Fior 500

One of the unsung geniuses of motorcycle design is the Frenchman Claude Fior. This 300km/h race bike is typically unusual: check out the front suspension, a wishbone-style arrangement with a Koni shock absorber. The engine was also French, designed and built by JPX of Le Mans. It was a liquid-cooled two-stroke inline four, tuned to deliver 150bhp at 12,300rpm. The Fior 500 was assembled in Nogaro, and was ridden by the late Swiss racer Marco Gentile at the 1988 Japanese GP. Fior also designed many chassis for the French small-volume motorcycle maker Boxer, which created the Lamborghini motorcycle we featured recently. [Thanks to Laurent Tomas of the Coyote Racing Team for the tip.]