Motorcycle design
Encyclopedia
Motorcycle design can be described as activities that define the appearance, function and engineering of motorcycle
s.
Professionally it is a branch of industrial design
, similar to automotive design
using identical techniques and methodology, but confined by a set of conventions about what is acceptable to the buying public. These conventions have been defined by the acceptance of the industry and media as a whole to the assumption that the public will only purchase machines that bear more than a passing resemblance to competition machines of whatever kind. In some large OEM
motorcycle manufacturers, the term designer can also be applied to the project leader or chief engineer charged with laying down the principal architecture of the vehicle. In recent years it has also become associated with custom or "chopper
" builder culture.
Most OEM motorcycle manufacturers, such as Honda
, Suzuki
, Kawasaki
, BMW
, Ducati, Piaggio
and others have in-house design studios dedicated to this purpose, while others such as Yamaha
and KTM
depend on specialised independent design consultancies.
, and market and cultural relationships. In other matters such as pure mechanical ergonomics
(such as seat height, handlebar placement, etc.), or basic layout (the location of major components, storage, etc.) there is usually considerable overlap between the designer and engineer. The designer will nominally approach each problem from a human interface, or "feel" or "irrational" point of view (example : "Does this material feel cold or warm, and is this feeling appropriate to this vehicle's target consumer?"), while the engineer will attack each problem with the "rational" or clinical approach of empirically weighing the cause and effect of each design decision against the project's technical and economic design targets (example : "Can this material be moulded into the designer's desired shape? Will that be too expensive to produce?")
. From this point, artwork is developed to visually communicate the designer's ideas. These are presented in 2Db drawing or illustrated form, from which a winning direction is down selected for further development. Once a satisfactory design is established on paper (the term paper is a generalization that can include traditional hand renderings, digital artwork or CAD drawings), then full scale modeling begins to realise the design in tangible 3D
form.
The most misunderstood element and the most dangerous to the success of a product, is the idea that team members should evaluate the design based on personal tastes or preferences. Industrial design is not an art form, but a focused creative expression using the scientific data and analysis in the Design Brief and QFD as ultimate guidelines. The target user, their needs and tastes should be reflected in the final design, not necessarily exclusively those of the design team. Of course, many complex variables such as the OEM brand identity, past successes and failures, and whimsical trends often skew or distort styling decisions. In instances where the factors are overwhelming, OEM's may err on the side of cautious conservative design.
" or "cruiser" type motorcycles has become more mainstream, leading to a flourishing builder industry. As a whole, these vehicles are not designed in the professional sense, but rather crafted by hand by metal workers and artisans using traditional skills. The resulting vehicles tend to be very elaborate, expensive and difficult or impossible to reproduce in mass production, but are highly valued for the same reasons.
Among custom motorcycle
culture, certain names have become famous for their creations and have led to mainstream acceptance of previously unacceptable design solutions such as extreme ergonomics, totally rigid rear wheels without the benefit of suspension, minimal lighting and limited ground clearance for cornering. These design characteristics are purely emotional in nature, being led by styling and image rather than technical or performance considerations.
" began to flourish in the mid-1970s as a response the myriad of high performance Japanese motorcycles then available, but whose power far exceeded their handling. Individuals would chose pre manufactured parts from catalogs or from other bikes and redesign their particular machine to suit their desires. In general this activity is limited to one of a kind vehicles and as with custom motorcycles, uses very little genuine engineering or design methodology, although some small scale manufacturers exist who make limited runs of a given model. In some cases, these tiny specialists were successful enough to grow into full scale OEM companies such as the Buell Motorcycle Company
and Bimota
of Italy
.
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s.
Professionally it is a branch of industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
, similar to automotive design
Automotive design
Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans...
using identical techniques and methodology, but confined by a set of conventions about what is acceptable to the buying public. These conventions have been defined by the acceptance of the industry and media as a whole to the assumption that the public will only purchase machines that bear more than a passing resemblance to competition machines of whatever kind. In some large OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
motorcycle manufacturers, the term designer can also be applied to the project leader or chief engineer charged with laying down the principal architecture of the vehicle. In recent years it has also become associated with custom or "chopper
Chopper (motorcycle)
A chopper is a type of motorcycle that was either modified from an original motorcycle design or built from scratch to have a hand-crafted appearance. The main features of a chopper that make it stand out are its longer frame design accompanied by a stretch front end...
" builder culture.
Professional design
Professional motorcycle designers almost always hold degrees in industrial design, industrial design engineering or similar, and have training in styling, modeling, as well as knowledge in aspects of technology associated with single track vehicles. Although no degree as a specialisation exists per se, the majority of candidates graduate through colleges and universities with established transportation design courses, and are trained as automotive designers.Most OEM motorcycle manufacturers, such as Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, Suzuki
Suzuki
is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines...
, Kawasaki
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
, BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
, Ducati, Piaggio
Piaggio
Piaggio based in Pontedera, Italy encompasses seven brands of scooters, motorcycles and compact commercial vehicles. As the fourth largest producer of scooters and motorcycles in the world, Piaggio produces more than 600,000 vehicles annually, with five research and development centers, more than...
and others have in-house design studios dedicated to this purpose, while others such as Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
and KTM
KTM
KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer.The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen...
depend on specialised independent design consultancies.
Design and engineering relationships
Due to the high importance of mechanical components or even exposed engines to motorcycle styling, almost always designers will have a greater sensitivity and awareness to engineering than will typical car designers. In OEM situations, large teams of professional engineers and specialists will collaborate on each project development, allowing the designer to focus on the more intangible or subjective aspects of design, such as styling, human-machine interface psychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and market and cultural relationships. In other matters such as pure mechanical ergonomics
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:...
