2021 allowed the two-wheel fans to get back on the streets, to feel again the nice windy breeze on the face, and get the rust off our engines. it was a rich year for motor content: EICMA, the most relevant fair in the segment, returned in milan showing us the electric, long-lasting :work series from cake. we have witnessed it all. from the cutest russian made mono-tracked motorcycle, to a dutch student running his motorcycle with alternative sustainable and local sources, passing by kaneda’s bike concept from the famous japanese sci-fi movie akira.

continuing our TOP 10 round-ups of 2021, we look back at 10 motorcycle and scooter designs that attracted our and, most importantly, designboom readers’ attention over the past 12 months.

EICMA 2021: cake unveils the :work series – upgraded performance for fully electric professional use

image courtesy of cake

cake, the swedish maker of premium electric motorbikes, launched the :work series at EICMA 2021. the new utility vehicles are specially designed for professional applications such as delivery drivers and craftsmen. this series addresses pollution and traffic, which are common problems of metropolitan areas, and it is intended to be an environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional petrol vehicles.

the new :work series updates cake’s three already existing categories: the off-road kalk (pharrell williams’s favourite. he owns a total-yellow model), the modular utility bike ösa, and the urban commuter makka. all those three models have increased power, and range, which allows the bike to operate for a full working day.

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HONDA BAIKU IS A ONE-WHEELED VEHICLE ENVISIONING THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION

image courtesy of nacho alfonso.

honda baiku is a futuristic vehicle concept that gives us a taste of transportation’s next step. envisioned by valencia-based designer nacho alfonso, the one-wheeled motorcycle explores the new electric mobility that has become popular in the last years, where electric vehicles — scooters or skates, occupy the streets of many cities around the world. the honda baiku concept adds a high-end segment to this market targeting younger generations.

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MINI RECTANGULAR KATALIS SPACEBAR FOLDS INTO ELECTRIC CITY SCOOTER

image courtesy of katalis.

from the jakarta, indonesia-based design house behind the EV.500 and EV.1000, katalis sculpts the spacebar electric scooter that appears equally as monolithic as its predecessors, but is actually foldable. its design was inspired by the spacebar on our computers that inserts distance in between text. the idea is that the bike’s handlebars fold down and it’s railings can help carry items through our cities, such as shopping, luggage and more.

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SHAPED AFTER MOBULA RAYS, THE SUPERMARINE IS BANDIT9’S LATEST FUTURISTIC MOTORBIKE

celebrating their 10-year anniversary, motorcycle brand bandit9 presented their latest futuristic model, the supermarine. its body references the graceful lines of leaping mobula rays, while its frame takes inspiration from the coral reef structurally-sound shapes.

the in-house tech team, comprising of aerospace, robotics, mechatronics and chemical engineers have applied the fundamentals of building a spacecraft into the supermarine in order to create a motorcycle impervious to elements.

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JETPACK AVIATION INTRODUCES THE SPEEDER™, ITS FLYING MOTORCYCLE AVAILABLE FOR SALE BY 2023

jetpack aviation (JPA) has introduced the speeder™, its flying motorcycle, expecting to be commercially available by 2023. some years ago, the speeder™ was designed as a flying vehicle for the military, government, and commercial clients to rescue, and save lives. now, it comes as a recreational version for personal transport, with a fully VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) technology, able to effectively lift-off anywhere, at a space taken up by a small car.

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DUTCH ENGINEER DEVELOPS MOTORCYCLE RUNNING ON METHANE RECOVERED FROM SWAMPS

image courtesy of the slootmotor

the slootmotor by dutch engineer gijs schalkx is a motorcycle powered by local, sustainable, and environmentally cooling sources. this vehicle truly delivers an alternative and, unlike others, does not rely on high technology, incomprehensible devices, and resources from all over the world.

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EICMA 2021: MEET THE X CUSTOM BUILD OF THE ICONIC HONDA SUPER CUB

the honda super cub c125 is a remake of the iconic little japanese scooter from the late 1950’s. while it is available since 2019 in the american market, it will only make its european debut in 2022. it was presented to the public at EICMA 2021 in milan. 

after the fully-electric project which we covered in 2018, another interesting custom build has come up. MAAN motocicli audaci, an italian workshop from sardinia, was commissioned by honda europe to create a custom model of this classic motorcycle, and they have come up with an elegant off road twist. 

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THE HAMYAK ATV IS AN ALL-TERRAIN, MONO-TRACKED MOTORCYCLE

russian engineer eduard luzyanin has assembled the HAMYAK ATV, an all-terrain, mono-tracked motorcycle. the HAMYAK or HOMYAK — meaning hamster in russian — was named after the rodent because of its external resemblance to the animal as well as its ‘unprecedented mobility’. equipped with a 150cc engine made for chinese scooters, the small vehicle is in fact, the size of a child’s bicycle. 

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TARDIGRADE: HOOKIE BRINGS WORLD’S FIRST NASA MOTORCYCLE CONCEPT TO LIFE

image courtesy of hookie.

tardigrade is the world’s first concept moon motorcycle, that took its name from the homonymous microscopic animals that are able to survive extreme conditions. back in 2020, andrey fabishevsky envisioned an electric NASA motorcycle for moon traveling. today, the german brand hookie brings this electric lunar motorcycle concept to life, and you can see it at the automotive petersen museum, as a part of the ADV:overland exhibition.

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KANEDA’S BIKE FROM SCI-FI MOVIE AKIRA COMES TO LIFE WITH RYAN HONG’S CONTEMPORARY REDESIGN

when the famed sci-fi movie ‘akira’ was released in 1988, kaneda’s bike delivered an iconic image to the public. the scene of the bright red motorcycle, with its wide and low body and its in-wheel motors, speeding on the neo-tokyo highway was absolutely unforgettable. with the original story taking place just before the 2020 tokyo olympics, concept artist ryan hong has reinterpreted the emblematic motorcycle just in time. as a tribute to how accurately the olympic event in the movie matches up to the current day, this bike redesign aims to reinterpret the visuals and mechanics with a contemporary perspective.

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