A compulsive auto-didactic interested in everything from motorcycles and nuclear physics to art and history - building a fully functional high performance recumbent motorcycle inspired by Kaneda's ride in "Akira", sharing shop and fabrication videos along with an occasional science video.
Become a Patron to help accelerate this project at www.patreon.com/matus1976
Yup definitely still working on this! The big videos are a bit delayed but I'll have multiple new videos rolling out soon. Check out instagram (matus_1976 over there) and youtube shorts for recent progress in the interim though.
Unless the primary goal of this bike is to look exactly like the Akira bike, there are tons of design and engineering flaws/inefficiencies. The best feet forward bikes to date are Dan Gurney's Alligator and Robert Horn's protoype racer. If I were doing a FFM I'd make it Gurney's layout and size, with Robert's front suspension design and the Duke 890 motor. If I had the resources to make my own engine, I'd basically make the Duke 890 engine but with the cylinders laid down near horizontally in an effort to get the output sprocket more rearward for better reach and to not have to have a chain whipping around under my thigh.
Oh thanks for this comment, I keep meaning to put that cover back on. Especially now the on trigger sometimes gets stuck on for a second or two, definitely going to put that safety cover back on.
Yeah, I'll definitely be doing an electric version. I'm making it powertrain agnostic, it can run off different motors and powerplants with minor modifications. But the first one will be built around the cx500 engine. I think in the Anime it was a hybrid, clearly had some combustion engine tones. Also it has some sort of electricity shooting superconducting ceramic rotors - which don't exist lol.
This is such a great video, I'm showing it to a carpenter who will build the catio for me. Well, not for me, it's for the cats, but you know what I mean. Thanks so much. Best wishes from the UK.
It says specifically on Simpson's website you should use Strong-Drive SD connector Screw for the Simpson strong tie bracket. Pan head screws do not have the sear strength necessary for that support.
That's a good point. I'd suspect that recommendation is so the screws can meet the load requirements of the max load the brackets are rated for, but in this build we're not hitting anywhere near that load and the screws can handle the load of this structure just fine, but it wouldn't hurt to use the larger tougher screws.
It sure would be! A front blowout on any bike is a nightmare. It's the leading cause of death from mechanical failure too. Unfortunately airless tires for motorcycles aren't really a thing yet.
I'm making good progress every day on it! Prepping for manufacturing these building jigs, fixtures, molds and solidworks models as well, so a second one will take just weeks.
Going to be interesting to see this beastie all finished up and fared in i assume the same or near as possible to Kannada's immigrant bike from the film.
@@matus1976 tell me about it I used to do classic sprint racing many years ago and had a fiberglass mold and copy made of an original aluminium dustbin faring for the bike and it was a few hundred pounds back then would hate to think what a full custom fairing is going to stand you.
Have you seen the latest contender in the world of real akira bikes? Design team Bel y Bel has made a hybrid bike that is currently for sale on commission! It blew my mind.
@@1_Micah_1 I'll have to have a look. It's always been one of those things I'd love to own but it's definitely going to be a lottery win before that sort of free cash is available. So guess it'll remain a pipedream.
@@1_Micah_1 Bel y Bel's bike is focused on looking exactly like Kaneda's bike, as opposed to being full size high performance and fully functional. It's quite small and has a top speed of like 40mph. Looks like they are a shop that specialize in movie inspired props. But the craftmanship and skill is top-notch! Just quite a bit different from what I'm doing.
I agree with everyone...the best Catio build on RU-vid. Do you remember the number on the Simpson Tie? I cannot find them at the big box. Thanks for a great video and the help.@@matus1976
Absolutely! I got 3 in the works, 2 of which are nearly complete. They are waiting on parts to come in so the videos can complete episodes, I should get the first one out this week or next.
Thanks for following along for so long! Yeah it was long time ago I started this in my basement lol. Sucks how long it's taken, but things are speeding up now and it will all be worth it.
@@matus1976 I'm sure it sucks for you, but honestly this project has become a companion that I have watched for almost half my life. It's the journey, not the destination that matters. Thank you for sharing this with everybody. If I ever see you at a bar I'm buying you a beer!
I made a catio more or less the same as yours only I Used see through corrugated roofing so the cats can see what’s fling or settling on top of it, it’s not in a permanently sunny spot only from 10. 30 am to 2. 30 pm in summer so they pick and chose when they want sun or a shaded spot to sit in though they do not use it much in mid winter only for short periods as it gets very cold where I live. Cats know what they want and have beds out there they swap places in. One cat does not like winter and only goes out for a half hour or so at noon and night times, my other cat who is 17 this year was an outdoor cat when young, he’s out there more at night in any weather, though less in mid winter, thanks I’m so happy I found your video as most do not give enough detail and yours was a perfecto catio the cats and myself love it I’m thinking of extending it further round the garden from wher it as and making one area higher so they can see what’s over the fence trellis and through the trees. I’m sure they will love it as one spot gets sun most all day, to keep the younger one happy. I will follow your other videos as I’ve been making this Catio, and finished about 6 months ago, so bust but her I am commenting and subscribed to your video. Many thanks I love a great workman woman, cannot do with bodger’s. 😻😺edit 15 months ago I built this not Five cheers.
