Suzuki KingQuad 750AXi 4x4, 2009

Suzuki KingQuad 750AXi 4x4, 2009

The Suzuki KingQuad 750 is an ATV like no other. Just like when it built the first four-wheeler, Suzuki bestowed upon its newest ATV both functional and sporting features. This new KingQuad 750 is designed to be not only the best all-around sport/utility ATV currently made, but the best QuadRunner ATV Suzuki has ever manufactured.

The KingQuad 750 is powered by a single-cylinder liquid-cooled DOHC engine with a bore-and-stroke of 104mm x 85mm - displacing 722cc. The big bore helps this four-stroke develop abundant torque, especially in the low- to mid-rpm range. The fuel-air mixture is delivered efficiently via Suzuki's own fuel-injection system, featuring technology tested through years of development in high-performance motorcycles. Advantages of the KingQuad 750's fuel injection system include reduced fuel consumption overall. Also, there are no choke operations or carburetor settings to consider. Electronic fuel injection provides better throttle response and smoother engine power than a mechanical carburetor. Finally, the KingQuad 750 has the ultimate power-delivery drivetrain and transmission with three drive modes available: two-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, and front differential-locked four-wheel drive.

Built around an all-new high-tensile steel frame, the KingQuad's suspension is fully independent. It's designed to maintain the necessary rigidity of a hard-working utility ATV as well as the light weight of an easily manageable recreational four-wheeler. New front and rear brake systems help smoothly slow the KingQuad 750 -- the front end features hydraulic brakes with 200mm discs at each wheel. The KingQuad 750 rides on newly designed, 25-inch, bias-ply Dunlop tires mounted on pressed-aluminum-alloy wheels.
With its high-arched fenders and sharp headlights, the Suzuki KingQuad 750 combines sporty appeal with utility strength.

Engine Features
Liquid-cooled 996cc, 90 degree V-twin, DOHC 8-valve, engine - tuned for strong low & mid-range torque
Electronic fuel injection features the Suzuki Dual Throttle Valve System (SDTV) - maintains optimum air velocity in the intake tract for smooth low-to-mid rpm throttle response and improved engine torque
Auto Fast Idling System (AFIS), automatically sets throttle valve opening during cold engine starts by monitoring coolant temperature

Digital ignition system provides optimum ignition timing with separate maps for each cylinder
Semi-gear driven valve system simplifies maintenance and minimizes cam sprocket size and engine height for optimum engine placement
Lightweight shim-under-bucket valve system operates 36mm intake and 33mm exhaust valves, plus valve timing with emphasis on low-rpm power

SCEM (Suzuki Composite Electro-chemical Material) plated cylinders minimize cylinder size and improve heat dissipation

Wide-ratio 6-speed transmission with 6th gear over-drive and wide-diameter hydraulic clutch for a light pull at the clutch lever
High-efficiency liquid cooling system for optimum engine operating temperature - includes compact oil cooler
Lightweight magnesium valve covers, ignition cover, and sound-deadening plastic outer clutch cover
High-mounted stainless steel exhaust system with aluminum mufflers tuned to enhance engine torque output
PAIR - air injection system reduces CO and HC emissions - California model equipped with catalyst in exhaust to further reduce emissions

Chassis Features
Black-painted frame and swingarm for stylish appearance
Sport-styled front fairing for wind protection, plus large comfortable seat, engine guard, and hand guards - fairing includes large multi-reflector 60/55W headlights
Height-adjustable windshield for increased wind protection and comfort - can be adjusted to three positions in a 50mm vertical range
Easy-to-read instruments with large speedometer and tach dials, plus LCD display for fuel level, engine temperature, odometer, tripmeters and clock

The standard hand guards designed for maximum wind protection
The Engine undercover shaped for ample ground clearance and sleek appearance
Large rear luggage rack with rubber-padded platform to help keep bags and luggage in place
The aluminum twin-spar frame and aluminum swingarm are lightweight, compact and rigid - bolt-on sub-frame simplifies maintenance
Cartridge-style 43mm front fork with adjustable preload provides 6.3 inches of wheel travel for a comfortable ride
Link-type rear suspension features a piggyback-style shock absorber with adjustable rebound damping and a knob-operated hydraulic preload adjuster - 6.3 inches of wheel travel

Dual front disc brakes with large 310mm rotors and twin-piston calipers, plus single-disc rear brake with 260mm rotor and single-piston caliper
Lightweight cast aluminum wheels - F: 2.50 x 19 with 110/80R-19 radial tire, R: 4.0 x 17 with 150/70R-17 rear tire
Large 5.8 gallon fuel tank for long-range operation

Norton NRV588 Road, 2010

Norton NRV588 Road, 2010

This machine was prototyped in 2006 by Brian Crighton and is directly evolved from the racer he designed for the 1995 season. Featured in Motor Cycle News 10 March 1994, it was a projected onward development of the Duckhams Nortons which stormed UK circuits in 1994, when Ian Simpson won the British Supercup championship and team-mate Phil Borley was third.

Outstanding features of Crighton's latest racer are numerous computer-controlled functions and the retention of the 1994 twin-shock chassis layout, but with a single shock absorber on one side, taking advantage of the SPONDON swingarm's extreme rigidity. Many features on this machine are in common use on racetracks today, showing how far ahead of its time the NRV-588 was when first conceived more than 10 years ago.

