Photo: Vanguard
The motorcycle you see here is another example of how future bikes will be made thanks to advanced materials, digital engineering and 3D printing. It’s called the Vanguard Roadster, and it recently made its debut at the New York Show.
Former Confederate designer Edward Jacobs and Francois-Xavier Terny teamed up to create this fantastic looking motorcycle that was displayed at the IMS New York Motorcycle Show this past weekend. It looks industrial and comes with matching power.
The Vanguard Racer is built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and falls in the computer-aided deign/3D-printed category which makes traditional motorcycle development look slow and outdated for our times.
The V-twin engine you see in the middle measures 1,917 cc in displacement, and it’s so sturdy it also doubles as the motorcycle’s frame. The power is then transferred to the rear through a shaft drive, while Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes offer the needed handling characteristics.
I know it’s hard to take your eyes off its precisely carved shapes and details, but if you put it into perspective, you can see how technology actually helps small companies like Vanguard to put out such an amazing machine that is fully functional in such a short amount of time.
By having access to the same level of design and engineering tools as big companies but not having to convince a board of directors and stockholders to have an all-new machine out in short time, Vanguard managed to compress the standard timeframe for each production process by quite a lot.
For a big company, this project would have taken three or four years to complete, but Vanguard went through concept phase, to design, and then to prototype testing in just about 18 months.
Moreover, the digital designing also made it easier for the company to simply e-mail their ideas to a vast network of engineering firms who will quote the best prices for the parts needed.
Once the road-testing phase ends and further development is complete, the production of the Vanguard Roadster should start in 2018. The company also say they are planning a Cruiser and Racer versions based on the same platform.
With such fast paced development and production that should use cheaper automation and 3D printing, you’d believe this will also be cheap. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but the company says the bike will start at around $30,000.
The Vanguard Racer is built in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and falls in the computer-aided deign/3D-printed category which makes traditional motorcycle development look slow and outdated for our times.
The V-twin engine you see in the middle measures 1,917 cc in displacement, and it’s so sturdy it also doubles as the motorcycle’s frame. The power is then transferred to the rear through a shaft drive, while Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes offer the needed handling characteristics.
I know it’s hard to take your eyes off its precisely carved shapes and details, but if you put it into perspective, you can see how technology actually helps small companies like Vanguard to put out such an amazing machine that is fully functional in such a short amount of time.
By having access to the same level of design and engineering tools as big companies but not having to convince a board of directors and stockholders to have an all-new machine out in short time, Vanguard managed to compress the standard timeframe for each production process by quite a lot.
For a big company, this project would have taken three or four years to complete, but Vanguard went through concept phase, to design, and then to prototype testing in just about 18 months.
Moreover, the digital designing also made it easier for the company to simply e-mail their ideas to a vast network of engineering firms who will quote the best prices for the parts needed.
Once the road-testing phase ends and further development is complete, the production of the Vanguard Roadster should start in 2018. The company also say they are planning a Cruiser and Racer versions based on the same platform.
With such fast paced development and production that should use cheaper automation and 3D printing, you’d believe this will also be cheap. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but the company says the bike will start at around $30,000.
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