Difference between revisions of "Terra Modena"
m |
m |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{X}} | {{X}} | ||
[[Image:2006_top_logo.png|center]] | [[Image:2006_top_logo.png|center]] | ||
| − | [[Image:Terra Modena 198A.jpg|right|thumb| | + | [[Image:Terra Modena 198A.jpg|right|thumb|300px|'''Terra Modena 198''']] |
Revision as of 13:01, 3 June 2008
Passion. Technology (From company brochure)
Terra Modena 198. The product of a new company that lives for innovation, technology and style: a company created by men of the Ferrari “school” who come from the world of cars and Formula 1. A new company that has combined the skills, intelligence and technologies that characterise the industrial fabric and also the history and culture of the provinces of Modena and Reggio. The idea behind everything: with the technologies that are available today, it is possible to design and engineer a light and powerful single-cylinder bike that is free of vibrations and has a smooth transmission; fun for those who want to go for a ride, aggressive for those who know that it’s the bends and not the straight stretches that test the rider.
Why 198?
1 stands for single cylinder, 98 for the bore. Let’s go on a guided tour of the 198 to describe and discover it gradually. Let’s start with the heart: a 450cc engine, with an efficient countershaft that neutralises vibrations, 2 cam axles in the head and 4 titanium valves. The engine shaft is composite, the piston is forged in aluminium with a segment and an oil scraper: the connecting rod does not have bushes but roller bearings. The cylinder rod is coated in Nikasil, the plug has been given DLC treatment – a vacuum amorphous carbon deposit to increase the hardness and smoothness of the part. Formula 1 technology and it could not be otherwise: the engine was designed by the engineer Piero Ferrari and the technicians of High Performance Engineering of Modena. The lubrication consists of a delivery pump and two recovery pumps. Distribution is geared: a refined technology that brings to mind the unique construction of IWC watches of Schaffhausen, which is the sponsor of Terra Modena. The “Emilian master craftsmen of engines” and the “Swiss master craftsmen watchmakers” united by the same advanced engineering to obtain unique performance.
Let’s continue the guided visit: another fine object, the gearbox. When open, it is more like a jewel than a mechanism made of gears, forks and rockers: there are 6 extractable gears and it has a fine positively actuated valve gear on rollers that enables precise, instantaneous gear changes. The base, the cylinder and the head are in molten aluminium. The electronic engine control is integrated with injection, digital ignition and electric starter motor.
Such an engine called for a frame with the same technology and beauty: it has a double perimeter bar with an elliptic cross section with a separate lower cradle that has been made independent to facilitate fitting of the propulsion system. It is made of aeronautical GAlsi 9 alluminium, not steel. This frame enables “trajectory precision even at high speed of a real superbike: the “uncertainties” of a scrambling frame are unknown in the Terra Modena 198 bike.
The suspension? Ohlins. The brakes? Brembo, for superbikes. The rims? Marchesini. Difficult to find anything better. If you have any suggestions, let us know.
The exhaust system was designed by Hpe Only Competition that developed the manifolds and the silencers by working alongside the engineers of Terra Modena. The system is Euro 3. This is the first high-performance single-cylinder bike to have obtained this rating. What can we say? A high-performance bike that is also environmentally compatible. The 198 line was developed as the frame and motor took shape: first virtually through innovative 3D design software that shows the dimensions and functions of each element then through rapid prototyping of each single item.
We can’t talk about line without mentioning the materials and colour. Terra Modena 198 doesn’t just have the colours of the materials: blacks, greys and silvers that alternate and are a frame for the red of the engine. The material that makes a lasting impression is the noble carbon that blends in with and enhances the aluminium of the frame. The colour is a logical consequence: there’s no paint, because it’s not needed and there’s no plastic because it’s tacky. The visit has finished, we now just need to go for a ride, on our own or in company: Terra Modena 198 can take two people.