Ducati is the sort of name that tells you right away just about everything you need to know about a vehicle. It’s even grown to be the sort of brand that inspires designers of all kinds to take a whack at building the perfect Ducati.
While building the perfect Ducati may just be a dream, here’s a fine example of one designer’s inspiration derived from the famed brand. The vehicle rendering before you is known as the Ducati è rossa monoposto, and it’s from the mind of one Romain Gauvin.
No, Mr. Gauvin is not some artist that just graduated college and decided to test his drawing hand, but rather a very prolific designer. His resume currently shows that he is Senior Designer at Automobile Citroen. That should be more than enough to have you looking at this render a second time.
If it isn’t, here’s a fun little fact. Rumor has it that this design is the newest electric motorcycle from Ducati, according to an article by gomotoriders. However, upon a search that led me to Ducati themselves, there has been nothing to back up those claims. But I can see why some people want to believe so much that this is a real motorcycle; it’s definitely a one-of-a-kind piece of work, even as a render.
The idea behind the concept is a simple one, and Gauvin states on his Behance page that, “My goal was to blend cutting edge technology with pure emotional motoring fascination. I wanted to see an electric motorbike that was actually desirable.” Did he succeed? Well, you tell me. I’m just the messenger.
With the idea of creating a “desirable” EV branded Ducati, the monoposto was underway. Gauvin states that he started with the frame of the bike. Here, carbon fiber was the chosen material. From there, he just kept adding more and more elements until the bike was complete.
After the frame, an electric motor, rear suspension system, and rear hub are designed and set in their according position. One thing you can see is that this bike is a chain driven EV. I recently rode a chain driven EV, and I got to say, those things can be beasts.
Even though Gauvin doesn’t state what cues from the motorsport’s world are being used in the overall design, one feature is very clear; the panel work that wraps the motor housing looks a lot like the air intake to an F1 vehicle. That segment then blends beautifully into a leather seat that’ll have the rider leaning forward quite a bit. Those pits on the sides of the would-be “intake” also look like a perfect place for the rider’s arms to become one with the frame, resulting in some nice aerodynamics.
Speaking of aerodynamics, the carbon fiber fork flares out and looks like it, too, is made to manipulate oncoming air around the bike and rider. Even though the fork looks solid, it also seems like there may be some suspension properties hidden beneath the flares.
One thing is for sure, this motorcycle does not look like it’s one meant for just plain cruising on Sundays. Instead, the rims, massive front brakes, and slick tires tell you that the only place you will ever feel this EV’s true potential is on a track. Even the riders position tells you all you need to know about where this EV belongs.
Even though the designer makes no mention of this motorcycle’s range, he does include a visual as to where the recharge port would be, right underneath the seat and fed directly to the battery system.
Now, take a minute and have a nice long look at this design. If you do so, you too, may begin to believe the rumors about this possibly being the next Ducati motorcycle. Even though those rumors aren’t true, not currently anyway. If Ducati was to ever make an EV that looks like this, I would be out there in line waiting for the test ride.
Twenty Years of Chopper Dedication and Hard Work
by Dan Stern
Decades ago (mid ‘90s) Paisano Publications came out with an upscale magazine called VQ. I’m sure a take-off on GQ. People scoffed because the RUB thing was in full swing. I didn’t care because it was another great publication from bikers for bikers. It was tailored for the upscale market complete with ads for cologne, soap and other things you’d never find in Easyriders. The best part was a feature on artists concepts.
VQ’s editor, Keith (Bandit) Ball was running it while juggling the editorship of Easyriders and countless other publications.
Owner: Dan Stern
Bike: 2004 Harley-Davidson Softail w/left-hand sidecar
Bike-mad fan’s creations have turned him into a social-media star.
YouTuber and amateur sculptor Henry Goncalves has a singular passion: producing life-size cardboard replicas of motorcycles
Goncalves, 19, makes replicas of real-life cycles at his home in Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil.
“I’ve always found it easy to do that kind of thing: build, assemble, draw, etc.,” he says. “When I was little, I saw a video of a guy who made a Porsche at home, so I always wanted to make a car, too.”
