Impractical? Sure! Vulgar? Most certainly. Unique? In every sense. This staggering custom motorcycle uses the biggest pair of hubless wheels we've ever seen, as well as placing the rider astride a snarling, 300-horsepower Rolls-Royce aircraft engine. Live in fear – of corners, if nothing else.
The TMC Dumont is the work of Brazilian ex-Formula One driver and champion motorcycle custom builder Tarso Marques. Its name is a tip of the hat to Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, who Brazilians believe got an airplane aloft before America's Wright Brothers.
Hence the aircraft engine – a monstrous Continental flat six from the Rolls-Royce aircraft company that was lifted from a 60's-era aircraft and polished within an inch of its life.
Three hundred horsepower (224 kW) is a heck of a lot for a motorcycle, and it's even madder when you look at the bike's signature feature: gargantuan, hubless 36-inch wheels that sit high enough to block the rider's view, and connect to underslung swingarms by the flimsiest of connections.
Here's a video of this bizarre contraption on the road, in which you can watch the rims flex and wobble at a standstill, without any of those 300 horses wreaking vengeance upon them:
And if you'd like to watch a time-lapse video of the build, check out the video below!
Source: TMC
