French motorcycle design startup Furion has come up with something hitherto unheard of in motorcycle industry. The brainchild of designer Marc Evenisse's imagination and four times super motorcycle world champion, Adrien Chareyre, this concept promises to revolutionise motorcycling as we know it. Although the bike is still in the concept stage, Furion intends to crowdfund this project, called ‘M1’ which, if it becomes a success, will be the first hybrid street bike.
The hybrid concept combines a rotary engine and an electric motor, with both motors housed in a steel trellis frame. The Furion M1’s power plant is a 654cc Wankel rotor engine that puts out 125bhp at 9,000rpm with a torque figure of 105Nm at 6,000rpm. When combined with an electric motor fed by lithium-sulphur batteries that is rated at 55bhp and 100Nm torque, this gives a final figure of 180bhp and a neck-snapping 205Nm of torque from no revs, which is 45 per cent more than the KTM Super Duke 1290R. With a kerb weight of 209kg together with 16 litres of fuel, the bike promises to be performance-oriented.
Transmission is a six-speed unit with a final chain drive, and the bike will get high-quality components – a 43mm adjustable upside-down fork and a preload and rebound adjustable monoshock at the rear. Braking is handled by 310mm twin petal discs, with four piston radial calipers. Rear brake is a single 250mm petal disc with a single-piston caliper. The bike will offer two modes of operation - long range for increased efficiency and sport mode for full power output of 180bhp although the company does not state whether you can use electric power alone. Furion claims that the M1 will return class-leading fuel efficiency, with the ability to travel over 400km on a single tank of fuel.
The hybrid supercar has already shown that we don’t need to sacrifice green credentials for performance; the Furion promises to bring just that to the two-wheeler sphere.
