https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCQ7IimxAnA

Everyone has a distinct motive to journey. 

Some may want to carry ahead their household’s biker legacy; some hunt for the last word adrenaline rush, whereas others are simply trying to save a number of {dollars} on the each day commute. 

I actually started driving solely a handful of years in the past, however my love for bikes started nearly a decade earlier than that after I first set my eyes on the Japanese cyberpunk motion movie, “Akira” (1988). 

In regards to the cyberpunk movie “Akira” (1988)

Secret army initiatives, ESP experiments, biker gangs, and an atomic climax aren’t even half of what this flick has to supply, highlighted by the camaraderie of “The Capsules” – a vigilante bōsōzoku gang pulled into conspiracies that threaten humanity and, consequently, the world as they comprehend it.

Amidst the chaos and fantastically depicted scenes of carnage lie a sequence of frames the place gang essential man Kaneda swoops in on his essential swanky machine known as “Shotaro.”

A poster illustration of Kaneda and “Shotaro” from “Akira” (1988). Media supplied by Akira Fandom.

In regards to the unique Akira bike

Kaneda’s two-wheeled alternative is a blood-red bike that sits so low – and thus far again – that “cruiser” aesthetics lean extra towards “recumbent.” To the marginally unrealistic visuals, we add Shoei, Arai, and U.S. Air Drive stickers. Akira fandom’s web site additionally factors out the next {hardware}/specs for Shotaro:

• Ceramic, double-rotor, two-wheel disk drive
• Electronically managed Anti-Lock Brake System (a fairly superior idea for 1988) 
• 200hp, no torque designation
• A gearbox case and the looks of electrical energy on the entrance tyre suggests this bike is a turbine-electric hybrid

Cool reality: Shotaro’s pipe notes had been pulled from an precise MiG-21 fighter jet and merged with a recording of a 1927 Harley-Davidson.

A view of Bel & Bel’s “Akira Bike Venture.” Media supplied by Bel & Bel.

Carles Bel and Jesús Bel are re-creating Shotaro

That will be Carles Bel and Jesús Bel, the stunning pair of gents accountable for inventive studio “Bel y Bel,” or “Bel & Bel” (Bel & Bel Facebook page). 

In an interview with RideApart, Carles mentions how a lot of their first prototype (the working one) was used bike elements):

What went into the “Akira Bike Venture?”

For “The Akira Bike Venture,” Carles and Jesús apparently took a Yamaha fuel engine and mated it to an electrical motor for a hybrid design that will be sturdy and simpler to work with. 

To this was added fiberglass/carbon fiber fairings and 17’ wheels shod in race rubber. 

If you happen to’re in search of a beneficiant wheelbase, look no additional; Bel & Bel’s Akira bike touts a 78.74” spacing between the entrance and rear tire, with the entire caboodle weighing a surprisingly scant ~374 lbs.

A view of Bel & Bel’s “Akira Bike Venture.” Media supplied by Bel & Bel.

Are Bel & Bel taking orders for future Akira bikes? 

Sure! 

Heads up, the following fashions can be a bit totally different from the prototype we’re overlaying on this article. Protection from Janaki Jitchotvisut (RideApart) exhibits that the following technology of Bel & Bel Akira bikes will characteristic the next, amongst different issues:

• A completely-electric rear hub motor able to 5000w and 72v, although Carles says we are able to “mount extra energy and extra battery if needed”
• A spread of about ~64 miles on a regular 60AH battery
• ~75 mph high pace
• Three pace maps
• Reverse perform

Anticipate the brand new sequence of Akira bikes to return by someday this yr; Carles tells RideApart that every bike will value round €24,000 ($26,287 USD), with a required deposit bringing that worth up by €5,000 ($5,475 USD). 

What do you consider the Bel & Bel Akira Bike Venture?

*Media supplied by Akira Fandom, in addition to Bel & Bel and my very own copy of the AKIRA sequence*