Six reasons the motorcycle world will forever remember Michael Czysz

1. MotoCzysz C1 powerplant
Czysz built a 990cc MotoGP prototype called the MotoCzysz C1. It was powered by a truly innovative in-line-four cylinder engine (Czysz called it a Z-line engine due to every second cylinder being slightly offset than the one previous) that was mounted longitudinally within the carbon fibre chassis. Measuring just 150mm wide, it was a counter-revolution design that eliminated both gyroscopic and torque forces without the use of a counterbalance shaft. A decade ago it was good for more than 220hp at 15,000rpm, while the C1 weighed just 158kg.

2. Trail adjustment
It makes you wonder why it’s still not available on modern production bikes, but Czysz’ very first C1 pro-totype gave the rider the ability to adjust the trail without making any other changes to the bike’s sus-pension or geometry set-up.

3. Dual clutch slipper clutch
Three years before Honda introduced its dual clutch transmission on the 2009 VFR1200F, Czysz filed a patent application for the technology used on the first variant of his C1 MotoGP prototype. Czysz created the twin-clutch idea as a way to smooth out rapid downshifts under deceleration.

4. Coaxial monoshock forks
Instead of each fork leg looking after its own damping, Czysz came up with an innovative design which used a monoshock mounted between the two fork legs. The patents were filed in in 2005 and Czyzs claimed it resulted in both a stiffer and softer front-end. By all accounts it worked bloody well, too.

5. MotoCzysz E1pc electric bike
When MotoGP switched to 800cc engines in 2007 and Czysz couldn’t convince a manufacturer to consider his out-of-the-box ideas for their Superbike machines, the American looked towards the future and turned his attention to electric-powered race bikes. Czysz believed in his E1pc creation so much that he took it to the world’s toughest racetrack — the Isle of Man TT, and in just its second attempt it took a TT victory in the hands of Mark Miller. It was 2010 and it was the first time that an American riding an American-built motorcycle had ever won a TT. The MotoCzysz would go on to win the next three TTXGP events with Michael Rutter on board. The team’s 2013 plans were thwarted when Czysz’ illness got too severe for him to travel.

6. He put his money where his mouth is
Not only was Czysz an incredibly talented motorcycle designer and engineer, he was a pretty accomplished road racer, too. In 2010, he raced his E1pc to victory in the inaugural FIM e-Power at the 2010 round go the MotoGP at Laguna Seca. And between re-imagining the status quo of motorcycle design, Czysz was also a riding instructor at the Kevin Schwantz Riding School in Georgia, USA.