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The TerraCraft 3 wheeler car and motorbike hybrid |
Its unique steering system means the driver can manually dial in a tilt angle to replicate the sensation of leaning a motorcycle into a corner. The seating looks like the same padded comfort models from a long distance BMW or Honda tourer.
James ‘Wes’ Abbott, a former NASA sub contractor, said that the hybrid is ideal for ‘aging baby boomers who are looking for alternatives to stay on the road and to keep cruising with their clubs’. The TerraCraft is a very sexy-looking concept bike. It almost looks as if a Bugatti Veyron has been squashed to a third of its normal width and equipped with formula one-style open wheels, albeit with a much narrower track, he added.
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The TerraCraft 3 wheeler car and motorbike hybrid |
It's a tandem 2-seater, much like a motorcycle, with a very comfy looking saddle straight out of a luxury mega-tourer, and it's got the added benefit of retractable side doors and a roof canopy that also slides back into the rear of the vehicle to make it a convertible.
The designer is working on a prototype right now taking the back half of a Honda GoldWing GL1500 to build a proof of concept he should be able to unveil at The Texas Lone Star Rally later in the year.
"I'm at 70% on the prototype chassis, working about 12 hours a day on that right now. I have the rolling chassis, I have the suspension fabricated up and right now I'm about to start doing some refinements in the steering linkage to mitigate bumps and such."
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The TerraCraft 3 wheeler car and motorbike hybrid |
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The TerraCraft 3 wheeler car and motorbike hybrid |
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The TerraCraft 3 wheeler car and motorbike hybrid |
"Being that we're bootstrapping this right now we're not putting a lot of giant funds into getting this built. I'm kind of building it, and the engineers are kind of coming in behind me and reverse engineering what I do. Otherwise, these guys are NASA trained engineers, and they'll think of seven different designs and debate about it for seven years and about 70 million dollars' worth of budget."
Abbott says TerraCraft is "doing a bit of fundraising – we're kind of bootstrapping this and trying to maintain ownership and control without going into the heavy investors. We really want to stick with the niche market. and potentially go into the market with kit options and segue into the production models after that. We'd like to mitigate dilution and take care of our core group."
To that end, he's willing to offer the first 10 TerraCraft vehicles to early adopters at cost price as the company tools up toward production, or even less if the new owner is willing to take the bike out to expo shows and presentations.
It's looks great with lots of good ideas and he is thinking to give the pilot a chance to be either in the wind or protected from the rain. I hope it is not too expensive.
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RC - Friday, July 26, 2013
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