Scooter Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 March 09, 2005 Diesel Motorcycle Sets New World Record By Katrina C. Arabe A diesel-powered motorcycle recently overcame inclement weather to claim a new speed record. And it's about to take on a new kind of challenge--battlefield reconnaissance: Setting a new record for production diesel-powered motorcycles, Fred Hayes, founder of Hayes Diversified Technologies Inc. (HDT), clocked a blazing 85.46 miles per hour on a diesel bike developed by his company. And he was just getting warmed up. The record-setting motorcycle, which was designed and built by California-based HDT and faculty from Cranfield University, is actually capable of even greater speeds, say developers. With more favorable weather and upgraded gearing, it could have shattered the 90 mile-per-hour barrier, they say. It had set the record using production gearing at sea level on hard pavement. Weighing in at 369 lbs., the motorcycle was conceived as a military vehicle with enough power for the battlefield as well as for off-road travel and crowd control. Called the M1030M1 or M1 for short, the bike is designed to run on diesel fuel like other military vehicles. The light yet powerful engine, built especially for the M1, is modeled after the running gear from a Kawasaki KLR650 trail bike. Designers decided to forgo a multi-cylinder engine for a single-cylinder one to reduce weight and to take advantage of the fact that diesels are especially well-suited for larger cylinders. Utilizing a four-valve cylinder head and dual overhead crankshafts (correction: a dual overhead camshaft design), the liquid-cooled engine generates 24 base horsepower and 34 ft-lb of torque at 4,200 rpm. Displacing 584 cc, it boasts a tank capacity of 95 miles per gallon. When running at 55 miles per hour on a full tank, it has a range of 408 miles. The motorcycle features a lighting system that's approved by the Department of Transportation and blackout lighting that complies with military standards. The U.S. Marine Corp. has contracted HDT to provide over 500 of the motorcycles. Additionally, HDT plans to release a commercial version and to further utilize the technologies used to assemble the bike's powerful diesel engine. Source: Diesel Motorcycle Sets Speed Record Machine Design, February 3, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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