Siena, Italy, summer of 1906.
Completely drenched in sweat, Ettore Castoldi was painfully cycling to his blacksmith workshop outside town, when he decided that he needed a faster bike. A way faster one.
Through undisclosed connections he got his hands on an exotic engine coming from France: an Ader unit, V configuration, 46hp. Hefty, unwieldy and specifically built for aviation.
He installed the engine on his cherished bike - the only one he owned, in fact;
the rest of the system was bolted, taped or welded anywhere the parts could fit.
The frame looked painfully overwhelmed, but it was holding up better than expected.
The first test drive was pretty much a disaster.
The barycenter of the the whole assembly was way too high, and the drive was terrible: unstable and shaky at best, often completely undrivable.
Ettore's feelings were clear: everything had to be lowered.
Engine. Flywheel.
Pilot.
Ettore lowered the seat and extended the handlebars so that he could practically lay down on the frame. He also moved clutch and brake controls to two pedals, sliding them to the back of the bike.
Unknowingly, Ettore had essentially invented the bike setup and driving position that would become the cornerstone of modern motorcycling.
This is the 5th entry in my series on fictional prototypes.
I took some liberties in the engineering to make the line of the bike more punchy and clean - so please don't overanalyze it :)
It is heavily inspired by the genius work of Clément Ader.
I got the name l'Eroica (the Heroic) from an old school bike race that is held to this day near Siena, Tuscany.
I got the name l'Eroica (the Heroic) from an old school bike race that is held to this day near Siena, Tuscany.
The 46 is also an obvious small tribute.
Made with love in Blender, Substance Painter, Lightroom.
Cheers 🙂
