Quasar Feet Forward Motorcycle

Introduction

In 1975 the late Malcolm Newell (who is always given credit for it) and Ken Leaman (who is always overlooked) designed and built the Quasar - a realistic attempt to build a rational motorcycle as well as possible. Although it was not the success they wished for, a total of about 22 Quasars were eventually built, some by Malcolm and Ken and some later by John Malfoy at Romarsh.

At the same time, I was playing around with a design for a modern Ner-a-car with an Ariel Square Four engine (which was being built again by Healey at that time) and a single-sided front suspension (identical to the RADD concept adopted by Yamaha for the GTS750). I sent some plans to Malcolm and Ken who invited me to visit them - and there began an infatuation... Fifteen years later I became the owner of the Quasar shown in the photos below.

With the passing of time, only the radical design of the Quasar seems to be remembered. But the Quasar was also an attempt to build a bike of very superior quality - a latterday Brough Superior, perhaps? This was probably Ken Leaman's influence, as later on Malcolm did not exhibit the same concern for finish and longevity.

Design

Several of the design features of the Quasar are described in the text under the drawings below, but some basic points are:

· The entire power plant was taken from the Reliant Robin three-wheel car (see Chris Pallach's excellent site on Reliant cars for more info). The engine was used in absolutely standard form, giving a road-burning 41 bhp, which did not propel a 310 kg (680 lb) motorcycle very fast. The gearbox was also standard Reliant, but with a foot change mechanism added on, which did not offer the rider the option of using reverse. The final drive was a custom-made unit which incorporated Reliant internals.

· The rider sits in a reclined position, just over the gearbox, on a seat usually described as a 'hammock'. By adjusting the length of the 'hammock', the riding position can be altered to suit the size of the rider. In theory, it is possible to fit two people in a Quasar, but they would both need to be very thin!

· Entirely conventional, but custom-made, motorcycle suspension is used front and rear and the frame of the Quasar is made of (fairly small diameter) steel tubing. The frame wraps over the rider's head to give full crash protection.