Feet forward motorcycle

A Feet First (FF) Motorcycle is a class of motorcycle design that seeks to look at the two-wheeled concept afresh, and create a new form of practical personal transport. The name "feet first" (also referred to as "feet forward") was first used by Royce Creasey and refers to the rider's seating position, with feet ahead in a position (like a car), rather than below and astride, as with conventional bikes. As there are other types of motorcycle (e.g. choppers) that have a 'feet forward' position, an alternative term sometimes used is Advanced Single Track Vehicle.

Designers have experimented with the feet forward riding position since the early days of motorcycling.

In 1909 P.G Tacchi designed a four-cylinder machine with a 700 cc 'L' head air-cooled engine, an enclosed shaft drive and a bucket seat. The machine was known as a TAC-Wilkinson, and was manufactured by the Wilkinson Sword Company

Ten years later in America Carl A. Neracher designed the Ner-a-Car It had a feet-forward riding position, a pressed steel frame and hub centre steering but in other respects was somewhat similar to a conventional motorcycle.

Designed by Sir Alliot Verdon Roe in 1926, the Ro-Monocar used a 250 cc Villiers two-stroke engine, and featured a high degree of enclosure for the rider and a bucket seat. This seating position provided a high degree of comfort for the rider

The Fred Wood designed Whitwood monocar used OEC duplex steering, retractable outriggers, and tandem bucket seats, and was offered with engine sizes ranging from 250–996 cc between 1933 and 1935.

In the 1950s NSU produced a feet forward fully enclosed monocoque construction "Flying Hammock" record breaker. The feet forward riding position allowed an exceptionally small frontal area. The consequent low wind resistance made it possible for H.P. "Happy" Mueller to achieve 150 mph (241 km/h) from a 150cc engine at the Utah Salt flats in 1956.

The first recognisably modern design was the 1975 Quasar, built by Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman. The design was not a great commercial success - just 22 examples were sold up until 1982 - but it generated a great deal of interest, and started others thinking about the FF concept. Thomas Engelbach's own design of a feet forward motorcycle came in 1980, with the innovative patent for an automatic stabilizing system that incorporated outrigger wheels. The design was successfully tested but proved that the market was not ready for this model.

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Wikipedia