Ducati has applied for a patent on a frameless motorcycle that could become the basis for its street bikes, doing away with its usual trellis frame members.
The patent, according to Gizmag.com, is intended to cover the company’s recent MotoGP bikes, but makes references to street bikes and production.
The design uses a large airbox, possibly of carbon fibre, to join the steering head and the subframe and swingarm.
Benefits would include reduced weight and possibly improvements in strength and stiffness.
I like comfy seats 🙂
Ah but it doesn’t get any more beautiful than this; wheel, motor, wheel. What else does it need?
Prior art has been online for years on Tony Foale’s site and on Eurospares. The steering head bolted to the cylinder head, and the swingarm mounted to the crankcase concentric with the sprocket was done in the ’70s at the latest.
Patent attorneys are getting to be useless!
Can you say Britten?????
I thought of the Vincent right away when I read it as well.
All modern BMW Boxers except the HP2 have no frame.
Patent? You must be kidding. It’s like patenting tube frames. Or patenting a fork. Patents may be the death of innovation I think.
Cool
An updated Vincent.