JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #86 - January/February 2014 - 18

motorcycle

25% lighter than the standard
Officially launched to an international
audience at the American International
Motorcycle Expo in Florida last October,
Skycraft is the world's first purpose-built
freestyle motocross machine and a collaboration between action sports innovators
Unit and world-renowned motorsport entity Triple Eight Race Engineering Australia.

C

onceptualized by Unit
co-founder Ian Everest,
the Skycraft prototype
was engineered by an expert
team at Triple Eight, led by
acclaimed Technical Director Ludo Lacroix. A central
goal was weight reduction.
Skycraft is constructed
almost entirely from carbon
fibre and titanium components. At just 75 kilograms,
the bike is over 25% lighter
than a standard motocross
machine.
According to its conceptor,
the original design brief
recognized the opportunity
for an 'out-of-the-box' product for freestyle motocross.
All other forms of motorcycle sports use purposebuilt machines. So far, FMX
(Freestyle Motocross)

riders had no option but
to adapt to heavily modify
race bikes. It made sense to
explore what an FMX-specific bike might look like.
Being a concept motorcycle,
it also meant Unit were not
constrained or restricted by
production or cost requirements.

A completely new
design
As an experimental platform, Skycraft will allow for
test data and rider feedback
to lead towards a potential production bike. The
Skycraft concept challenges
conventional motorcycle
design rules with a heavyduty carbon-fibre monocoque frame containing a
fuel cell. The tail design has
integrated grab handles and
a forked seat, while engineering boundaries were pushed even further with the

silencer integrated inside a
carbon-fibre swingarm.
According to Ian Everest,
weight reduction represented the best characteristic to provide riders in their
quest for bigger tricks as
well as helping them innovate new manoeuvres. This
prototype is the product of
a combined effort with the
engineering foresight and
expertise of Triple Eight
Race Engineering Australia's
Ludo Lacroix.
The many other contributors to the Skycraft project
include LSM Composites
(carbon parts), Lightning
Composites (carbon parts),
John Titman Racing, Talon
(carbon parts), Scalvini
(exhaust), De-Tris (wheels),
Galfer (brakes), Mainmoto
(importers and distributors of aftermarket off-road

Specifications

* 75 kilograms
- CFRP monocoque frame
with integrated fuel tank
- CFRP swingarm with
integrated silencer
- Ultra-slim CFRP bodywork
- CFRP rims

motorcycle parts), Raptor
Titanium (footpegs and
footrests) and Racetech
Titanium (bolts and parts).
Each company provided
its specific know-how. For
example, the carbon-fibre
rims for the De-Tris wheels
are 30 to 44% lighter than
aluminium, resulting in
50-60% less inertia and 80%
less energy loss. n
More information:
www.unit.com
www.tripleeight.com.au
www.lsm.net.au
www.lightningcomposites.com.au
www.de-tris.com
www.talon.com.au

The bike os over 25% lighter than a standard machine

18 jec composites magazine / No86 January - February 2014

http://www.unit.com http://www.tripleeight.com.au http://www.lsm.net.au http://www.lightningcomposites.com.au http://www.de-tris.com http://www.talon.com.au

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #86 - January/February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #86 - January/February 2014