APART FROM giving the world one of the greatest assault rifles of all time, Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov are also pretty handy at knocking together motorcycles - and this is the latest dual-power concept from Russian-born, Japan-based designer Igor Chak.
Working from the same factory as Kalashnikov, Izhevsk Mechanical Works, or Izh for short, have sold around 11 million motorcycles over the last 80 years; the 1929 Izh-1 was one of the most successful for the Russian marque.
The latest thinking in this short video shows a drastic update from Izh's usual Russian tank-like design, the concept is armed with dual front airbags, a radar system, on-board cameras, traction control and ABS. The girder-style fork design crumples on impact to absord the force of a collision, rather than 'pinging' the rider over the top of the bike.
Chak's design also stretches to encompass zero-emission thinking; a 140bhp V-twin engine and a Lithium sulfide-powered 60W electric engine power the futuristic beast.
Ah well. Back to reality.
