Why Are the Wheels On This Motorcycle Turned Sideways

Why are the wheels on sideways?

Because it’s not really a motorcycle, at least in theory, but more like a flying variation of motorcycle.

Inventor Chris Malloy of Australia put together every kid’s dream vehicle – a “hoverbike” – from motorcycle parts. Malloy says it can rip through the sky at up to 170 mph and achieve an altitude of up to 10,000 feet.

Malloy has set a high bar for his creation and says he thinks his solo flying machine could replace conventional helicopters when it comes to taking on work like aerial surveys, search-and-rescue missions and rounding up the cattle.

Featuring a pair of oak propellers, at 240 pounds, the “hoverbike” climbs into the sky (or will at some point) powered by a 1,170cc 4-stroke engine which drives the propellers using a carbon-fiber shaft drive.

How does one drive, or ride or fly this thing? At liftoff, the “pilot” cranks on the loud with the right hand via a throttle grip ala a motorcycle.

And it’s not just cool, it’s also efficient. Getting somewhere around 22 miles per gallon, the “hoverbike” can cover just over 90 miles on a full tank of gas.

But how safe is it, you ask? Well, not that safe at all. Malloy says his final version of the machine will need a pair of explosive parachutes to provide a ‘fallback’ position should the engine fail. Malloy says the final version of the ‘bike-o-copter’ will feature propeller housings covered with mesh, and that ought to come in handy to prevent the family cat from being pulled into the rotors and summarily diced.

While it’s not quite complete yet (the inventor says the bike will need gyroscopic sensors to prevent it from tipping over) once safety tests on the hoverbike are completed, Malloy thinks he can sell them for around $40,000 a piece. Malloy and his business partners are in the process of raising $1.1 million precious Australian dollars to get the project ‘off the ground’ as it were, and so far he’s managed to collected about $70,000 of that total…

Hoverbike website

I’m thinking that if you get your hands on a “hoverbike,” your insurance needs will get complicated in short order.

We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…

Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:

• Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
• Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
• Towing / Pickup
• Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.