A couple of days ago I wrote up a brief blog entry about American MotoGP Upstart MotoCzysz. As fate would have it right after I got done writting about them and their outside-the-box motorcycle design, the new CycleWorld Magazine showed up with the cover story on their bike, the C1.

After reading the article a couple of times, I have to say I’m really impressed with what they’re doing up there in Portland. As I wrote in the previous post they’ve got some pretty radical design ideas going, including a very different set of front forks, a two clutch system, and an extremely thin engine design among others. According to the article they’re gunning for next years MotoGP event at Leguna Secca as premiere of sorts. Whether or not that happens really depends on how the remaining development goes, but here’s to hoping they make it.

Not so much because they’re an American Motorcycle Company trying to get off the ground and compete in an international arena - that, like the CW article, smacks of an instant coffee variant of patriotism that doesn’t do much for me - but rather because they’re thinking outside the box in an industry that tends to follow the leader to an extreme. Who really can’t get on board with ideas like that?

The CW article claimed that part of the inspiration behind the C1 was the Britten Racing Motorcycle. Now it’s been quite awhile since John Britten built his bike and brought it out on the world stage, however since his death a great deal has been written about his bike, his ideas and what they were trying to achive. I wonder if it’s possible for an upstart like MotoCzysz to tap into that fan base foundation or whether that was a country/bike specific swell of interest? Guess it’ll be interesting to see what happens next…