Kejashi’s Tilt-Wing Motorcycle Tilts Like a Bird in Flight

Most bikes lean laborious into turns, riders virtually kissing the bottom to remain in management. However in South Australia, mechanic Kent James Shillitoe has constructed one thing that defies this acquainted scene. His creation, the Kejashi tilt-wing motorbike, doesn’t simply bend the foundations of two-wheeled physics – it tears them aside and builds one thing new. This factor, with its bizarre steering and a wing that tilts like a hen in flight, goes to alter how bikes nook.

Shillitoe, a maker with a day job fixing bikes, began with a easy query: why can’t bikes nook like Components One vehicles? Automobiles have 4 tires for grip and aerodynamic wings that press them into the monitor, to allow them to carve turns at insane speeds. Bikes have two tyres and depend on the rider’s lean to take care of traction, however that lean comes with a catch. As a motorcycle tilts previous 45 levels – widespread in high-speed MotoGP racing – any aerodynamic aids, like winglets, begin pushing the bike outwards as an alternative of down, and sabotage the grip. Shillitoe’s resolution? A bike that retains its downforce regular and reduces the necessity to lean so laborious.

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In contrast to conventional bikes the place the entrance wheel pivots straight below the handlebars, the Kejashi’s entrance wheel is mounted on a trailing arm extending from a metal cage far forward of the bike’s body. Once you flip left, all the steering column – wheel and all – swings out to the correct, generally greater than a foot off the bike’s centreline. This offset shifts the bike’s weight inwards, similar to professional riders dangle off their seats to counterbalance a flip. By shifting the wheel outwards, the Kejashi lets the rider keep extra upright, lowering the lean angle wanted for tight corners. Shillitoe compares it to a Can-Am Spyder trike, the place laborious cornering lifts an inside wheel, however right here it’s simply two wheels working magic.

Using this factor is a leap of religion. Shillitoe says it felt “all types of improper” at first, the entrance wheel swinging out broad like a pendulum whereas the bike stays regular. However when you belief it, he says, it feels pure – nearly like a daily motorbike, solely smoother. The offset steering is sort of a type of lateral suspension, absorbing mid-corner bumps that might unsettle a normal bike. On a mud street, Shillitoe as soon as dodged a boulder with out pondering, the hole between the wheels letting it cross harmlessly beneath. “It’s secure,” he says. “You may take your palms off and it simply trails alongside, no worries.” That stability, mixed with much less lean, might imply higher tire grip and fewer slides, particularly on tough surfaces.

Then there’s the wing—a large, tilting construction that’s as a lot a dialog starter as it’s a efficiency software. Above the rider’s head, it’s linked to the steering system, tilting reverse the flip to remain degree with the bottom. This retains the downforce urgent straight down, not sideways, even when the bike leans. At 93mph Shillitoe estimates the wing generates about 132lbs of downforce, sufficient to compress the entrance forks barely. That additional grip might be a sport changer on a racetrack the place each ounce of traction counts. However the wing’s placement isn’t excellent—it sits proper within the rider’s line of sight when upright, like a Components One automotive’s HALO bar. Tuck down and it’s out of the way in which but it surely’s a reminder of the Kejashi’s uncooked, prototype nature.

Shillitoe constructed this marvel from a humble Honda CB125, swapping the engine for a 50hp two stroke dust bike motor with a customized exhaust. Regardless of the added metal cage the bike weighs simply 287lbs—barely greater than the inventory 282lbs CB125—due to stripped down street gear. Drag is noticeable at excessive speeds however Shillitoe desires of a Components One impressed system to tilt the wing upwards, lowering resistance on straights. For now he’s been testing on South Australia’s again roads, weaving by way of the Adelaide Hills. The bike’s not prepared for metropolis streets or face to face racing—it’s constructed for time assault occasions or hill climbs the place uncooked cornering velocity guidelines.

What’s subsequent for the Kejashi? Shillitoe desires to take it to a racetrack, evaluate it to a normal CBR125 he retains for testing. He’s cautious although, ready for hotter climate to push the bike’s limits. The prototype inbuilt his shed over a yr is tough across the edges—metal the place carbon fibre might shave weight and add rigidity. He imagines a future model with an excellent stiff body the place the offset steering absorbs bumps like a secondary suspension. The design is tantalizing, just like the Zenvo TSR-S hypercar that tilts its rear wing to spice up cornering. However for now it’s a one man venture, a daring experiment that’s equal elements genius and insanity.

Typically somebody comes together with an concept so loopy it makes you rethink what’s doable. Shillitoe’s Kejashi is that type of concept—a bike that defies many years of two wheeled conference. It’s not completed and it’s not excellent but it surely’s unimaginable to disregard. As Shillitoe works on his creation the query isn’t simply will it work however will the world of motorcycling be prepared for one thing this daring. One factor’s for positive: the following time he fires up that two stroke engine and places the entrance wheel into the dust eyes will probably be watching ready to see if this bizarre machine could make its mark.
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