ZERO SR-X

The SR-X project was the most collaborative bike project to-date between Hugemoto and the Zero design team.

 

After expressing our interest in building a concept bike around their latest SR-F/S chassis, we received full support and help from Zero. Once we received the fully-functional SRS production bike as our starting point, our main desire was to be given our ‘mojo time’ to come up with a basic design concept that would take full advantage of amazing Zero chassis/drivetrain. After a few innocent burnouts and test rides of the high performance prototype, the concept that resonated was an updated interpretation of an earlier Hugemoto design, the ‘Mono Racr’. The chassis was a perfect fit for this basic direction, a fully aero front half contrasted by the exposed raw mechanical back half.

Once we had a basic direction to review in CAD, we began doing weekly Virtual Reality (VR) reviews with the Zero design team to evaluate the progress, make changes and explore details.

The VR reviews replaced the need for multiple rounds of clay or physical prototypes. THe CAD development became increasingly complex and surface-heavy. Zero’s internal surfacing team got involved and turned our ‘sketchy’ alias surfaces into something more refined.

After much back and forth with the Zero surfacing team, we finally had a final surface file that could be fully parted out in Solidworks. The Huge team got to work, transforming the surface file from Zero into fully-detailed solid model part files that could be machined in plastic. Soon, the physical prototype work began!



Be happy but never satisfied
— Bruce Lee

ZERO FXE

This concept bike project began as a simple request to Zero Motorcycles…“Send us a production FXS and let us build a future design language concept around this proven chassis”.

 

Bill and his team slowly began to work on concepts for the custom. As the bike began to take shape in CAD, there was growing interest from Zero HQ in helping to finish the FXS and get a public reaction.


Brian Wismann, Zero’s VP of product development, heard that the tire company Shinko was looking for a bike to display at The One Moto Show. So the famous Portland show became the target, and Huge fired up their computers.


The design goal was to create a flow across the top of the bike, drawing eyes away from the electric components and frame, and focusing more attention and ‘visual weight’ on the front end. “A design that feels futuristic, seamless and lightweight,” Bill adds. “Bruce Lee was our philosophical inspiration: Lean muscularity with agility and speed!”

The overwhelming response from the concept bike led to Zero’s decision to make a production version. After a year+ of engineering development, the FXE was born.

Be happy but never satisfied
— Bruce Lee

MONO RACR

A retro-modern design aesthetic combining the latest race bike technologies with track-proven frame/steering geometry, component set-up and aerodynamics. 

 

This virtual bike build began with a 'CLEAN and MEAN' design philosophy at the core.  An approach borrowing from the past when race-bike components were raw and purposeful and bodywork flowed simply with sublime, aero-driven surfacing.

Our virtual bike build began with one crucial component as a starting point: a 1000cc Honda in-line 4 cylinder motor.  From there every component was carefully considered, designing from the inside/out.   Lead engineer, Allan Reich designed the mainframe and swing-arm to be single-piece mono-form carbon fiber construction for added weight savings and performance.  Our goal was to make this bike as real as possible and not just another bullshit concept bike.  Months away from moving into our new 4000 Sq/ft shop in Soma and currently exploring fabrication options to make MONO real.

 It seems that many of today's modern sportbikes have gone a bit overboard with chaotic surfacing and superficial details.  Bike manufacturers burdened by the need to out-do themselves (as well as standout among evenly matched competitors) year after year appears to have driven much of the over-the-top aesthetics you see today.    A visual battle of overly aggro design details and crazy graphics that leaves us cold.  

If you ain’t first, you’re last
— Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights

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