the sky is falling :)

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Ducati plans GP-style frameless superbikes - | Motorbike reviews | Latest Bike Videos | MCN

[perdition]

and for the conspiracy theorists

How Technology is Killing the Motorcycle

[Desmo]

I'm not sure if I should applaud them for ingenuity, our mourn the loss of my steel tube trellis frame.

[Thomas Crown]

Iiiiiiiiinteresting....

[Roger Explosion]

How many bikes have done this in the past? (apart from the ones in the article) The only ones I can think of was the Hunwick Hallam superbike and the Britten. Will this, when it trickled down to the lower end of the market translate into lower production costs and therefore cheaper bikes?

[R160]

depends if its vaccum formed cast ally plate sections or bent up ally plate pressing i would think. and the cost of either.
Ducati trade so much on its trellis heritage i can only see that appearing on their top range sports bike. Interesting how they highlight the limitatons of the trellis in the latest AMCN article. At least trellis can be straightened and repaired, i doubt that could.

Seems like the zx10r plate section frame (at least i think it was the zx10r) but just missing the centre section.

[rod]

Then they'll be forming the rear bit in CF, and then the front bit. In case of accident damage it'll be a throw away if the piece is damaged - they should be a bit cheaper to make than the tube frames.

[Barfrangipani]

They might even update their engine designs too

[Professor Redfern]

The main question is will it effect the wheelie dynamics?

[rod]

They might even update their engine designs too

To what, an engine design even older?

[Spartacus]

Neat - one step closer to my Tron fantasy!

[Doug68]

How many bikes have done this in the past? (apart from the ones in the article) The only ones I can think of was the Hunwick Hallam superbike and the Britten. Will this, when it trickled down to the lower end of the market translate into lower production costs and therefore cheaper bikes?

I think the first to do this was Vincent maybe pre WWII but certainly in the 1940's.
The engine was unit construction (advanced for the time) onto the cylinder heads bolted the oil tank, which also had the steering head as part of it.

The rear suspension bolted directly to the rear of the engine and the rear shocks (2 spring boxes and a damper) bolted to the rear of the oil tank...

The Britten when you look at it had a lot of similarities to the Vincent's for sure.

Gratuitous Rollie Free pic...

[CBT]

The Bimota SB2 frame of the late 1970's was also a trellis in 2 parts - one leading to the head stock and one to the swing arm, but it was bolted together over the engine.

The trellis looked like a "normal" continuous frame when it was in place over the motor.