Pierre Terblanche designed ‘Mono’ concept revealed
Pierre Terblanche is one of the most revered motorcycle designers of all time and he is revisiting one of his most iconic machines
THE name Pierre Terblanche will resonate with most motorcyclists – over a certain age that is! The South African is responsible for some of the most beautiful (think Ducati Sport Classic) motorcycles ever built – and some of the least attractive, we’re looking at you Multistrada 1000DS!
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One of his most famous and revered motorcycle designs though wasn’t even touted as a bike to be used on the road. The Supermono was only built over two years and an estimated 65 examples were produced. This week though, it looks like Terblanche has unfinished business with the concept, as pictures have emerged of a new ‘Mono’ on display at Barber Advanced Design Centre.
It’s clear that the images shared with Visordown show a bike that is in the very early stages of physical mockup, but you don’t have to look far to spot sizable areas of innovation. Beneath the slightly blocky exterior lies an as yet unknown engine that is cradled in a very unusual looking frame.
The mostly monocoque design uses ram-air tubes to form the frontal part of the frame, with the fuel tank almost looking as if it is resting on top of the structure. The shape of the ‘engine’ is a bit of a red herring with this one, as the primary job of it at the moment is to attach the bike to its mounting block. With that in mind, we aren’t going to speculate on the type of engine it’ll be using – although in the images below we can clearly see an Italian-made Testastretta 4-valve head…
An unusual feature of the front end is the fork arrangement. The forks don’t seem to run through top yokes, instead, a Y-shape fork (as found on some mountain bikes) is used. It’s the kind of arrangement you’d only use on a bike that was exceptionally lightweight, and the innovative design doesn’t end there…
The front brake calipers are mounted in an usual manner, with an axial and radial mounting bolt in use. The fork bottoms also look different, as they seem to offer a very small amount of movement at the bottom of the fork, along with at the top. It could be that Terblanche has some new kind of anti-dive mechanism in mind for the bike – it wouldn’t be the first time, after all!
While it’s clear that the Terblanche Mono still has a long way to go before it hits the road, it’s clear that the designer and his team are getting closer to realising the engineer’s vision.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the progress of the Mono and bring you any more updates as we get them.
Pictures ©Neale Bayly
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
