Whoa Nelly! Lotus Superbike.

JeffD said:

It's the internet, what were you expecting when posting this? Also, if you were on either side of the argument, you know those guys were right, especially Jack Black

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This is hardly the musical equivalant of "I just called to say I love you" ok? I know beuaty is in the bla bla, and those were just opions all that but the level of scorn and the over abundance of negative votes is surprising.

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. Oh well.

Just seems so negative. Not faulting anybody's actual taste, but wow, what happened to, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Just sayin', Ducati owners act with snobbery and elitism, and sooner or later people are going to think Ducati owners are snobs and elitists.

From Oh Broth Where Art Thou:
Pete, the personal rancor reflected in that remark I don't intend to dignify with comment. But I would like to address your general attitude of hopeless negativism. Consider the lilies of the ....... field or... hell! Take at look at Delmar here as your paradigm of hope.

Ok, I like movies. But seriously, somebody say something nice before people think we're all Emo.

OK. It does a great job of making other bikes look better. Is that good?

I hadn't seen the picture that Denver Rick posted of all three from above and behind, and that looks a bit better. I do have an issue with the inauthenticity of the provenance behind the "Lotus" C-01, which Charlie also pointed out. Obviously, that aspect offends people like us.

I might look at the bike differently if they had just came out of nowhere with their own name. Motus and Confederate have made significant names for themselves and perhaps these guys could have done the same.

Guess it doesn't matter though, because folks like Charlie and me are not the intended target market. Perhaps there are enough nouveau riche people out there to buy this based on the sham of marketing that it is. Like I said, ....... hipsters.

JeffD said:

I hadn't seen the picture that Denver Rick posted of all three from above and behind, and that looks a bit better. I do have an issue with the inauthenticity of the provenance behind the "Lotus" C-01, which Charlie also pointed out. Obviously, that aspect offends people like us.

I might look at the bike differently if they had just came out of nowhere with their own name. Motus and Confederate have made significant names for themselves and perhaps these guys could have done the same.

Guess it doesn't matter though, because folks like Charlie and me are not the intended target market. Perhaps there are enough nouveau riche people out there to buy this based on the sham of marketing that it is. Like I said, ....... hipsters.

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Fail.

Denver Rick said:

Ok, I like movies. But seriously, somebody say something nice before people think we're all Emo.

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So saying something critical is emo but saying something nice isn't?

It's not a matter of elitism or snobbery (though I'm perfectly willing to admit that it exists among the Ducatista).

But not everything "new and creative" is worthy of praise. I myself have been known to heap scorn upon some of Ducati's offerings in the past decade or so (just ask Cloner!). And sometimes things that are "new and creative" are very much deserving of the criticism they receive. Even Velvet Elvis was new and creative at some point (Google it if the reference escapes you).

My objection to this particular expression of "art" is less the physical expression (though its bizarre, blocky, dustbin-looking lower fairing is garishly inconsistent with the flowing lines the designer is emphasizing in the rest of it) than the absurd comments in the article regarding "art" and "form and function" (since it's apparent that this design is all about form and little about function)

If your expressed position is that it's a meaningful, creative, or (fill in your own superlative) design, then you should at least be willing to indulge the rest of us our own judgement as to how closely the designers met their stated aim of "art" or "form following function" or whatever message about motorcycle design as an art they were trying to make.

Denver Rick said:

From Oh Broth Where Art Thou:
Pete, the personal rancor reflected in that remark I don't intend to dignify with comment. But I would like to address your general attitude of hopeless negativism. Consider the lilies of the ....... field or... hell! Take at look at Delmar here as your paradigm of hope.

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From Scent of A Woman -
If I were the man I was 5 years ago I'd take a flamethrower to that thing
(slight apologies to Al Pacino for the paraphrase).

Yes, but it is always the same snap judgments. I got into riding with people who had more positive things to say on anything with two wheels than negative. And honestly, my own artistic opinion, is that anybody who can't see beauty in these bikes wouldn't know beauty if it was sitting on their face and wiggling.

