Final Presentation

Presentation at the link. Thanks to Oliver and Paolo.

Liam Dewhurst Presentation final

Board layout, in progress

I have been tossing up the name HONDA GECKO for a while, and I like the bio mimicry reference and the connotations of Gecko (think light and nimble)

Side render about 95%

Latest Render

Trying a new sharper rendering style. Thoughts are appreciated.

I am having some serious issues getting the wheels to play nice in 3D, hope fully they can be resolved nicely.

 

The Quarter renders in progress

Liking the rear drawing, but still need to change the front & fender to remove some weight.

Moved the radiator forward, and changed the materials on the bottom half to move weight downwards and increase durability.

Rear passenger pegs are removable and are sketched in here, thinking that they should really drop down from the top for practical reasons though.

 

 

Feedback

Feedback from Oliver,

He raised several important issues.

The face that I have tried to keep friendly and clean, becomes a ‘hamster face‘ in 3D, which is something I have been struggling with for some time.

Too much space infront of the radiator, where I wanted the frame to appear light and agile it will actually be too cramped to allow the space and affect air flow to the engine. Not sure if this can be fixed at this stage?

Finalise muffler placement.

And find what makes this concept unique.

After quite a few iterations I feel I’m making more headway. Should have a decent colour render by tomorrow morning.

Render before final

Feeling much happier with the over all form, and will start working on a final for the side view, with 3D sketches in-between. The linkage is still not quite right and neither is the exhaust but I will sort on the fly.

 

The heavier forks really helped to ground the design, and changing the colour way shifted the visual center of mass completely.

Last alternative, 3D sketches will determine which design will work overall but I asked 5 people and they all liked image 2 with the all red fairings along the bottom.

Biomimicry and start of reasoning

realised how much of my bike had been based on the birds wings and lizards I’ve been looking up, and thought some of it should end up here.

This scooter has helped me sort out the transitions between the curves, and there is something distinctly playful here.

Here is the start of my reasoning, in a condensed form.

Organic

A motorbike is a mechanical device

I wanted to make a motorbike with organic forms, so that it humanized the bike. The forms I chose were biomimicry (animal) based turning the bike into something living breathing and hopefully with more of an emotional connection to the rider. This approach came from a high level of interest in Steam punk, where objects are unified into one ‘kinetic form’ and all parts link into each other.

Lightweight yet strong

A 125 engine isn’t the most powerful so weight is an issue, and a beginner on a motorbike would want to be confident about their ability to handle the bike if it starts to fall over.

Styled

16 to 22 year olds are old enough to have an established notion on pop culture and fashion, but young enough to still be controlled by it. My mood boards included as many modern references as possible to try create a form in a bike that doesn’t yet exist.

Just Quickly

A line correction

quick colour render of a 3/4 sketch

A sketch of development of alternative concept and some of the LED head lamps I have been looking into. The idea is still to create character and/or a face.

 

Clay modelling

The model allowed me to quantify thicknesses and change some of the surfaces, the rear swing arm still needs work but is looking much better (photo doesn’t quite capture the form). The clay has limited me somewhat as it stays quite flimsy and doesn’t encourage flat surfaces.

The front I have now realised looks very similar to the CBR, something which is now quite distressing. But I have been sketching a variety of forms so hopefully I can come up with an original outcome.