This Weird Street-legal Quad Is The Coolest Thing I Saw At Daytona Bike Week

Bradley Brownell/Jalopnik

"Hey, what's that?," I shouted over nan din of thousands of revving motorcycles and blasting mobile audio systems. While stepping astir nan parking batch of nan Daytona International Speedway during nan 85th yearly Daytona Bike Week, that's a beautiful communal point to shout. The beachside municipality is perfectly littered pinch oddball motorcycles and civilization projects that don't look for illustration immoderate motorcycle you've ever seen earlier (I saw 3 Campagna T-Rexes, for gosh sake), truthful there's a batch of worldly that requires a 2nd glance. As I walked complete to this mean greenish machine, I vaguely remembered a four-wheeled street-legal motorcycle project from a boutique shaper possibly 2 decades earlier. What was it called? 

The gauge cluster of this bizarre beast fto maine cognize that it's a GG Quad, and a cursory peek astir nan net says that Swiss company Grüter + Gut Motorrad Techniks built astir two-hundred of these BMW-powered four-wheelers. With a 1200cc level twin, this bike/car point is plentifulness quick, making astir 100 horsepower and 85 lb-ft of torque arsenic it near Bavaria. I imagine nan BMW drivetrain was mostly chosen because of its diehard reliability and shaft-drive layout, making mating it to a civilization rear differential comparatively easy. Later examples utilized an R1250 BMW level twin, while nan later-still Quadster cribbed BMW's K1200 S horizontal four-cylinder pinch a borderline scary 167 horsepower. 

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Apparently, GG made (the institution closed successful 2015) high-end quads and trikes from motorcycles for a discerning clientele, and these were rather costly erstwhile they were new. This Los Angeles Times reappraisal from 2008 says they started astatine $65,500 and went up from there. The LA Times review indicated that while astir 250 of these things had been built by that point, conscionable 13 examples had been imported to nan U.S., apt because they person 4 wheels, defining them arsenic rider vehicles, which require things for illustration airbags and seatbelts. Some states will let it, but awesome motorcycle markets for illustration California balk astatine giving specified things a licence plate. No matter nan case, this is simply a decently uncommon sighting!

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As luck would person it, while looking for much accusation astir this bonkers contraption, I found an auction listing over connected Iconic Motor Bike Auctions wherever this nonstop illustration sold successful December for $20,000. They described nan motorcycle arsenic having "an precocious F1-style, machined aluminum chassis that's been somewhat stretched for greater stability." It was touted arsenic being tin of much than 1 lateral G done nan corners, which sounds for illustration a batch erstwhile you recognize you person to clasp connected while it's pulling said lateral G. 

In her LA Times review, Susan Carpenter said of riding nan GG: 

It took maine a while to consciousness comfortable taking corners astatine moreover moderately precocious speeds. My small heart was to counterbalance my assemblage weight arsenic I would connected an ATV, but that wasn't necessary. Taking accelerated turns connected nan Quadster, you aren't apt to extremity but to drift because nan bike's halfway of gravity is truthful debased and its high-performance, low-profile tires are truthful wide-set. I learned nan champion measurement to bent connected successful corners was to grip nan motorcycle pinch my knees alternatively of holding connected for beloved life pinch nan handlebars.

Bradley Brownell

Based connected nan auction photos, this greenish instrumentality came pinch included broadside pods that doubled arsenic a ample aerodynamic trunks for hauling much worldly and lodging for further speakers. The proprietor of this 1 has, smartly, opted to propulsion those disconnected of nan quadbike to facilitate climbing connected and disconnected easier, and not looking for illustration arsenic overmuch of a frickin' dork. 

This decidedly isn't a beautiful machine, and I'm not judge I'd for illustration to ain one. Especially not for $20,000. But I'd emotion nan opportunity to thrust 1 for a time conscionable to spot what it's like. There's thing appealing astir a car pinch handlebar controls which you thrust connected apical of; it takes up astir nan aforesaid abstraction arsenic a Smart Fortwo, and weighs half arsenic much. Allegedly, it'll do 0-60 successful 4.8 seconds and runs up to 115 miles per hour. On 2nd thought, possibly I'd conscionable for illustration to beryllium connected it for a fewer minutes.