Oh nice, I wish I has used transparent roofing now, I'm sure they enjoy the extra sun and light and visibility, but really depends on how hot the area is. I'm kind of on the borderline where that may be too hot. I'm glad you liked the video and thanks for the subscription!
This was pre-pandemic, and iirc materials cost about $1200 USD. I'd expect at least 50% more than that today though. The lumber and the corner brackets are the biggest expenses, so it doesn't take to long to price it out if you are thinking of building one.
Not for my build at this point. To do the potential of this platform justice, designing it from the ground up is necessary. Using the frame / swingarm from an existing bike is easy and convenient for a quick chop job, but it's a severe physical and aesthetic design constraint that prevents even minimal optimization and really limits what the bike can do. It's like building a suspension bridge out of wood. The VFR engine's longitudinal design takes up much more room than a transverse twin. That's a fine engine when you are sitting up on top of and over an engine, but not in a rear engine recumbent setup. Existing swing arms have similar problems. I'll be designing and constructing my own proprietary single sided rear swingarm around Phase IV of the build.
wow! just wow! this is incredible! i found your channel and bike project journey from googling “akira real life motorcycle”.. so happy i did. gonna follow along with ur journey now! cant wait for more!
A very cool catio, with great description of how you went about making it - plus two very cool cats to make use of it. It looks great and you should be proud of your work. Greetings from Australia.
will it look exactly like the movie model?and how much will it cost,glad electric is being made because need some legal 20 mile an hour versions that don't require license
@@GThePreacher Nope, it won't look exactly like the movie, which is actually not a practical design, it will look as much like it as possible while still being a high performance well functioning motorcycle. I won't be making a small low speed electric one that doesn't need a license though. Somebody out of spain is making something like that now for european markets.
You're saying the loud part quiet - emphasize 'Smarter, Faster, Safer', and use the reference to Akira in the small font - people will come for the memes, and stay for the real world improvements - (Actual Operations Consultant for International Companies)
Oh, and name this thing something like MH-76 (Mechanized High-Tech) and a nickname. It needs its own identity to fly and brand. Get the name's, whatever it is, copyright and trademark, and make a social media page for it. If you cant afford to pay someone, offer a team of volunteers 1% stock and a post-release bonus (net only).
Oh, one more thing - the social media back catalog you've got? When you do have a team, take an highlights real from the catalog, do a tour of the garage (inventing space) and a behind the scenes interview of you.
This is clearly a field you have experience in, you share great insight here and name many of the plans I have currently in the works! I will certainly be rebranding and changing the focus once the rebranding is done, I know this is a project that can stand on it's own and support other product branches and I have utility patents of innovative aspects and trademarks in the works. This all takes planning and time of course but I'm working on speeding things up, outsourcing more, and building a team. Email me if you are interested in talking further privately, I'd certainly appreciate discussing strategy.
I would presume the guy in this video ( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1MPqqVGqIJc.html) was using a NM4 to act as the base....but you're creating this from the ground up - when you're done creating it, do you have plans to market the production to smaller companies around the US or are you going to reach out to a top 5 company to streamline it? If that's not too invasive a question, that is.
I'm certainly building this with every intention of producing them, I'm building fixtures, jigs and molds along the way where appropriate. This is phase 1 so some aspects will change before it goes into production, but most of the fixtures and jigs will be modifiable. Composite molds not so much... and when it's ready I'll be manufacturing them myself
@@matus1976 when you get to the sales portion, and you have an estimate of prod-flow, please let me know - I wouldn't mind selling a tidy fleet of these.
Controls are traditional motorcycle controls, right foot controls are rear brake and left is the shifter, accelerator is right hand twist. I will likely link the front and rear brakes though in a fixed ratio though as the low cog and log wheelbase make weight transfer during heavy braking much less significant.
Have you considered center-hub steering for this project? Like the Malcom Newell's Voyager recombinant motorcycle, and (I think) the Lochead Quasar recombinant motorcycle.
I have, they are interesting designs, but personally I don't think the benefit outweighs the additional complexity over a properly designed leading link front end, and you don't need to contend with bump steer.
Yup, absolutely going to have fairings! I'm making them out of composites and have made a few test pieces. Still deciding & testing but it will probably end up being carbon fiber.
Yup - this is the phaseI prototype, I'm developing the project in phases adding new features and functionality along the way since the platform is quite unique. Rear suspension will be added in the next phase (or maybe sooner depending on how sore riding is!) it will look something like this twitter.com/Matus1976/status/1733293034736156941/photo/1
