FFuture

Honda Hawk/Bros 650 or NTV600/650 Kit

The first possibility for an FF Commuter kit is to base one on a mid sized conventional motorcycle. One machine that is particularly attractive for this is the Honda Hawk/Bros/NTV650. The main differences here are that the Hawk has an aluminium chassis with a bolt on sub frame, while the NTV has shaft drive and a steel chassis with welded subframe. Otherwise they are very similar and share many parts.

There is a big community of owners (start at The HawkGT page. Many parts are shared with other Hondas, for instance a complete CBR600 front end will bolt straight in. There is lots of tuning potential and anything up to 65hp is available compared with 40-45 as stock. Another alternative is a wholesale engine swap with a 750cc Africa Twin, (Details at http://www.sojourn.com/~stratten/at_conv.txt Here's some pictures of the standard bikes.

So the plan is as follows:-

Buy a second hand Hawk. Typical UK price is <£2500 for a grey import
Remove all bodywork and rear sub-frame.
Remove the footrests and gear/brake linkages.

We're now left with something that looks like this.

Or from another angle

There is just enough room for a thin seat base with about a 20 deg slope upwards at the front. Notice how narrow the frame and engine are.

We now need to construct the following frame parts.

A secondary headstock to mount just behind the airbox. This has a drag link down the right hand side of the airbox from the top triple clamp. We may be able to mount this off the old tank mounts just behind the front headstock and near the top shock mount. Otherwise we will have to weld a couple of tabs to the top of the frame.
Forward footrests. We should be able to hang these from the front lower engine mounts and the mounting point under the engine. The front exhaust will need a heat shield or we'll get burnt boots.
A Fuel tank between the footrests and using up space particularly on the lower lhs of the engine.
A Rear sub-frame and seat
Assorted brackets and fittings to lose all the bits that used to be hidden under the seat such as the battery.
A new wiring loom or extensions to the old loom.
Extended hoses and cables so that the controls actually work.
The instruments can either mount on the new headstock or on the new handlebar mount.

At this stage and after surprisingly little work (!) We have a rideable FF to terrorise the commuters with. Raw materials have cost about £3000 so far. But we have a bike that weighs about 385lb with 45hp. This should be fine for commuting through traffic and a top speed around 120mph.

The approach for the NTV is broadly similar except that the rear subframe will need to be hacksawed off. The end result is very similar but about 400lbs and with shaft drive.

If the materials above were produced as a commercial kit, for say £2000, we're looking at an all in price so far of £4500.

As ever, the next stage is to wrap the whole thing in fibreglass with an appropriately swoopy and far out design. If we allow another £1000 for a body kit. The whole shebang could be put on the road for £5500 and you would have something that got you to work in speed, safety and comfort while still allowing you a surprisingly fast bike in the twisties and capable of taking one person across continents. This is awfully close to Royce Creasey's idea of a Sport Utility vehicle. It's even got a centre stand.

Virtual Design

If anyone thinks the above is a good idea or has any opinion about it, feel free to develop drawings or pictures and email me at julian_bond@voidstar.com