AWB Motorcycle

[jyl]

This has to be the cleanest design yet for a two-wheel drive motorcycle.

http://www.christini.com/

http://www.news.com/Reinventing-the-front-wheel/2100-11389_3-6205129.html?tag=st.num

And they make a bicycle too

http://www.christinibicycles.com/bikes-fullsus.php

I think this looks way cool. No torque steer, apparently.

[jyl]

Sorry, meant to type "AWD".

[tchanson]

I thought this was going to be a thread about mid '70's funk...




Quite cool bikes, though.




Tim

[bell]

that's a really interesting concept

kinda like what audi did for rally cars

[71T Targa]

Cool, but what happens if I lock the front wheel? Looks like nothing as the system is designed so that the back wheel is driven faster than the front.

Ok, so now what happens when I lock the back wheel? This happens all the time sliding around corners. Does the front wheel drag you through the turn? Could you have the back wheel locked and sliding while the front is still spinning? That would take some getting used to...

[jyl]

The main benefit of an all mechanical system is that there is very little power loss to drive the system. Under no slip conditions the only added drag on the motor is the power required to spin the shafts and gears of the system. This amounts to less than 1/10 of a horsepower. Click here to see dyno run. The all mechanical system works like traction control. When the rear wheel starts to spin the power that would otherwise be lost due to wheel spin is transferred to the front wheel. As the power is transferred to the front wheel, it becomes easier for the rear wheel to find traction. When you ride the Christini you will be amazed at how easy it is to find traction, and how much energy you conserve compared to a conventional motorcycle.

The light weight all-mechanical system works similar to that of AWD systems found on four wheeled vehicles. The use of one-way clutches in the front hub allows the front wheel to be driven at a slightly slower rate than the rear wheel. Power is transferred to the front wheel only when the rear wheel loses traction or the front wheel skids. The front-to-rear power ratio is adjustable with a simple sprocket adjustment. This allows for nearly unlimited fine tuning of the AWD system to suit riding conditions and personal riding preference.

http://www.christini.com/tell-me-more.php

Really interesting. I am still not clear on how it works.

If anyone finds any reviews or road tests of this, please post.

P.S. Duh, on their website I see these. Now have to track down the magazines.

http://www.christini.com/testimonials.php

[NICKG]

they tested that at hidden vally ski resort ...by my house, it is a well done set up.

[bell]

the front axle has a kind of freewheel in it, looking at the sprockets it looks to be a slightly reduced gear ratio, but hard to say.....so when the rear wheel has full traction it is pushing the front wheel (spinning faster then the gear drive to the front, freewheel), it's when the rear wheel spins that the front wheel is moving slower than the rear and the drive takes over and pulls the bike, it works pretty seamlessly on dirt i'm told and the bike just hunkers down and goes.
i believe it was yamaha who had a similar system a while back but it used hydralics to drive the front gear.....same principle though, as when the drive line would spin faster (when rear wheel spins) the hydraulic pump would spin faster and drive the front wheel more.
i think the chain/shaft drive system is more efficiant, i'll see if i can dig up info on the yamaha setup.

[bell]

here's an article on the yamaha hydraulic system

http://www.gizmag.com/go/2351/

[dd74]

And another article...
http://www.off-road.gr/article117.html