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 Motorcycle Design For The Future: Donato Cannatello's
Kerkennah Supermoto
Invoked in its name are the fascination and mystery of lesser
known Africa, in its development you will find solutions inspired
by full functionality for a purely fun motorcycle. It's called
Kerkennah and is the futuristic concept created by designer Donato
Cannatello who explains to us in the interview below all of the
secrets of his project. A super-contemporary supermoto where
experimentation is at the service of essentiality and easiness
to ride.
Kerkennah, let's start with your selection of the name.
Kerkennah is an island located off the beautiful coasts of Sfax,
Tunisia. Its topography is like all deserts, completely flat.
At its highest point it is only 13 meters above sea level. Kerkennah
is covered solely with sand, palm trees, a few paved roads, lots
of spacious land, a handful of resorts, and fishing huts. The
ideal place for a supermoto and life in general.
What led you to collaborate with Aprilia, and why did you
focus your attention on the supermoto sector?
With Aprilia I had the opportunity to deepen my interest for
motorcycles, a love born many years ago as they had me conquered
from the time I was really young. During my internship at Noale
I was able to be part of the world that I had always dreamed
of, I got the chance to meet the creators of the motorcycles
I had always admired, not to mention being able to work with
people gifted with tremendous motivation and passion.
I created my own road with the supermotoard because I think they
are the motorcycles of excellence, fun, and user-friendliness.
What are the objectives that inspired your project?
I took off with the intention of creating a laboratory motorcycle
where solutions and experiments met. It is hard today to think
of projects which aren't judged on maximum performance and the
Kerkennah isn't any different. I do, however, look to take alternative
routes, even if they are more complex. It is a project that I
didn't envision would ever enter into production, at least not
with these conditions. It does, however, proposes a new road
to follow to ensure that tomorrow's motorcycles experiment with
more personal solutions.
Tell us about the most revolutionary points of your bike and
the most technical aspects.
Apart from the engine, all of Kerkennah has been implemented
with alternative solutions even if they are not revolutionary.
It is a concept technologically avant-garde, but not revolutionary.
The most dominating characteristics are the moving of the radiator
behind the engine, the back seat is inspired by the "Lefty"
of Cannondale yet uses a plate system without the central tube
made of steel. It is, in fact, from this that it gets the idea
to use the ball bearings for the running of stem within the scabbard.
Finally, take a good look at the seat-tank rotator group, which
can be removed like the cab of a tractor-trailer to gain access
to the mechanics.
But in respect to such innovations the riding style and the position
of the seat, which are already perfect and typical of the supermoto,
have not undergone changes.
How is a project like this born? What are the phases and time
periods necessary?
I was tied down
to the actual state of development (about 5%
of a motorcycle ready to be produced in a series) after many,
many intense months spent between Aprilia's style center and
my lab. The most important part of the development was definitely
the first month in which I worked on the actual concept. It is
there that Kerkennah was born and in those first moments of brain
storming all of the most dominating ideas were given life. The
rest was like a puzzle of ideas on paper and on computer to make
my first virtual three-dimensional draft transform into a concrete
object.
What materials did you use?
Kerkennah was hypothesized with commercial materials: no carbon
or titanium but a lot of sturdy aluminum, steel, and magnesium.
I also don't object to the use of plastic but for all of these
materials it was necessary to implement advanced technology (complex
molds for the plastic, pressure-fusion for the frame, and molding
for the rims).
Do you envision further developments for the project?
Honestly, I hope to be able to develop a version for series production:
if not, I can't wait to get back to work on a new motorcycle.
For mor info go to www.aprilia.com,
Images courtesy Donato Cannatello, www.given.it.
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