French startup Furion is currently seeking funds for
its rotary-engined hybrid motorcycle, called the M1. There is a lot to recommend installing a rotary
engine in a motorcycle. The engine is small, light and runs smooth, and lends
itself well into bike’s overall design package, giving a lot of power for a
reduced amount of cubic capacity.
The Furion M1’s power plant is a 654
cc (two x 327 cc rotor) Wankel engine that puts out 125 hp at 9,000 rpm with a
torque figure of 105 Nm at 6,000 rpm. This is coupled to an electric motor fed
by lithium-sulphur batteries that is rated at an equivalent 55 hp and 100 Nm
torque, giving a final figure of 180 hp and 205 Nm.
This makes for some very impressive numbers, when
compared to what Furion claims is a 209 kg wet weight for the M1. The engine is
suspended in a trellis frame, and interestingly, the call-out drawing for the
M1 shows a Stirling cycle engine mounted in the lower front-half of the
chassis.
Suspension is with 43 mm diameter upside-down forks,
fully adjustable for rebound, compression and preload, while the rear is a
horizontally-mounted monoshock, adjustable for preload and rebound. Fuel for
the Furion M1 is carried in a 16-litre tank, while seat height is set at 810
mm.
Furion claims the M1 will be able to travel over 400
km on a single tank of fuel, which gives it a very impressive range compared to
typical sports bikes. The brain child of designer Marc Evenisse and four-time
Supermoto champion Adrien Chareyre, the M1 currently exists only as pixels on a
computer screen.
According to Evanisse, the Furion M1 is “an original
motive combination with the key to an unusual sound, the musical fruit of the
two rotors of the engine.”
