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Superbike is put to the test!
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Thursday 3rd May 2001.
A REVOLUTIONARY diesel-engined motorbike with world wide sales possibilities has been developed near Swindon.
Engineers at the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham have spent ten years pioneering the engine of the futuristic lightweight bike.
Originally planned for UK armed forces, it is now accepted that the machine has major potential for use by all NATO countries, plus considerable civilian and commercial spin-off opportunities.
A number of the machines will be produced by the end of the year for the United States Marine Corps and five trial bikes have also been ordered for the Ministry of Defence.
The diesel power unit for the bike was designed by Dr Stuart McGuigan and John Crocker of the RMCS, with development and production being spearheaded by Hayes Diversified Technolo-gies of California.
The work of the RMCS team has already been praised by Baroness Symons, the Minister of State for Defence Pro-curement.
She said: "British ingenuity is alive and well. The UK has an enviable engineering record and there could be considerable civilian applications and commercial spin-offs for this innovative design.''
The driving force behind the engine design has been the need to find a single source of fuel for all battlefield vehicles .
The new machine, which is based on a Kawasaki chassis, could have a more than 50 per cent better fuel consumption than its petrol-engined equivalent, taking it to 120mpg
The prototype design is the only contender at the moment for the new general purpose, cross country despatch bike for all three services.
An air-portable version for the UK's Joint Rapid Reaction Force is also planned, together with further models for the Royal Military Police.
Other Nato forces have already expressed an interest in the new bike and there could be a large export market in the developing world where diesel is easier to source than petrol.
Further possible civilian applications include lightweight, high powered industrial diesel generators, all terrain vehicles and quad bikes.
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