Never mind, I'm clearly on the wrong forum. Anybody want to buy a nice '12 Tri?

Most of us here like fast bikes. That bike (looks only; what else do we have to judge it on) looks long and heavy, two things that don't lend well to a fast bike. Even if it has a big engine, there's little to no aerodynamic design here, so it's not something that will rival a Busa in straight line speed. I don't like it because I think it's ugly, I don't like it because it looks to me to be pointless other than being a "gee isn't that cool" type of thing.

ghostdog6 said:

Most of us here like fast bikes. That bike (looks only; what else do we have to judge it on) looks long and heavy, two things that don't lend well to a fast bike. Even if it has a big engine, there's little to no aerodynamic design here, so it's not something that will rival a Busa in straight line speed. I don't like it because I think it's ugly, I don't like it because it looks to me to be pointless other than being a "gee isn't that cool" type of thing.

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With a sub 400 lb dry weight and a 200 bhp engine, it should have a power to weight ratio close to the Panigale. Its wheelbase is 2.5" longer than the Diavel's..so yeah, a bit long.

I'm not sure I understand your assessment of its aerodynamics. Looks to be fairly sleek and even features fork fairings.

Quite simple - no bubble for the rider. Nowhere to tuck in. You're laying on top of the thing. Windscreen barely covers the handlebars.

I like the bike, just not sure it's rideable, but i also like the Confederate Motorcycles as well. To each his own, i'm surprised to hear so many comments about what people should and should not spend their own money on? If they made the money and want to buy a motorcycle, who cares? I would rather them spend it on a motorcycle then a Toyota Camry... I say spend away, it keeps the economy going

JeffD said:

I hadn't seen the picture that Denver Rick posted of all three from above and behind, and that looks a bit better. I do have an issue with the inauthenticity of the provenance behind the "Lotus" C-01, which Charlie also pointed out. Obviously, that aspect offends people like us.

I might look at the bike differently if they had just came out of nowhere with their own name. Motus and Confederate have made significant names for themselves and perhaps these guys could have done the same.

Guess it doesn't matter though, because folks like Charlie and me are not the intended target market. Perhaps there are enough nouveau riche people out there to buy this based on the sham of marketing that it is. Like I said, ....... hipsters.

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+1. (Poorly) paraphrasing Lloyd Bentsen, " I knew Colin Chapman, and that sir, is no Lotus".

It's a street rod for affluent posers, using the purchased brand for cred it doesn't deserve. And there is precisely zero chance of that chassis geometry handling worth spit on a twisty road, let alone track. A Lotus that only likes to go straight...? Uh, no.

Speaking of hipsters, I saw someone on a flat-bar fixed gear bicycle the other day, bought as-is from...WALMART. Said "Fixie" right there on the top tube in big letters so everyone would know how cool it was. Hipsterism has jumped the shark...

At least it put a bit of life back into the forum, things were a bit too quiet for my taste.

If that is production then stand corrected, yikes!

Seriously, it looks like something Jessie James would make, an eye sore!

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be impressed by with this thing - the anti-hopping clutch, or the upside-down forks or the twin suspension strut rear or the o-ring chain or anything else on here that was cool to see 10 years ago. Maybe the modern equivalent of a dustbin fairing from what, 50 years ago?

The tech specs on this thing read like they were either A) written by a car guy who knows nothing about bikes or B) written for car guys who know nothing about bikes.

Denver Rick said:

Just seems so negative. Not faulting anybody's actual taste, but wow, what happened to, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Just sayin', Ducati owners act with snobbery and elitism, and sooner or later people are going to think Ducati owners are snobs and elitists.

From Oh Broth Where Art Thou:
Pete, the personal rancor reflected in that remark I don't intend to dignify with comment. But I would like to address your general attitude of hopeless negativism. Consider the lilies of the ....... field or... hell! Take at look at Delmar here as your paradigm of hope.

Ok, I like movies. But seriously, somebody say something nice before people think we're all Emo.

Click to expand...

I agree with you............ But look at it, to say it is damn ugly is just a statement of fact