Icon
Sheene
The
Icon Sheene is a limited edition superbike which was developed to commemorate
the successful and popular British motorcycle racer Barry Sheene.
Sheene
died in 2003 after a battle with cancer, and this bike - which was sanctioned
by, and is signed by his wife - is the way in which Icon, and the man behind
the company, Andrew Morris choose to pay their respects.
The
Icon Sheene features an insanely powerful 1.4 litre, turbocharged, inline
4-cylinder engine which was borrowed from Suzuki and then worked over
intensely. Output for this unit stands at 250 hp, and it develops 133 lb-ft of
torque at the rear wheel. Top speed is a blistering 200 mph.
Other
highlights of the Icon Sheene superbike include a custom made tubular aluminium
frame, and a unique swingarm which features an integrated hugger. Race
specification forks and an adjustable rear shock complete the chassis package.
The fuel tank is formed from hand-beaten aluminium and each unit takes around a
month to fabricate! The bodywork is made up of hand-laid carbon fiber panels
which have hidden fasteners so as not to interrupt the lines of the bike.
As
far as tribute vehicles go the Icon Sheene is fairly genuine. Many of his
friends, family and the people who worked with Sheene during his racing career
have contributed to the project and helped design and engineer the bike.
Only
52 examples of the bike are set to be built (Sheene died at that age). Each
bike is priced at an eye-watering £ 107,000 (US$ 155,000).
