Five weird motorbikes you’ve never heard of

Indian 841

While you may not have expected to read the words Nazi-fighter in this list, the Indian 841 has earned its place in the history books for its unusual, and often forgotten, provenance.

Early in the Second World War, it became apparent that the Allies would require a machine equal to the German’s BMW R71, with which to fight them on the deserts of North Africa. With the task put to tender in the United States, the two stalwarts of American motorcycling – Indian and Harley-Davidson – came forward with propositions.

While Harley proposed the XA – an evolution of its WLA, with a reverse-engineered BMW R71 engine, transmission and shaft drive – Indian went further with the 841, which featured a new, longitudinally-mounted V-twin, designed specifically for military use, with a low compression ratio of just 5.1:1, which allowed it to be run on low octane fuel.

Putting a relatively low power of 25PS (which could be upped by increasing the compression ratio) out though a four-speed gearbox and shaft drive, the 240kg motorcycle ticked all of the US Army’s boxes, who handed the manufacturer $350,000 to Indian to produce 1,000 units. However, by now, the Willys Jeep had evolved to be comparable to the R71, and the motorcycles were ultimately never implemented. The fleet were sold off, and many converted to Indian’s more recognisable spec.

You’ll rarely see an 841 nowadays, and the original US Army-spec models are rare as rocking horse exhaust fumes. But if you’re ever wanting for a weird and wonderful workhorse, you won’t get much better than this.

Quasar

This one took some Googling… Designed by Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman in the early-‘70s, the Quasar was a bizarre, semi-enclosed, foot-forward motorcycle, powered by an 850cc repurposed Reliant Robin engine and gearbox and capable of speeds in excess of 100mph.

With the rider sat inside rather than astride the machine, and a streamlined roof sloping down to a dramatic point, it could easily have been mistaken for a Thunderbirds Shadow motorcycle.

Production was a slow process, but eventually began in 1975, with the first model selling the following year. Quasar production then proceeded to pass through various manufacturers, with a grand total of 21 Reliant Robin variants produced. Several more were built with motorcycle engines, and even some with a Bob Tait-designed hub centre steering system. While production ultimately ceased in 1982, the Quasar left a legacy for foot-forward, enclosed machines, with many equally bizarre prototypes following.

Bimota Tesi

The Bimota Tesi (Thesis in Italian) has been a stalwart of any weird and wonderful motorcycles list for decades, thanks to its unique hub-centred steering design. With swingarms at both front and rear, the Tesi dispels any argument that you need forks to really feel the road, instead relying on a system of hydraulic steering and anti-dive technology. The result was a radical feel and incredibly agile cornering, plus the separation of braking forces on the front suspension and steering.

The 1D, the OG, was released in 1990, powered by a Ducati 851 engine, however the design can be traced back to a university project of Bimota designer Pierluigi Marconi in the mid-‘80s. One hundred-and-twenty-seven  units of the 1D were produced in a year, followed by the modified 904cc 1D 906 from 1991-92 (20 bikes) and the 1D SR from 1992-93 (144 bikes). Further special editions followed, always selling in limited numbers, and Bimota has quietly developed the design since. The streefighter-styled Tesi 3D emerged in the late noughties after a decade of uncertainty for the manufacturer, while a failed collaboration with Vyrus saw the brand develop their own evolution of the Tesi. Kawasaki purchased a 49.9 per cent share in the company in 2019, allowing Bimota to launch the supercharged Tesi H2 last October, with just 250 built, costing from £59,000 OTR.

While other manufacturers have toyed with the idea of mass centralisation (such as Honda’s Elf race project), none have quite managed to achieve the Tesi’s success.

A ‘90s bike fan? Read our list: The seven best motorbikes of the ‘90s.

Yamaha 2-Trac

All-wheel-drive technology has existed in four-wheelers for the best part of a century, but its implementation in motorcycles is understandably limited – after all, driving both wheels would make machines both heavier and harder to control. But that hasn’t stopped manufacturers from trying, with countless concepts launched to varying degrees of success. From the rudimental Rokon, which has actually seen reasonable sales over the past 60 years, to the pipedream Suzuki Nuda of the mid-‘80s, AWD motorcycles have been hit and miss to say the least.

But one mainstream manufacturer that actually took a model to fruition was Yamaha, with the innovative WR450F 2-Trac of the mid-noughties. Born of a collaboration with Öhlins, who had been experimenting with two-wheel-drive since 1992 and had already created a one-off 2WD R1, the enduro-derived 2-Trac was originally launched as a homologation exercise to allow competition in the Dakar Rally. 

The front wheel was operated by a hub-mounted hydraulic motor equipped with a single gear, as part of a ‘smart’ self-regulating system, which increased hydraulic pressure to the front wheel as the rear lost traction. The amount of power to the front constantly varied, however it would never spin faster than the rear, or faster than could be feasibly converted into grip. As soon as the rear regained traction, the hydraulic power supply to the front wheel would be reduced. It was a laudable success, with owners of the competition model praising both its performance and grip. However, only 445 were produced between 2004 and 2005, before poor sales consigned it to the history books.

Read our list the seven best motorbikes of the noughties.

Cake Kalk

The newest model to make our list, and the only one still in production, the Cake Kalk occupies the no-man’s land between weird and cool. If it weren’t for the Kalk’s road legal and A1 licence compliant status, you would be forgiven for mistaking it for a glorified electric bicycle. But one that that packs a punch, for the Kalk’s permanent magnet motor makes 13.6PS (10kW) and 42Nm (31lb ft) of torque – enough to propel the skinny-tyred machine to 56mph.

Weighing less that your average British male (79kg vs. 82kg), the Kalk boasts a brilliant power-to-weight ratio, as well as three riding modes of Explore, Excite and Excel, designed to take you from the road, to the trails and even the track, with a battery range of up to four hours.

It can charge to 80 per cent in two hours, and 100 per cent in three, and offers varying levels of regenerative braking to mimic two and four stroke engine braking characteristics. Premium equipment, such as Öhlins suspension, cement the appeal of the £10,000 bike.

Yes, it’s weird, rare and would definitely warrant a double take, but is it also not kind of cool?

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