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Moto-Euro asks noted designer John Koegh to peer inside his crystal ball and see how some of history’s most compelling classics might look if they were manufactured today.
Every motocycle enthusiast has a soft spot for a classic bike. Whether it was your first motorcycle or one you pined away for in your youth, the impression it left in your heart made a space for it in the future. Most of us would relish another chance at our favorite classic... but with the a few caveats, natch. Like could it not leak this time? An d have, say, a modern disc brake in place of the single-shoe drum?
When recreating a classic, the designer can add modern touches, but must retain the soul of the original. If the design strays too far, it ends up pissing off the very enthusiasts who’d want one. But when it’s done right, modern interpretations of classic bikes are savory concoctions Moto-Euro just can’t resist. Wanting another taste, we asked motorcycle visionary John Keogh to peer into his crystal ball and see what some of history’s classic motorbikes might look like today. We wanted a few different kinds of motorcycles, from different countries, and after some debate settled on the Brough Superior SS100, Gilera Saturno, and NSU Rennmax.
At the heart of the beast is a modern interpertation of the JAP 988cc air-cooled twin. The valves are still activated by pushrods for a number of reasons: tradition, mid-range power, and to keep the height of the long-stroke engine as low as possible. But while the engine bears a striking resemblance to the original, the radiator in front should give you an indication that it’s been modernized. The engine is both liquid- and air-cooled, and capable of going head to head with the industry’s most potent adversaries. If you guessed that the numerals in the SS100 name now stands for 100 cubic inches... you’d be right, or 1640 cc for the metricly inclined. That’s not enough cubes to win the displacement war, but with a wet weight some 100 pounds lighter than its competition, would put it at the front in the stop-light drag races. Tuned for torque, the big-inch twin would put out over hp and 140 ft-lbs of torque, enough to light up the 200-series rear tire in three gears. George Brough was known for using the best ancilliary equipment that was available, therefore the girder front end has been relegated to the history books in favor of modern upside-down Ohlins. These would be the very latest units with TiN coating and radial mounts for the brakes, which are Brembos, of course. The bikini fairing recalls nothing of the original, and some may find that a bit gamy. The shape evokes the head of an ant, perhaps, with slits in the nose that make it even more insect-like. It’s an interesting design motif, not common in the industry, but appropriate in it’s distinctiveness, if not faithfulness. And let’s face it, easily enough removed. The grey, black and silver colors on the stainless steel tank recall the original, as does the shape, which is rather long by today’s standards, but faithul to the era. Other important design motifs were the reverse control levers, mid-level silencer, and solo seat, which have been retained, as have the integrated paniers, which were an essential ingredient in formulating the gentleman’s express.
One Saturno that didn’t was the ‘80s Nuovo Saturno. It was a tight package of triangulated tubes and then-current styling, but like the original, was powered by a 500 cc single. Testers found the handling superb, but the limp engine held it back from wider appeal. A new Saturno would learn from that mistake.
Early Saturnos had a girder fork and swingarm rear with unusual (but effective) horizontal shock absorbers, and it is this version that inspires Keogh. But don’t take that to mean the suspension is retro-tech, it’s completely up to date! Both the swingarm and girder fork are manufactured from a graphite-carbon/epoxy with aramid honeycomb sandwich - aerospace technology, to be sure. The front girder is a Fior/Hossack design similar to a modern BMW Telelver in operation, but much lighter and sportier. The rear suspension is inspired by the in-house horizontal Gilera shocks of the period, but equipped with outboard rising-rate linkages with built-in ride height adjustment. The linkages can be swapped out to change the amount of swingarm travel and shock leverage for different kinds of riding. If you look closely you’ll notice the shocks are fully adjustable, with pre-load adjustment on the shock and knobs below the exposed springs to dial in rebound damping on one side and compression on the other. Wheels are the sport-standard 17” diameter, wearing disc brakes that mimic the vented drums of the period. While not entirely practical, John sees the Saturno as a custom of sorts, where expense and outright performance take a back seat to the overall effect. Therefore details like the hydraulic brake and clutch levers with pipework contained within the clip-ons add to the appearance, though not necessarily to the utility. The bodywork is minimal, bare enough to showcase the Saturno’s primal elements, but distinctive enough to carve its own identity. John chose heavily valanced fenders, faired-in turn signals, and an extendable pillion seat to complete the package. All told, John Keogh’s Saturno takes original styling cues a step further than most designers would be comfortable with, because it builds on seemingly dated components. But within those archaic designs are fresh ideas and modern construction methods that might work better than what’s currently available. Impractically expensive details would make the Saturno costly, but with custom bikes all the rage these days, it isn’t an impossibility.
The Renmaxx was never a production road bike, so neither is our concept bike. It’s a limited production track-day bike, designed to be the lightest and most responsive closed-course weapon. In concept it’s similar to the NCR Millona we tested in the Fall 2004 issue, but at an even higher level of specification.
Naturally, the engine is larger and has a much higher output, but doesn’t compete in capacity with current liter twins. At a mere 650cc it’s not an engine meant to light up the drag strip, but to provide the right amount of power for it’s ultra-light chassis, and most importantly, not so much spinning mass that it intrudes on the handling. The engine is primarily air cooled, using a thin-wall aluminum block that shaves weight and requires fewer cooling fins. There’s a seperate oil cooler in the tail section that extracts air through the low-pressure area there, making for less drag and better cooling for when things really get cooking. You may wonder about the electric starter at the front of the engine, it’s there for convenience despite the added weight. Remote battery terminals allow you to fire up the bike in the pits, so you don’t carry the dead weight with you. A small watch-style battery in the fairing powers the Veypor-esque gauges, providing downloadable data of every type, including an on-board dynomometer. Keogh’s Rennmaxx bodywork bares a lot of resemblance to the original, right down to the one-piece fuel tank and fairing. Hand-formed alloy wouldn’t be practical for production, and in this case it’s too heavy anyway. F1 technology has pioneered the use of carbon-fiber mixed with an aluminum weave, and that’s what you see here. John penned a mirror since one might eventually make it to the street, and we wanted to see what that would look like. The frame, swingarm, and front stanchions are all manufactured in carbon fibre. The carbon color looks rather like the original, and is lighter, of course. Radial front brake calipers act on special light-weight discs that look retro, but are next-gen spec. Forged 17” magnesium rims of 3.5” and 4.5” width buck the current trend of wider is better, but keep the weight down and allow the use of 120 and 160 section tires, or slicks. Which is appropriate, because this is essentially a four-stroke version of a 250 GP bike, with similar horsepower and weight. If you like round numbers, try 100 hp, 100 kg, and $100k.
So what would it take to see these motorcycles in production? Could we see new modern classics from Brough, Gilera and NSU? It’s improbable. But sometimes new motorcycles come from the most unlikely of places. And sometimes they come from a concept drawing on the pages of a magazine. Enjoy! ---
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Gilera Saturno
Keogh’s
version is basically two Saturnos in parallel, for 998cc. While
purists might sneer, a powerful engine would make production much
more likely. Like the original, it’s
an air-cooled mill, but sporting fuel injection and an oil cooler
for modern emissions requirements. The TT pipes look short and
loud, but there’s a collector under the engine that acts
as a catalytic converter and muffler. Unlike the original, the
engine is of unit construction, and has six gears, rather than
four.
NSU
Rennmax
The parallel
twin design is a natural for this mission, since a single block
and head can be made lighter and more rigid than a V-twin, which
requires seperate cylinders and heads. The engine is an air-cooled
DOHC twin with magnesium case covers; as it was in the past,
so shall it be in the future. But of course John has added some
new features.
Production