive look. Beyond simply removing fairings, specific changes that exemplify the streetfighter look are a pair of large, round headlights, tall, upright handlebars such as those on a motocross bike, and short, loud, lightweight mufflers. Caferacers are also a part of streetbikes. Sometimes they are also called roadsters.


3. Touring: A touring motorcycle is a type of motorcycle designed for long-distance touring and heavy commuting. Although any motorcycle can be used to tour with, manufacturers have brought specific models designed to address the particular needs of these riders. Common to the touring motorcycle models is usually large displacement fairings and windshields (to offer a high degree of weather and wind protection), large capacity fuel tanks (for long ranges between fill-ups), engines offering lots of low-end horsepower, and a more relaxed, more upright seating position than sportbikes.  They are further classified as

Sport tourers (fully dressed tourers) which includes features like A/C, Music players etc
Classic tourers are crusiers with a more relaxed riding posture designed for long distance touring
Dual purpose tourers  designed specifically to provide global touring capabilities on both pavement and off-road with the intent of making virtually any destination reachable.

4. Off-road (enduro): An Enduro motorcycle is a motorcycle specially made for the Enduro sport, with the long travel and medium-hard suspension of a motorcross bike conjoined with features such as a headlight and quiet muffler to make the bike street-legal for parts of the track. The engine of an enduro bike is usually a single cylinder 2-stroke between 125cc and 360co, or 4-stroke between 250 and 650cc. Such bikes are also known as dirtbikes. They are classified mainly based on the races they are used for.

Moto cross
Supermoto (Dirt bike)


5. Muscle bikes: Just as the name suggests Muscle bikes like their muscle car counterparts are  a type of  motorcycle that puts a disproportionately high priority on engine power. Cafe racers are not exactly muscle bikes but are a breed of cruisers modfied for a sporty posture and performance.


Sidecar: An important role has been played by the sidecar in history of motorcycles. Such has also been the cas in movies. So a mention is obvious.

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