Ever wondered why you don’t see many older Toyotas, Datsuns and Hondas on the road? When the first Japanese cars arrived in this country they were ridiculed for the way they rapidly rusted and wore out. In quite a short space of time the words Japanese and reliable have become almost synonymous in the car world.
Yet readers’ reports in the UMG would suggest that motorcycles have improved little in this respect over the same period. Sure, they handle better, have incredible performance, but is this what we really need? While cars have become longer lasting, more reliable, more economical and more comfortable to use. bikes are much the same as they've always been' in these respects, while the new found power eats up tyres, chains and other parts at rates which would frighten even a supercar owner.
Virtually every bike I've seen not only seems to have a poor level of finish compared to what we've come to expect from cars and commercial vehicles — paint that flakes away from frames, alloy that loses its shine after the first winter, seats and side panels that don't fit properly — also appear to have thousands of niches and crevices specifically designed to trap dirt and moisture, with the overall impression of being a collection of parts, not designed as a complete entity.
Because bikes are regarded as little more than disposable toys by these who make them and thus not designed with a long working life in mind, mechanical failures and maintenance demands which would not be tolerated by car or commercial vehicle owners are regarded as the norm. Any car which needed a rebore within 20,000 miles, broke camchains and blew head gaskets regularly, for example, would be a financial disaster for the maker and tarnish the brand name for years. Most motorists today regard 80—100,000 miles as the minimum for a new car's mechanical life and would not touch a vehicle needing 1000 mile oil changes with a barge pole.
To my mind, the whole approach to contemporary motorcycle design is flawed. Highly stressed, high revving engines are never going to last as long as the heavy duty, low stressed items used in trucks and tractors. These diesels, often featuring oil as well as water cooling and a very high quality of construction, typically have life spans of at least 300-400,000 miles with minimal maintenance.
The use of standard components throughout model ranges and long production lives not only reduces production costs, it also means that spare parts are cheap and readily available, even for obsolete models. My father can get a forged piston kit complete with cylinder liner for his tractor for less than the price of the equivalent part for my 125 Honda — and that, tractor was made nearly 25 years ago!
Oil immersed brakes that almost never need adjustment, well engineered transmission systems and easily accessible maintenance points are the kind of features which mean that these working machines perform for years without hassle. By comparison, motorcycles are disposable toys. Interestingly, the Japs have yet to make an impression on the truck and agricultural markets, although they are advancing rapidly with construction equipment.
I'm not suggesting that the bike of the nineties should be a turbo charged diesel — a rev range from 800 to 2000mm isn't very exciting — but I do think that if more people are to become — and remain — motorcyclists, more practical machinery is needed. Few car owners are going to give up the comfort, safety and status of their cages for long when they find that their two wheeled contraption eats up its minimal fuel savings with its insatiable appetite for expensive parts and maintenance, falling apart before their eyes.
Now that the western world has finally woken up to the fact that we can’t go on consuming our precious resources for ever. surely it is time that the motorcycle manufacturers got their act together and made some serious machinery. Speed is not the only measure of performance. Judging by their marketing approach, which is probably spot on for the Japanese market, the manufacturers have decided that motorcyclists fall into two broad categories — those who ride purely for pleasure and have money to burn, and those who use a bike for transport because they can’t afford a car.
In the first case the product is a high performance bike, in the second, with the exception of sports 50s and 125s for 16 and 17 year olds, it is the commuter, a basic machine little more advanced than British bikes of the sixties but without the style or durability. Some of the big trail bikes, such as Honda’s Transalp and Dominator or Yamaha's Super Tenere, come close to filling this gap but the price/performance equation is out of order. There is a real dearth of practical, affordable, yet exciting machinery. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a market for this type of bike.
My own design for the ideal working bike goes like this. A four stroke single, oil and/or water cooled, gear or belt driven cams, bucket and shim adjustment and a large oil capacity, ideally separate from the gearbox lubricant. Extracting just 30—40hp from 450—600cc at. say, 6000mm, but with plenty of low speed torque, this would be a light, compact, fuel efficient unit, which with its low work load and these refinements would be long lasting with maintenance intervals of at least 10,000 miles.
