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​The Bienville Legacy Is An Engineer's Acid Trip On Two Wheels
​The Bienville Legacy Is An Engineer's Acid Trip On Two Wheels-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:14:26

JT Nesbitt doesn't design bikes – he completely reimagines them. You probably know him as the man behind the Confederate Wraith and G2 Hellcat, and after eight years of engineering he's created this, the Bienville Legacy, a 300 HP superbike that uses a single carbon fiber leaf spring as the suspension.

The Legacy is the first commission by the American Design and Master-Craft Initiative () and created by Nesbitt's New Orleans-based . The design has been on the table for nearly a decade, but work has been underway for the past two years, culminating in what Nesbitt describes as "an entirely new vehicle, reinventing how motorcycles function from the ground up."

The engine is a fuel-injected Motus MV4R, which in naturally-aspirated form puts out 185 HP. But it's also offered with an optional supercharger, bring output up to over 300 HP in race configuration. That four-pot acts as a stressed member, nestled inside a 4130 chromoly chassis that only weighs 23 pounds. Overall weight is around 400 pounds, thanks to carbon fiber wheels at each end and a split system, four-gallon fuel tank.

But the real – and very patented – party piece is the suspension, which uses a single carbon composite blade that spans from front to rear. That makes the entire bike lighter, and coupled with the front girder forks, suspension adjustments are infinite. It's also meant for outright speed, with a long, 62.5-inch wheelbase, and matching 250mm rotors with four-piston calipers at each end.

The Legacy is as much a rolling work of art as an engineer's hallucinogen-fueled wet dream, and while there's no mention of price, the fact that each bike – down to the hand-crafted saddle – is built around the rider should dash any hopes of seeing it at your local meet-up.

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