By last year, Goncalves gained an online following for his original image editing.
“That’s when I thought: Why not assemble a motorcycle? It seemed crazy, but I needed to start this project.
“In the beginning, a lot of people doubted it, and I understand. Before I made these bikes, it was really hard to imagine something like that. But I made the bikes, a lot of people like them, and I still make them today.”
Henry used to paint houses with his dad. However, these days, he gets his income solely from his popular YouTube videos on his Robertahornet channel, which has 169,000 subscribers.
“I always wanted to become popular with something. This was not my first attempt. I remember in 2014, I posted my first video on YouTube, and since then, I’ve never stopped trying. I’ve had several channels, on several subjects, but they seemed to always going wrong in some way, until I finally found the one that worked for me.”
Henry fashions his motorcyclereplicas from cardboard, PVC pipe and screws.
Given trial and error, Goncalves said it took him 10 months to build his first motorcycle, a Honda Hornet. But his next effort went much faster, even though the construction was more complicated.
“The second bike was the one from the video that went viral, the [BMW] R1200. It took four months to make. If we compare, the 1200 is much more difficult than the Hornet, but with the 1200, I already had a certain amount of experience, so it was easier to do.”
Goncalves admits he was always a car guy.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always liked cars. I was hugely influenced by the Fast and Furious movies and the Need For Speed video games.
“For a long time, the appeal of bikes never made much sense to me. But that changed when a friend of my father’s arrived with a Hornet. At that moment, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I said to myself: I have to have one of these.”
As for the future, Goncalves wants to keep his present fame in perspective, and also build something even more ambitious than two-wheelers.
“I know I’m never going to be up there forever, so it’s important to bond with people who like you and don’t abandon you in the future,” he said of the first point.
As for the second, he’d like to tackle creating a cardboard house.
Last year, we released the first in David’s new series, titled “Female Figure on Motorcycle 1”.
We are pleased to announce the release of the second piece in the series, appropriately titled “Female Figure on Motorcycle 2”. He still has some finishing touches left on this one, featuring the lovely Stephanie Pietz.
One of his finishing touches was to remove the tattoo. He felt it wasn’t necessary given the contrast between her flesh tones and the dynamic background. He also changed the top color and her shoes.
We still have a few left in the print edition (details below).
This submission is going out to a special group via email only (not on social media), therefore it will be a very exclusive offering.
We will also be offering a VERY SMALL edition of canvas prints, hand-signed and numbered, with Certificate of Authenticity.
** Image size 20×30, edition of 12 plus 2 Artist Proofs and 2 Hors d’ Commerce, $895 framed
** Image size 24×36, edition of 12 plus 2 Artist Proofs and 2 Hors d’ Commerce, $1,295 framed
If you own the first in the series, you have first right of refusal for your matching edition number on this one.
You can email me or call 303-913-4840 to place your order.
Curated by US-based design curator and physicist Professor Charles M Falco and writer and filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with QAGOMA
Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) opens the world exclusive exhibition ‘The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire’ tomorrow, featuring 100 exceptional motorcycles from the 1870s to the present.
Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines said ‘The Motorcycle’, showing until 26 April, 2021 celebrates 150 years of motorcycle history and included multiple interactive experiences for all ages.
‘Curated by US-based design curator and physicist Professor Charles M Falco and writer and filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with QAGOMA, the exhibition features pioneering motorcycles and classic commuters, off-road bikes and speed machines, as well as custom creations and numerous electric bikes heralding the future,’ Mr Saines said.
Get your motor running… ‘The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire’ opens the throttle on the ground-breaking designs that shaped one of the most iconic objects the world has ever seen.
Featuring radical concepts, record breakers and road icons, the fully-immersive exhibition showcases 100 of the greatest motorcycles ever assembled.
Show off your ride with #MotorcycleGOMA | Read more about the motorcycles
Tickets are also available to purchase onsite between 10.00am – 4.15pm. Visit our ticket information page for details on ticket prices, accepted concessions, companion cards, season tickets etc.