(such as seat height, handlebar placement, etc.), or basic layout (the location of major components, storage, etc.) there is usually considerable overlap between the designer and engineer. The designer will nominally approach each problem from a human interface, or "feel" or "irrational" point of view (example : "Does this material feel cold or warm, and is this feeling appropriate to this vehicle's target consumer?"), while the engineer will attack each problem with the "rational" or clinical approach of empirically weighing the cause and effect of each design decision against the project's technical and economic design targets (example : "Can this material be moulded into the designer's desired shape? Will that be too expensive to produce?")
Research and Concept Design
In OEM motorcycle design, the normal procedure of developing a new motorcycle involves the same steps in other professional design disciplines : identifying a target consumer, researching them to identify benchmarks and project targets, then proposing concept directions in a written form known as a Design Brief or QFDQuality function deployment
Quality function deployment is a “method to transform user demands into design quality, to deploy the functions forming quality, and to deploy methods for achieving the design quality into subsystems and component parts, and ultimately to specific elements of the manufacturing process.”, as...
. From this point, artwork is developed to visually communicate the designer's ideas. These are presented in 2Db drawing or illustrated form, from which a winning direction is down selected for further development. Once a satisfactory design is established on paper (the term paper is a generalization that can include traditional hand renderings, digital artwork or CAD drawings), then full scale modeling begins to realise the design in tangible 3D
Three-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
form.
Styling
Often used as an interchangeable term with "design", styling is in fact just one component of the design process. Typically, styling is developed through sketches, renderings and illustrations then realised in 3D form using automotive styling clay, specialised industrial modeling foams such as Sibatool, Renshape or Epiwood, or in increasingly limited cases plaster or body filler. As the most subjective part of the design process, the various members of the development team must depend heavily on the judgment, skill and experience of the appointed designer to create an appropriate look.The most misunderstood element and the most dangerous to the success of a product, is the idea that team members should evaluate the design based on personal tastes or preferences. Industrial design is not an art form, but a focused creative expression using the scientific data and analysis in the Design Brief and QFD as ultimate guidelines. The target user, their needs and tastes should be reflected in the final design, not necessarily exclusively those of the design team. Of course, many complex variables such as the OEM brand identity, past successes and failures, and whimsical trends often skew or distort styling decisions. In instances where the factors are overwhelming, OEM's may err on the side of cautious conservative design.
Parallel development
Because of the need to reduce development time and costs, the "styling" design model is usually developed in parallel with the engineering 3D design. While there is an increasing amount of digital design input in the modern OEM design process, nearly all major motorcycle manufacturers still rely on full scale clay models to render the master style model, then scan and import the styling surfaces into suitable 3D software packages (Alias, CATIA, ISEM Surf) for integration into the 3D engineering CAD platform (CATIA, ProEngineer, etc.). Once combined, the design team can virtually refine the motorcycle by optimising component assembly, checking for any undesirable interferences between parts, and predict and eliminate possible engineering problems. Typically, designers and engineers will have the greatest number of conflicts during this phase of development, as designers will fight to maintain the original styling and design of the clay model and artwork into the production vehicle, while the engineer will eliminate all problems in the most efficient manner possible. The success of the final product depends heavily on the level of cooperation between these often conflicting needs.Custom builders
In recent years, largely due to the popularity of television programs like Orange County Chopper and Biker Build-off, the building of one of a kind "chopperChopper (motorcycle)
A chopper is a type of motorcycle that was either modified from an original motorcycle design or built from scratch to have a hand-crafted appearance. The main features of a chopper that make it stand out are its longer frame design accompanied by a stretch front end...
" or "cruiser" type motorcycles has become more mainstream, leading to a flourishing builder industry. As a whole, these vehicles are not designed in the professional sense, but rather crafted by hand by metal workers and artisans using traditional skills. The resulting vehicles tend to be very elaborate, expensive and difficult or impossible to reproduce in mass production, but are highly valued for the same reasons.
Among custom motorcycle
Custom motorcycle
A custom motorcycle is a motorcycle that is highly stylized or which treats aspects such as frame geometry, engine design, or paintwork in an unusual way compared to standard manufacturing. Custom motorcycles are unique or individually produced in a very limited quantity, as opposed to "stock"...
culture, certain names have become famous for their creations and have led to mainstream acceptance of previously unacceptable design solutions such as extreme ergonomics, totally rigid rear wheels without the benefit of suspension, minimal lighting and limited ground clearance for cornering. These design characteristics are purely emotional in nature, being led by styling and image rather than technical or performance considerations.
"Specials"
Custom and Specials motorcycles are similar to the above but tend to be super sport type motorcycles, or at least high performance based, using as many special add on parts, one of a kind or limited series frames, racing wheels and parts or hand made components to maximise performance. While modifying motorcycles is an activity as old as the motorcycle itself, the "special" culture or "streetfighterStreetfighter
A streetfighter is a sport 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...
" began to flourish in the mid-1970s as a response the myriad of high performance Japanese motorcycles then available, but whose power far exceeded their handling. Individuals would chose pre manufactured parts from catalogs or from other bikes and redesign their particular machine to suit their desires. In general this activity is limited to one of a kind vehicles and as with custom motorcycles, uses very little genuine engineering or design methodology, although some small scale manufacturers exist who make limited runs of a given model. In some cases, these tiny specialists were successful enough to grow into full scale OEM companies such as the Buell Motorcycle Company
Buell Motorcycle Company
The Buell Motorcycle Company was an American motorcycle manufacturer based in East Troy, Wisconsin and founded in 1983 by ex-Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell.Harley-Davidson acquired 49% of Buell in 1993, and it became a wholly owned subsidiary by 2003....
and Bimota
Bimota
Bimota is a small, Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini, Italy by Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini. The company name is a portmanteau derived from the first two letters of each of the three founders' surnames, i.e...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.