Hello

I am David, 60 years young, from Switzerland, Europe

I started motorcycling in 2004 with a 955i Speed Triple, later a 955i Daytona.
As my back, wrists and neck started to complain more and more about the embryo position on that bike, I got myself a second hand 1997 Peraves Ecomobile
I sit in a comfortable position, feet forward, mainly in T-shirt and shorts and do not have to wear a helmet.
The internal parts are mainly from a K100, the engine is a K1200RS, the gearbox a K1100RS.
The body is a custom made monocoque (aramid fiber reinforced plastic with laminated steel tube or cast aluminum reinforcements) with full weather protection. If we wouldn't have all the salt on our winter roads, I could easily ride all year long: The canopy protects me from all kinds of weather and yes, there is a heating.

I made a two week trip with my lady through Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Tuscany/Italy and back to Switzerland back in 2013. We had all we needed with us.
I have been to the Eifel (Nürburgring), Germany in 2014, here a clip from a local TV station:
https://youtu.be/4sE2Npx3GCQ

That's me at 04:09


I am very happy to have found this forum with all the detailed knowledge.

Keep up the good work

And just in case you wondered what it's all about, well, see for yourself:
https://youtu.be/VbdkZB9-Sd4

that was Jeremy Clarkson's BBC Motorworld way back in 2008

Hello David,
Wow, an Ecomobil! I've always been attracted by this vehicle... When I was a youngboy, I was seeing a red one passing Ecomobil every Wednesdays in front of my house, near the Swiss border.
Years later, I was told by customs colleagues that it was used to smuggle steroids. If you want to hide something, use something else much more visible!
Then, as a daily user of motorcycles, so logically riding Ks, I gained interest in it.
Sadly,  they were unaffordable, and strictly impossible to register in France.
Today,  the it price are lower and registration is possible as vintage special procedure.
Where are you in Switzerland? Zug?

jbt wrote:Hello David,
Wow, an Ecomobil! I've always been attracted by this vehicle... When I was a youngboy, I was seeing a red one passing Ecomobil every Wednesdays in front of my house, near the Swiss border.
Years later, I was told by customs colleagues that it was used to smuggle steroids. If you want to hide something, use something else much more visible!
Then, as a daily user of motorcycles, so logically riding Ks, I gained interest in it.
Sadly,  they were unaffordable, and strictly impossible to register in France.
Today,  the it price are lower and registration is possible as vintage special procedure.
Where are you in Switzerland? Zug?

Does anyone remember the Quasar.

Welcome David

@jbt
Salut. Yes, you guessed right. I do live in le canton de Zoug. And yes, every now and then, there appears a second hand Eco on the market. The oldest ones are some thirty years old by now, so these may qualify for an oldtimer, depending on the specific laws of a country. The Crit d'air   might be an obstacle - I am not quite familiar with it's details

@Pete
Ullo mate.
Quasar? Sure. But hardly to compare with a fully enclosed Ecomobile.

@Arlina
Dag mevrouw

Just in case you wondered what my Eco looks like w/o the monocoque:

It had to be taken apart in 2017, tons of stuff had to be done - too much to list. Actually a complete rebuild.



the green cylinder between the frame and the gear lever is the electric shifter
and yes, it is a K1200RS wheel fitted to the honorable K100 monolever

More pictures please?

Yes, please.  That is a spectacular machine!

other side view with the honourable K100RS monolever clearly visible. Oehlins shock absorber and air filter housing fitted by Peraves, mechanics otherwise stock BMW.



right in front of the engine, you can see the detached monocoque in British Racing Green, the stock K100RS fork still being in place.

During this rebuild, the gearbox was opened for inpection. Unfortunately, two cogs showed signs of excessive wear, as well as the shifting forks. That gearbox was a Peraves modified special (four speed + reverse) and would have been prohibitedly expensive to repair or to replace, so it was ditched. A used K1100RS five speed gearbox was fitted, no more reverse. The engine is a secondhand unmodified K1200RS.
The rear brake is a vented 320mm disc with Spiegler brakes. All brake lines are braided steel.