The accompanying cinema program ‘Motorcycles on Screen‘ explores film depictions of motorcycles from around the world, looking back at more than a century of motorcycles on screen. It includes iconic classics (The Wild One 1953, Easy Rider 1969), cult favourites (Scorpio Rising 1963, Akira 1988) and recent films (Finke: There and Back 2018, The Wild Goose Lake 2019). Explore themes of freedom, danger, and fraternity, as well as surveying the vehicle’s history and looking ahead to the roles it may play in future societies.
Drawing on QAGOMA’s unique cutting-edge design technology, the exhibition will feature a range of immersive interactives to enhance the visitor experience. Discover more about the art, design and historical context of each bike through the exhibition companion website. Take a virtual seat on a 1950s Vespa, 1960s Dirt Bike or an Electric ‘Future’ Bike and go riding in real-time through a themed landscape. Spend some time building and customising your own bike, on a touch-screen interactive, maybe with a little help from our virtual Ellaspede consultant.
‘Full Face: Artists’ Helmets’ introduces visitors to the interwoven themes of art and design that ‘The Motorcycle’ explores. 15 contemporary Australian artists – Monika Behrens, Kate Beynon, David Booth (ghostpatrol), Eric Bridgeman and Alison Wel, eX de Medici, Shaun Gladwell, Madeleine Kelly, Callum McGrath, Archie Moore, Robert Moore, Nell, Reko Rennie, Brian Robinson, TextaQueen, Guan Wei – individualise a Biltwell Gringo ECE ‘full face’ helmet.
Teens Motorcycle Helmet Design Competition – Take inspiration from ‘The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire’ and create a design for a motorcycle helmet. The design will be judged on its creativity, presentation, idea and concept. Open to designers and artists between the ages of 13 and 18. Submissions close 24 January 2021. Details on how to enter.Get up to speed at The Motorcycle Exhibition Shop, a pop-up retail experience featuring an exciting range of publications and products that explore the culture, vibe, and aesthetic that inspired ‘The Motorcycle’ exhibition. Highlights include exclusive exhibition apparel and accessories by cult brand Deus ex Machina, and bespoke design pieces produced by local heroes Ellaspede. The publication The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire is available at the QAGOMA Store and online
Entry to ‘The Motorcycle’ exhibition will be staggered to allow visitors to enter in safe numbers and allow for free movement throughout the exhibition while following social distancing advice. This means there may be a short wait before you can enter the exhibition. Purchasing your exhibition tickets in advance will help the queuing run smoothly. Contact tracing details will be required on arrival for access to the Gallery. For more details visit our COVID-safe practices plan.
NMoto is working on its Golden Age kit to transform the BMW C400x scooter into a prewar work of art.
So, here’s the thing. Most scooters aren’t very cool. Vespas get a pass, obviously. So too does the Honda Ruckus, because it’s weird and utilitarian. A Quadrophenia-cosplay-type Lambretta would also have my respect, but anything else? It’s going to be a tough sell.
Take the BMW C400x, for example. Is there anything particularly wrong or weird about it? Nope. It’s reasonable and affordable motorized transportation, of which, frankly, I’m a fan. I just can’t get over the inherent not-motorcycle-ness of it, though, which is why a concept from a company in Florida called NMoto has my stoke level pegged.
The kit was debuted recently and is called “Golden Age,” and as you can see from the images, it takes the humble C400x and transforms it into a piece of art deco alternate-history brilliance. How does it do that? Well, the kit hasn’t made its official debut yet, but we suspect that it will involve a not-insubstantial chunk of money and a similarly weighty piece of your time, but the results look worth it.
I like the Golden Age’s bubble fenders and round headlight pod, but I absolutely love the narrow prewar BMW kidney grilles on the front. The whole thing is executed way better than it has any right to be.
