BMW is set to make the most of its expertise with carbon fiber in the automotive sector by using the material in its future motorcycles, according to Motorcycle News.
The German company is pioneering the use of carbon in mass-produced vehicles, most notably with the i3, and is thought to have reached a point where it can produce the lightweight material cheaply enough to employ the tech in its motorcycles.
Ordinarily, premium motorcycle frames are made from high-strength aluminum but with a carbon frame, BMW will be able to produce frames weighing up to 40 per cent less yet being even stronger.
In developing the technology, the company has patented two different frame designs catering for a host of different bikes. The first and most exotic design would be used by range-topping superbikes like the S1000RR and is dubbed a ‘beam frame’. It is made up of square-section tubes of carbon fiber which complement existing metal or other carbon components to create featherweight frame rails that are then hidden by sheets of carbon fiber. The second frame design, a trellis frame, could be used by more affordable bikes, utilzing round, hollow carbon fiber tubes.
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