Urban Transport

The Brudelli Leanster - remarkable car-bike fusion

The Brudelli Leanster - remarkable car-bike fusion
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September 28, 2008 The Brudelli is a new variation on the motorcycle which takes advantage of a two-wheeled front end to offer a dynamic riding experience that delivers the leaned cornering of a motorcycle with the precision steering and traction of a multi-wheeled vehicle. The machine is all skin and bones – by basing the machine around a lean and mean KTM 690 Supermoto, it’s lighter than a car could contemplate at just 238 kg. When you have such little weight to push around, the 654cc KTM engine’s 47kW @ 7,500 rpm offers incredible acceleration courtesy of the 65 Nm @ 6,550 rpm midrange all the way to 170 km/h. The concept emanated on Norwegian gravel and winter roads but is very adaptable to all surfaces including tarmac roads, go-kart tracks and speedway tracks where even newbies apparently find themselves doing 100 metre controlled power slides in no time at all. Sounds good, heh! Available now at EUR 21,000 Euros (US$30,000) ex. VAT and ex. Works Hokksund.

We first covered Brudelli’s 625L Leansterconcept in 2006. The machine used a 625 cc KTM single cylinder motor, and a leaning two-wheels-at-the-front. The company’s latest development of the Leanster, is the Brudeli 654L, a unique vehicle designed to provide an extraordinary riding experience and based on the 654 motor.

The production model Brudeli654L will be presented at Intermot 2008 and will be available in very limited numbers at the show which opens on October 8.

“Making 100 metre controlled powerslides at the local dirt track oval (speedway) is a quite unbeatable feeling. Especially when this is a street-legal vehicle that you actually came cruising with to the track.” says Geir Brudeli, the inventor of the Leanster and manager of Brudeli Tech.

“Then just a few minutes later you could be at a go-kart track without any change of setup, leaning 45 degrees into corners with a control superior to that of a normal motorcycle. The Leanster suspension is 100% mechanical and leaves the rider in control. It is built with the goal of boosting the motorcycle experience.”

Brudeli Tech believes its customers are going to use the 654L mainly for riding on normal roads, and this is what it is designed for. The vehicle is best described as something in between a motorcycle and ATV-quad. It leans into corners like a motorcycle but, at the same time, has a lot of the stability of a sport quad.

The idea was born on the Norwegian gravel and winter roads, but the Leanster has also proven to work extremely well on tarmac roads and go-kart tracks also. A lot of motorcyclists watch the dirt track races dreaming of being able to control a bike in the same way. The Brudeli 654L is a way of getting closer to that dream. The footboards stay parallel to the ground, while the rest of the vehicle, including the two front wheels, leans at an angle of up to 45 degrees. The two wheels in front also offer much shorter braking distances.

The design of the new model was executed by Atle Stubberud of Soon Design who was also the key designer for the concept model from 2005. “This really is a dream project for a transportation designer. Nearly like a student project where you could start with a completely open mind. I have been involved since the idea was first formulated in 2001,” says Atle Stubberud.

The leanster is TUV-approved and will be street legal in Europe.

Brudeli Tech is located at Eiker Næringspark, a Swedish industrial estate. It is owned by 12 Norwegian investors and partners and is completely independent of any of the large motorcycle manufacturers. The state owned “Innovation Norway” has been the most important partner in the business development, from the original idea until today. Innovation Norway’s mission is: “We give local ideas global opportunities.”

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