Would you pay £36,000 for a Diesel-Powered Cruiser Motorcycle?
Axiom Diesel Cycles wants you to take a punt on a diesel-powered cruiser motorcycle, but why would you?
Diesel as a fuel for motorcycles is a bit of an oddity, with only a handful of makers trying their hand at the idea. The most famous motorcycle maker to give it a go is probably Royal Enfield, thanks to its oil-burning Taurus.
And with such a tepid reaction to dirty-diesel two-wheelers, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the idea had well and truly been put to bed. But that isn’t the case.
Axiom Diesel Cycles is the company that is looking to catch your eye, with its diesel-burning bikes that start at *checks website*, $49,500, which is around £36,000. For that wedge of wonga, you get a bike that looks eerily like a Harley-Davidson (Street Glide or Road Glide, take your pick) and that features a custom built frame and in-house developed turbocharged 1,000cc inline three-cylinder engine. Power is delivered to the rear wheel via a four-speed gearbox (remember them?!), and while you may be thinking “well, I bet for that price the performance will be impressive”, think again.
Reports suggest that the Axiom Paladin and Knight produce a maximum output of 22bhp and around 40lb ft of torque. The firm even released a video of a dyno run of one of its bikes, which you can see above, with black smoke stacks from the exhausts in full effect.
While you don’t get record-breaking performance from the engine, you do at least get some decent spec chassis hardware, thanks to Brembo brakes and adjustable suspension. But there is a bigger issue that I have with the bike, and it’s to do with the engine. On any cruiser, the engine is the visual star of the show. It’s there not just to power the thing, but to draw you in with all its chrome and cooling fins. The thing is, diesel engines aren’t what you’d call pretty, and the oil-burner at the heart of the Axiom is no different.
So, would you take a punt on a near £40,000 cruiser, with less performance than a 10-year-old Harley, just so you can call yourself a trailblazer?
Find the latest motorcycle news on Visordown.com
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!
