Concept bike - riding on air

A motorcycle powered purely by compressed air will be uncovered at the 2011 Sydney Motorcycle and Scooter Show, November 25-27 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

RMIT Industrial Design student Dean Benstead has designed and developed the ’02 Pursuit’, a working prototype of a motocross bike that gives value to air as an alternate source of ‘fuel’ with the use of the DiPietro air engine developed by Angelo DiPietro of Engineair Australia.

Based on the geometry of a current-spec 250cc motocrosser, the project’s initial focus was on the design and product development processes over performance engineering, but Benstead said he could see a future for a marketable model based on the air-powered prototype.

If petrol power was past and electric power was present, Benstead said he believed that with further development there was a place for compressed air in the future as an economical and environmentally-friendly option.

“The concept evolved from research to sketches to computer modelling before the chassis and bodywork was built and fabrication at local manufacturer, Rinlatech Engineering, began,” explained Benstead.

“I wanted to explore the viability of compressed air as an alternative fuel, and my childhood experiences riding dirt bikes led me to design the motocross bike based around the Engineair engine.

“I’ve worked closely with project partners including Engineair, Yamaha Australia, who donated the running gear from a WR250F to power the bike, as well as various design staff, Simon Curlis and Automotive designer Marcus Hotblack at RMIT.

“The stationary test runs we’ve run have been very positive – the bike can hit speeds in excess of 100km/h in its current build, and with more development we can see the range of the bike doubling or tripling.

“The next prototype would involve a total re-style, different material choices over the current steel tube chassis, such as aluminium or even a futuristic printed titanium, reducing the weight comparable to a heavy-duty mountain bike.

“I’m excited to be able to reveal the bike in front of an audience at the Sydney Motorcycle & Scooter Show and am very much looking forward to any feedback from visitors and industry.”

The ’02 Pursuit’ will be unveiled in a working demonstration at 10.30am on Friday November 25. It will be displayed on the Two Wheels exhibit for the duration of the three-day show.

The Sydney Motorcycle & Scooter Show is Australia’s largest showcase of everything on two wheels, featuring a comprehensive display of bikes from all major manufacturers and products and services from a range of industry specialists.