Absolutely stunning bike. This is something you could put in your living room.
Aston Martin teams up with an icon to build its first-ever motorcycle
The carmaker turned to none other than Brough Superior when it wanted to make the move to two wheels — and it couldn't have picked a better partner
by DAVID BOOTH | 3 HOURS AGO
https://driving.ca/aston-martin/auto...ver-motorcycle
The Aston Martin and Brough Superior AMB 001Aston Martin
When Aston Martin recently announced it was building a motorcycle in conjunction with Brough Superior, most car enthusiasts were probably wondering why the storied automaker was stooping to build a motorcycle.
In fact, if anyone is slumming in this new relationship, it is Brough, once the pinnacle of two-wheeled exclusivity and favourite of the most famous motorcyclist of all time.
Brough Superior was the brainchild of George Brough, who between 1919 and 1940 crafted some 3,000 some of the most exquisite and exclusive motorcycles the world had ever seen. Most were custom-built, and though the engines were outsourced – usually from J.A. Prestwich but later also Matchless – almost everything else was hand-hewn in house.
Indeed, legend has it that, after H. D. Teague of The Motor Cycle labelled Brough the “Rolls-Royce of motorcycles,” the famed automaker sent over a representative to tell George to cease and desist advertising as such.
Luckily, Brough and his crew were in the process of final assembly for an impending motor show and the Rolls representative was so impressed – the techs were supposedly wearing white gloves whilst assembling bikes – that he reported back that Brough’s motorcycles really did deserve the appellation.
What has made the Brough name an enduring legend, however, is the devotion of its most famous client, T.E. Lawrence. You know him better as “Lawrence of Arabia,” and his love of motorcycles – “A skittish motor-bike with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on earth” – and Broughs in general – he owned eight, and gave them all names – knew no bounds.
He famously died on an SS100 – he was trying to avoid two young boys who had wandered into the road – and his passing so traumatized his attending physician, Hugh Cairns, that he went on to create the research that paved the way for mandatory helmet use.
More recently, Brough was resurrected by long-timer enthusiast Mark Upham in conjunction with Thierry Henriette of Boxer Design, who craft the double-overhead-cam 990-cc 88-degree V-twin on which the AMB 001 is based.
In Aston Martin guise, said big-twin is turbocharged for an output of 180 horsepower – stock modern Broughs are good for about 120 hp – and is mated to a chassis constructed of aluminum, titanium and carbon fibre.
According to Aston Martin’s chief creative officer, Marek Reichman, “in addition to applying the skills we have developed for cars such as the groundbreaking Aston Martin Valkyrie, we have also been able to bring our special expertise in the traditional craft techniques to this project.”
The result is a motorcycle with a double-wishbone front suspension – still something of a rarity in the biking world – and a completely carbon-fibre body which helps keep the AMB 001’s overall weight down to 180 kilograms.
Only 100 examples of the 001 will be made available to the public, at a price of 108,000 Euros – about $157,200 Canadian – and delivery will begin at the end of 2020.