Important Update
The NRV 588cc Rotary engine has been a great success for Norton throughout its years, and due to its success, we have now started to develop the race engine from 588cc to 700cc. Although the 588cc engine is quick and powerful, there are great expectations for the new 700cc rotary engine. As we develop the engine and evaluate it's potential, we will make a further announcement to inform you if the bike will be limited to our works race team or if it will be made available into a road going bike, we expect to know more later this year.

Specifications
This NRV-588 has an advanced, up-to-date technical specification using computers to control all operations, but the general configuration is as follows:

Engine
- 588cc twin-rotor Wankel type
- Fuel injected, direct spray into both bell mouths
- Fully variable intake tract to peak maximum torque between 8000-11,000rpm
- Electric water pump
" Ducted fan air cooling for rotors
" Fly-by-wire throttle

Power
" Projected at 170 BHP @ 11,500 RPM
" Max torque 80 Ibs ft, at variable rpm

Chassis : Twin spar aluminium, by Spondon
Front Suspension: Ohlins upside-down fork
Rear Suspension: Ohlins specially made long-stroke single-sided direct connection unit
BrakesP: AP Discs with radial mounted front callipers and rear 2 piston brake calliper.
Wheels: Dymag 16.5in
Tyres: Dunlop
Weight: 130kg (dry)

Alternative ideas for improving sportbike performance usually involve yet another arcane front suspension layout like the Bimota Tesi or BMW's Duolever/ Telelever designs-but rarely has anyone offered an alternative engine. Except for the two-stroke, which became a mainstream concept that eventually has been forced into near extinction by environmental concerns, and not counting the current fascination with renewable fuels, there haven't been any truly innovative concepts in gasoline-powered motorcycle engine design. Well, perhaps except for just one: the Wankel rotary.

The Norton Rotary Reborn
It's been 20 years since the rotary engine invented by German engineer Felix Wankel back in 1924 made its motorcycle roadracing debut in 1987. Powering the racebikes of the resurgent Norton factory, the rotary's then-superior performance led to eight years of competition that resulted in successive British roadrace titles, points-scoring GP finishes and victory in the Isle of Man TT against the top superbikes of the day. The fact that each Wankel engine cylinder has only three moving parts that simply rotate-compared with myriad moving pieces in a conventional four-stroke piston engine, many of which run at incredibly high velocities only to stop dead a couple of hundred times a second-makes this a plausibly more efficient mechanical solution. Admittedly, the thorny issue of the bike's exact engine capacity was always a matter of controversy. Because the rotary engine's unique three-sided rotor's power stroke occurs twice during a revolution of the crankshaft (actually called the eccentric shaft, basically a camshaft around which the rotor orbits), some claimed that its displacement should be measured by the single rotor-face-swept area of each of the Norton Wankel's two triangular rotors times two. Nonetheless the rules were massaged on an ongoing basis to make sure the crowd-pleasing Nortons could play their role as British underdogs taking on the might of Japan Inc.

I was able to test each successive year's variant of the Norton rotary racer and found the bikes thrilling to ride, with a good power-to-weight ratio that made them unquestionably fast and with adequate handling. Although the rotary is a dirtier, thirstier design than a conventional four-stroke, it's also lighter and more compact-and potentially more powerful. Just what you need to build a better racebike, as Brian Crighton proved by conceiving the Norton rotary racers that flourished two decades ago. Unfortunately the Nortons withered away after their last race in 1994, thanks to the corporate intrigue that eventually downed the parent company.

But some people never give up, and for 13 years, the 59-year-old Crighton continued to dream of building a Norton rotary racer as light and powerful as he always knew it had the potential to be. Now, with the financial backing of dedicated Norton enthusiast Roy Richards-founder and chairman of Britain's National Motorcycle Museum, where 16 of the 17 Norton factory rotary racers ever made now reside-Crighton's dream has reached reality. The Norton NRV588 is the bike he always wanted to build.

An Old Dog With New Tricks
The heart of the NRV588 is obviously the twin-rotor engine, one of the spare '94 Duckhams motors that incredibly hadn't even been opened and serviced since being built that year. Thus original mechanical spec is unchanged, with 9.6:1 compression and original porting (rotaries control intake and exhaust flow timing via ports, just like a two-stroke). But it's now fitted with fuel injection controlled by an Omex ECU using GEMS software, powered by a Yamaha R6 generator and controlling a single injector per rotor in Crighton's own dual 36mm throttle bodies. These are located beneath the required bulge in the front of the fuel tank to allow space for the tall shower-style injectors; they're necessary to permit usage of the NRV588's variable-intake system (hence the "V" in its designation). But while the concept is similar to the MV Agusta and Yamaha systems, the NRVs feature a linear electric servo motor that controls the movement of the telescopic intake trumpets via a gearbox driving a screw. This allows an actual progressive system, instead of the MV and Yamaha systems that only permit two positions. Plus, while the MV/Yamaha systems only allow a maximum of 75mm of variation in length, the Norton's fully progressive system extends over a huge 120mm range. The trumpets are fully extended at low rpm, then begin to contract from 6000 to 8000 rpm.

Another electric motor controlled by the ECU operates the throttle plates, in a copy of the modular ride-by-wire system on Ducati's MotoGP bikes. This has a conventional throttle cable running from the grip to a potentiometer, which translates the action in digital form to the ECU. The ECU then instructs the electric motor to operate the butterflies according to a preprogrammed map that can be altered depending on weather, track conditions, tire wear and so on.