With the engine/gearbox acting as the bike’s backbone, a simple steel beam is all that's needed to clamp the headstock in position. Conventional telescopic forks take care of the front end while at the back, a single sided arm pivots on bearings directly on to the gearbox. working on the same axis as the gearbox output shaft to give constant chain tension. This swinging arm doubles up as an oil filled chaincase with an auto tensioner and is integral with the rear drum brake to give easy wheel removal and a very long chain life. A single suspension unit can be mounted on the back of the engine or under it.
Bodywork is all enclosing with integral seat, tank, windscreen and easily detachable panniers. Gracefully shaped plastic protects the rider's legs, feet and hands from the elements. Twin radiators are mounted either side of the tank, motocross style, using large ducts for efficient air flow. One or two removable panels give quick access for routine maintenance. Wheels, cast for appearance and easy cleaning, are almost enveloped by mudguards. Heavy duty alternator, starter motor and battery go without saying, while the lights are all smoothly integrated into the bodywork. Externally, at least, everything is smoothly contoured and flush fitting or shrouded by rubber, so there are no dirt traps.
Cleaning involves nothing more than ten minutes with soap and water. Corrosion is not a problem because the exhaust, the only metallic item not powder coated, galvanised or immersed in oil, is made from stainless steel. Weighing about 300 to 350lbs, this bike would manage 100mph quite easily and give at least 70 to 80rnpg. More importantly, everything but tyres and brake linings should last for at least 80,000 miles with little more than oil changes by way of maintenance, making for minimal running costs over a ten year life span. The high standard of construction and finish ensures low depreciation rates.
This isn’t a proper motorcycle, the traditionalists will say, it's a car on two wheels. Maybe. but cars currently out sell bikes in the UK by 20:1. It's got no character, you can't even see the engine, they will shout. Few would describe Ford Escorts, for example, as exciting to look at but this one model sold in greater numbers last year than all bikes put together. The average person in the UK doesn't want character if it means getting pneumonia every time he wants to go out in winter or getting his hands dirty every weekend, he wants reliable, civilised transport. And if a decent stylist like Bertone or Giugaro was put to work on a bike like this it could be anything but boring to look at.
I'd go for a trail bike riding position, which is safe and comfortable in traffic but bodywork could just as easily be made for a sports version, using the same engine and chassis. With a minimal number of changes, a variety of models could be made, including various engine capacities, more highly tuned and perhaps multi cylinder versions. Making variants of a basic model is much cheaper than producing several entirely different models — lower prices for the consumer and more profit for the manufacturers. Virtually everything else is made this way. so why not bikes?
Some contemporary bikes come close to my ideal in terms of styling — Honda's CBRs and Pan European, Norton's P55, for example. But these aren't practical machines, they're rich men's toys. The lack of marketing imagination exhibited by the motorcycle industry is remarkable — most bikes have little appeal to non motorcyclists who form the vast majority of the population. These potential customers are probably scared off by the fearsome appearance and performance of modern race replicas which do little to break away from the traditional images of bikes and bikers.
This is very sad because if the bikes themselves don't scare people away, the dealers certainly will. Many showrooms are revolting and the customer service must be amongst the worst in Britain, and that's saying something. This is very sad because the motorcycle could be made into a very efficient, practical means of transport which could be used by a great many people. In a world of finite resources and congested roads there must be a place for powered two wheelers. if the Japanese are too busy trying to extract the last few bhp from their latest race replica to notice. why don't the Europeans have a go? Looking further ahead, we could have direct injection two strokes or even rotaries, as are being developed by several car manufacturers, which with continuously variable transmission would give high power, low weight and maximum efficiency. Hub centre steering and monocoque body/ chassis designs may also appear. Poor aerodynamics, the main reason why motorcycle fuel economy has improved little, could be overcome by three wheeled or feet first designs.
When you consider that most of this technology is already available, the amazing thing is how little, not how much, motorcycles have developed. Unless radical changes are made to bike design soon, the bike as a form of transport will continue to decline in the UK and elsewhere. Personally, I am reaching the point in my life where I need a vehicle I can depend on, doesn't cost a fortune to buy and run, which I don't have to dress up like an arctic explorer to use. I have yet to see or hear of a modern motorcycle that fits the bill, so my next machine is likely to have four wheels rather than two, the bike relegated to second place in the garage.
[First published July 1992]
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