Want an exotic motorcycle, but can’t decide if you want a rotary engine or an electric powerplant? The Furion M1 concept bike makes your choice simple by including both.
You read that right. French manufacturer Furion (a startup) has shoehorned both a Wankel rotary engine (dual rotor, rated for about 125 hp and 105 Nm of torque) and an electric motor (with 40 kW output) into its M1Â naked bike, and surprisingly, the result does not appear too crowded.
Even more surprisingly, despite all that hardware crammed into the trellis frame, Furion says the machine weighs about 209 kg wet. Or at least, that’s what it would weigh if it was actually built. For now, this machine is only at concept stage, with no prototypes built.
If this ever does make it to production, expect it to be pricey, especially with the high-spec components (fully-adjustable 43 mm USD forks up front, rear shock adjustable for preload and rebound, four-piston front brake calipers, not to mention the battery pack and motors). However, combining both a high-powered internal combustion engine and an electric powerplant could produce some very interesting power delivery characteristics. If this thing ever makes it to the streets, we’d love to see what it would do off the line.
The Furion M1 is designed with 17-inch wheels front and rear, a six-speed transmission with wet clutch, and chain final drive. Wheelbase is 1435 mm, and seat height is 810 mm. For more photos and details, visit the designer’s website.
Furion, for now, is comprised of designer Marc Evenisse and supermoto champion Adrien Chareyre (in a consulting role). Whether that manpower is enough to persuade people to put their money behind this project is a good question, but it is good to see a supermoto expert behind production, as handling will certainly be tricky to figure on this machine, with two powerplants to balance on the bike instead of one.
GALLERY
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