EBR's latest patent

[Thaloc]

Erik Buell likes to say that the motorcycles he makes, including the EBR 1190RS debuting this winter, have only just caught up with designs he first penned 20 years ago. Here’s a rare glimpse inside some of his latest thinking, this patent for an exhaust-incorporating swingarm was just published.

Somewhat confusingly titled a “Movable Exhaust System” in the patent, the concept here is relatively simple: channel the exhaust through the swingarm, housing the components that usually form the exhaust canister inside that swingarm.

This dual role fits with the fundamental tenet’s of Erik’s designs. His frames hold fuel, swingarms in the past have held oil, Harley engines were fun to use and kept his evil corporate masters happy. By housing the exhaust within the swingarm, mass will be made more centralized, the motorcycle will stand up to crashes better, a major heat source will moved away from the rider and the overall number of parts will be reduced. We showed these drawings to an automotive engineer, who doesn’t believe there will be an appreciable increase in unsprung weight as most of the added components are housed directly under or forward of the spring mount. He went on to say that those components were very light anyways and, should there be a slight increase in unsprung weight, it would be more than made up for by losing the weight of an external canister and in reducing part counts.

But get this, the system shown in these patent drawings doesn’t just combine two roles, it adds a third which has never before been possible. When we exclusively unveiled the 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc, we saw that it used winglets to channel high pressure air through tunnels in the frame to the area above the rear wheel. This low pressure area is traditionally a huge problem for motorcycles, effectively pulling them backwards as speeds increase. Like the Moto Morini 500 Turbo before it, the E1pc filled in and broke up that low pressure area with high pressure air from the front of the bike. Taking dual-role parts to a ridiculous extreme, Erik has located the exhaust exit in an ideal location to use its gasses to break up and fill in that low-pressure area, achieving what should be a significant aerodynamic benefit.

Our automotive engineer buddy estimates that a motorcycle engine should be able to exhaust enough high-pressure gasses to have a measurable impact on aerodynamics. Using, say, a 1,200cc v-twin operating at a constant 8,000rpm, he roughly estimates that 1,200cc of high-pressure gas would be leaving the exhaust ever .0015 seconds. These drawing show two potential methods for connecting the exhaust headers to the swingarm: a flexible pipe and a rotational coupling running through the swingarm pivot. it’s the former that will cause the most brow furrowing, but it shouldn’t. Flexible pipes capable of reliably dealing with extremely high temperatures have been around for years now. A nicely-designed cruiser from New Orleans employed a flexible pipe made from a nickel-chromium alloy called Inconel to similarly channel its exhaust gasses through a swingarm. Another potential criticism is also addressed in the drawings, two different solutions for service panels are shown, all of which would allow access to repair or replace the exhaust internals. What’s not clear is how that most possible of motorcycle modifications, the “performance enhancing” exhaust, could be accommodated. Presumably there’d be some sort of ability to reconfigure the gas flow through the swingarm internals.

The application for this patent lists “Erik Buell” as the inventor and includes this abstract:
“A motorcycle including a swingarm that movably mounts a rear wheel to a main frame of the motorcycle and defines a hollow portion through which exhaust gases are passed before being expelled from an outlet of the swingarm. A movable joint may be provided between a header and the swingarm, including a first portion fixed relative to the main frame, a second portion movable relative to the main frame, and a flexible conduit between the first and second portions. The movable joint may be coincident with the pivot axis. In some constructions, the hollow portion of the swingarm is divided into at least three chambers, and a plurality of pipes is configured to provide at least two flow direction reversals within the swingarm between an inlet and an outlet, with multiple volumetric expansions between the inlet and the outlet.”

Erik likes to say that he’s designed hundreds of motorcycles over the years, the vast majority of which remain un-realized. Only time and new EBR products will tell if we ever see the Moveable Exhaust System on a production bike.

Source

So the swingarm and exhaust will be a one piece unit. Sounds pretty interesting. There are more pics and such at the source.

 

[dave_xb12r]

Hmmmmmmm...... I don't know about that one.

 

[Hammel13]

That would really heat up that rear tire

 

[Paniller]

I'd think having it hold oil was the better idea. People like to be able to tweak their exhaust, and this would make the bike less mod-friendly.

 

[upthemaiden]

I'm really liking the idea. the oil may have been a better idea, but that does no good for a motor with the oil inside of it. It probably killed him having that swingarm on there not serving a dual purpose. The aftermarket thing is the only downside. So many people send their exhausts to Randy to be hawkified, but I'd be hesitant to let someone modify something like a swingarm. Either way, Erik's main focus is making race bikes so I'm more than sure he'll have that one sorted out. Maybe a bolt on plate that lets you remove some internals.

 

[Rebel_CafeRacer]

I LOVE IT!!! That guy has an awesome mind. I would love to work for him someday.

 

[Stevenc150]

Awesome idea! I'm with Rebel, LOVE to work with that guy.
As far as heat, ceramic coat the pipes & swingarm inside & out - and problem solved.

 

[badxb]

We will always find ways to modify the unmodifiable (if thats a word)

 

[anrkizm95]

over thought and complicated.i can already see the problems that flex pipe will cause.

 

[upthemaiden]

I'm not as crazy about the flex pipe idea either, but I like the setup where it goes through the swingarm pivot

 

[delta one]

if the main resonator remains under the bike (like the CBR1000 and new zx-10r) you will still likely have aftermarket options.

 

[Stevenc150]

I bet that's what most said about his oil-in-the-swingarm idea. I think it could definitely work, just hope he tries it so they'll have something else exhaust-wise to copy. (ex. underslung exhaust)

Exerpt from article: It’s the former that will cause the most brow furrowing, but it shouldn’t. Flexible pipes capable of reliably dealing with extremely high temperatures have been around for years now.

 

[anrkizm95]

flex pipes have caused nothing but problems on cars for years.

 

[upthemaiden]

yeah I wasn't worried about the heat, I'm just not looking to put any more hoses on a bike that would be required to flex every time I hit a bump, accelerated, or used the brakes.

 

[Baal]

That would really heat up that rear tire

And swingarm bearings, wheel bearings, brake assembly...[confused] I'm an EB fan, but this reminds me of what one writer said a few years ago: Something along the lines of "Erik insists on the most complicated solution to the simplest motorcycle problems."

 

[deh2k2]

Here is a link to patent documents that pertain to the:

Buell Motorcycle Company
http://www.wikipatents.com/as/s_assignee/Buell+Motor+Company,+Inc.

And those of Erik Buell
http://www.wikipatents.com/as/s_inventor/Buell;+Erik

some cool stuff... single swing arms front and rear... and the design of a front and rear rotor that can be cut from a single piece of metal.

 

[bttrfngrz]

heres a new one (well relatively speaking) i like where his head is at but i dont wanna drop a grand into some random bolt on swingarm.

 

[nativeXb12Rbuell]

wow such an inventive mind and great Ingenuity , this want makes america so great. i really like this one cycle rear suspension with shock built into frame lug

would like to see that built into a motorcycle concept it would have to probably be beefy .. just a thought.


makes me want go back to school to be an enigineer ..


in the future when I own my own company I will have to hire Erik to design something for my product line. and i would definetly invest in his company if i had the extra money .

 

[BeDaring08]

i like the way he thinks. I know it limits moding but idk maybe its me but i love looking at bikes that look like there missing parts! Im not to hot on the idea of the flex pipe but if they keep the part cheap who cares, just make it a item u will replace ever couple thousand miles or something.

 

[deh2k2]

If the flex pipe is cheap and easy to swap out with no special tools!!!