Meeting the DUU

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the CR&S factory in Milano, Italy. That's where I met the new DUU motorcycle currently under development there.

CR&S are busy building prototypes of the DUU for the 67th Milan International Motorcycle show (aka EICMA) in November.

The first prototype is a fully functional running motorcycle but without any bodywork. Just a bare skeleton of a bike. I guess that CR&S are using this to develop the handling and riding characteristics.

The second prototype is currently under construction and this is the bike that CR&S will be taking to their stand at EICMA. The photograph below shows a part of the second prototype.

Here you can see the large diameter backbone frame, which doubles as part of the fuel tank, and the massive S&S V-twin engine slung underneath. Wide diameter tubing, struts, swingarm, axles and so on are a feature of the DUU and give it a distinctive, masculine appearance. Much of the rear bodywork was prototyped and attached at the time. I was not allowed to photograph the bodywork but it looked great, as do the in-house developed wheels.

The running prototype uses an MV Augusta rear wheel attached to the single-sided swingarm but Roberto said that it was simply not strong enough to handle the massive torque delivered by the S&S engine.

Later we went for a ride to Kaos Design where VUNs receive their beautiful color schemes. I was on my VUN and Roberto took the bare bones DUU prototype. Roberto doesn't wait around and I can tell you that that thing really moves. Tearing around the outer streets of Milano on that bike with its bare steel frame, he looked and sounded like an escapee from the set of The Terminator. Cool!