If you’re curious about the C400x on which this concept is based, it’s got a 350-cc engine that makes a claimed 34 horsepower and 26 pound-feet of torque. That energy is routed through a CVT transmission, which is pretty standard fare for a scooter. The thing also has plenty of storage, a big gas tank and a nice, relaxed riding position, again, because: scooter. Finally, BMW charges $6,795 for it, making it expensive as scooters go but cheap compared to a car or most European motorcycles.
NMoto says that the design work is done, but that it’s still in the prototype phase and expects to give the Golden Age its debut sometime in the spring of 2020. That should give me plenty of time to start shopping for gear that will make me look more like the titular character from Disney’s The Rocketeer.
World’s Rarest Motorcycle – Price $35 Million – The Cosmic Harley Davidson – 10th Anniversary
The Cosmic Harley launched at $1 million sold in 2012 for $3 million and paved the way for the creation by others of multi-million dollar motorcycles.
MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, October 21, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Cosmic Starship Harley Davidson Motorcycle is officially 10 Years old today and is currently priced at $35 million. It premiered at a Red Carpet Gala event at Bartels In Marina del Rey, California, in 2010, and was filmed by the world press. As reported in the DuPont Registry , Shelby 50th Anniversary Edition, the Million Dollar Harley sold in 2012 for just over $3 million.
Bill Bartel of Bartel’s, the main California Harley Davidson Dealership, said, “Harley Davidson has been in business since 1903, and this Cosmic Harley, launched just 10 years ago, is the most famous motorcycle ever created. The Red-Carpet Gala Event hosted here rivaled most all movie premieres in California, as artist Jack Armstrong landed from the sky in spectacular style, amid lights and sound, astride the Motorcycle and Lorenzo Lamas rode it along the red carpet into the showroom. The event was, by any measure, an extraordinary feat”
Spokesman for Star Global International Inc., Iain Hammer, said, “This $1/2 Million spectacular launch was the brainchild of CEO Robert Star who conceived the idea to promote this exceptional artist to a new generation of art lovers, much in the same way as the artist’s friend, Andy Warhol, promoted himself with his Campbell’s soup can. Warhol called the artist ‘The Last Wizard of Art’. Jack Armstrong used several layers of paint plus 37 coats of clear and took 6 months to finish the project. The Cosmic Harley just completed a 2-year digital retrospective in New York’s, Times Square and is still being published in luxury magazines such as Life of Luxury and You’ve Arrived along with other major media outlets worldwide.
Jack Armstrong’s Cosmic art is driven by a mystical force that emanated from ‘The Black Star Sapphire of Queensland’. He had seen this gemstone, as a child, in the Smithsonian Museum and was hypnotized by it. He purchased the gemstone some 45 years later and it is estimated to be worth $100 million. The gemstone directed him to create a specific number of paintings in a very specific manner. Each of his 100 paintings is deliberately constructed with the lines, figures and movements, creating the appearance of an accidental, non-compositional technique. Embedded in the colorful and multi-layered acrylic paint, are mysterious messages and words strategically placed to deliver the cosmic energy of the painting to the viewer.
Armstrong, known as the rebel artist, eschewed the top galleries, dealers and auction houses because of their bad practices and set out to self-promote with his unique art form he calls ‘Comic Extensionalism’ abbreviated to ‘Cosmic X’. Armstrong’s 100 only unique, colorful and multilayered canvases are expected to rival the price of Basquiat’s $110 million, achieved at auction in 2017 and possibly become the most sought after and highly valued artist in history. Indeed, Alice Walton the Walmart billionaire is listed amongst collectors of his art and has 2 of his paintings in her private collection.
A movie about the life of this illustrious artist, who by chance is related to Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the moon, staring Damian Chapa as Armstrong and Eric Roberts as Andy Warhol will be released soon. He has 3 Wikipedia entries and several hundreds of media references that reach every corner of the earth. Any researcher, a mere decade after the famous Cosmic Starship launch, must surely conclude that Armstrong’s Cosmic Harley together with his extremely limited 100 Cosmic paintings are guaranteed to rise in value and make an important and courageous statement in the annals of art history.”
You can always remake the money but you can never remake the art.”
— William Acquavella -Veteran NYC Art Dealer
