The first Diesel Superbike: the Star Twin ThunderStar 1200 TDI

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The first Diesel Superbike: the Star Twin ThunderStar 1200 TDI

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July 18, 2005 Our recent articles on The coming of the electric motorcycle and the Electric superbike brought a flurry of response from our readers pointing out that the diesel motorcycle was a far more viable alternative to the petrol-engined motorcycle than the electric bike at this point in time. indeed, our readers were quick to point to a number of prototype diesel sports motorcycles that look awesomely promising: bikes such as the Neander 1400 turbodiesel, the TrackDiesel One Litre TurbuDiesel, the Dieselfighter, the AVL Boost and the Dutch ThunderStar 1200 TDI diesel motorcycle - all of them motorcycles of immense potential and all of them readying themselves for market. In this the first of a series of articles on diesel motorcycles, we take a close look at the ThunderStar 1200 TDI - a sports motorcycle with a stronger midrange than Triumph's 2.3 litre Rocket III.

Follow those links and you'll see a rich array of large capacity sports motorcycles in various stages of prototype readiness, but all offering incredibly low and mid-range torque - most of them boasting torque figures in excess of the motorcycle world's current heavyweight champ, the Triumph 2.3 litre Rocket III. Bearing in mind that the Rocket III boasts a maximum torque figure twice that of any other production motorcycle, and almost all of the aforementioned bikes have equal or more torque than the Triumph, it's easy to see why the diesel engine is seen as a logical match for a motorcycle. Highly respected consultancy company AVL's simulation tests suggest their deisel motorcycle would outperform a Suzuki GSX1400, Yamaha XJ1300, Kwaka ZRX1200R or Honda CB1300.

Which brings us to by far the most advanced diesel motorcycle on the planet at this point in time - The Star Twin ThunderStar 1200 TDI diesel motorcycle

The Star Twin ThunderStar 1200 diesel motorcycle was introduced to the public a fortnight ago at the MotoRai Motorcycle Show in the Rai (Amsterdam). It is an entirely different type of motorcycle to any diesel-engined motorcycle that has come before it.

Despite its name, the Star Twin ThunderStar 1200 TDI is a three cylinder diesel motorcycle but it has the performance and weight of a normal road bike.

Developed by Star Twin Motors in Loenen, The Netherlands, the project was initiated by the co-owner of Star Twin Motors, Kees van der Starre, who for years had looked at diesel motorcycles being fabricated with underwhelming results, knowing that new developments in automotive diesel engines could produce an engine that was as good, if not better suited for a motorcycle than a normal gasoline engine.

Van der Starre brought in Jeroen Bernart to create this motorcycle. He designed the motorcycle totally in 3D before starting to build it and by judicious use of lightweight parts and a frugal design, the THUNDER STAR 1200 TDI weighs just 205 kg, ready to ride.

“Almost everything you see with the naked eye is designed by us”, Star Twin’s Jeroen Bernart told Gizmag.

“We used different car and motorcycle parts internally. The car parts we made lighter, the motorcycle parts stronger.”

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