You can see two other Ecomobiles in the back in various states of repair / rebuild. The guy doing all this work is the former mechanic of the now dysfunct Peraves and knows all the vehicles like the back of his hand.

bad boy wrote: That gearbox was a Peraves modified special (four speed + reverse) and would have been prohibitedly expensive to repair or to replace, so it was ditched.

Too bad...
Won't it be a real inconvenience?

@jbt:
Well, the reverse gear was a 'nice to have'.

You had to pay for that feature by having four forward gears only. First gear was longer and fourth was shorter that the original ones. We were not amused...

As I do prefer to drive forward (some 99% of my mileage), I am more than happy having five forward gears now: They are closer and better graduated.

Same with ABS and AC:
We decided to do without all those eventually unreliable parts that were a royal pain in the axx to maintain and not essential to Δv (i.e. accelerating or braking).

OK, I agree: I have 4 sidecars and none has a reverse gear. And I never missed it.
But into a Peraves, it's a bit more difficult to push back as your feet don't touch the ground, and if you're outside you can hardly reach the handlebar and push backwards, don't you?
I was interested in the gearbox mod Wagner (or a contractor? Probably Kayser) made.
I had read a magazine article about a sidecar rider who got the same mod on its bike and I thought it was a well designed solution, including the display at the dashboard figuring R for Reverse...

BTW Joachim Roth is making reverse gear for BMW airhead gearboxes. Maybe he could do something for you?
https://www.r-o-t-h.com

@jbt:

You are right: You have to get out of an Ecomobile before you can push it. Your right hand is pushing the monocoque and your left hand is steering.

Noldi Wagner tried Kayser's modified gearbox and was not very happy with it. He modified a K100 fivespeed by adding another shaft cog wheel and thus reversing the rotation of the former first gear which became the reverse. The former second gear got shorter and became first gear. The reverse was electrically blocked and could only be engaged when the vehicle was not moving. The two modified gears were specially made for Peraves and were some € 1000 - each! A complete 4G+R gearbox would be some €4'500.-
(for our friends from the US: just replace that funny looking € with a $ and you know what I am talking).

There might still be a gearbox left at Peraves (CZ) - right next to the Moto GP Brno racetrack.

Thank you for mentioning Joachim Roth. We knew this guy at that time, he is doing airheads only.

Another option could be to fit a K1200LT gearbox and drive, so you could benefit of the electric reverse gear that was an equipment on these.
It would probably require some minor chassis mods but it would be nothing compared to the cost of such a specific gearbox overhaul.

 This reminds me of my father and his "Monster" dirt bike that he built out of five different motorcycles.
Chris

@jbt
Had the same thought.

Unfortunately, neither the K1200RS six speed gearbox nor the K1200LT gearbox will fit.
These are the words of my mechanic - and he does know his stuff.

@Chris

It's just like Lego for big boys

Another unique feature of the Peraves vehicles family, the Mk 1 Ecomobile, the Mk 2 Monotracer and the Mk 3  Monoracer BEV, is the custom built subframe connecting the engine, gearbox and rear supension with the rear wheel to the monocoque is clearly visible in this picture. It is being welded of aviation grade steel using inert gas.

On the right hand side of the bench, you can see the detached canopy made of PMMA - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plexiglas. Very light, very tough, but prone to scratches. It does need some TLC ever now and then: Some polish and a lot of elbow grease will remove those nasty scratches.

Applying a tiny bit of Turtle Wax (R) just before a rainfall is a great solution: All those raindrops are just blown away by the airstream at speeds above 50kph or 35 mph. I hardly ever use the wiper.

Hi David,

to this forum!


Bernie

BBC Motorworld's very lean looking Jeremy Clarkson went to see Peraves CEO Arnold Wagner at Winterthur, Switzerland many, many years ago. He was given some explanations about the idea behind the Ecomobile and it's manufacture* by Arnold Wagner.
Then, he was offered a test ride as a passenger of First Lady Franziska Wagner:




*manufacture comes from the Latin words 'manum facere' - hand made.
As of today, all Ecomobiles, Monotracers and Monoracers were and still are handbuilt to the individual customer's specifications.

PS Sorry guys.
I have only now realized that this video has already been here on Thu Jul 22, 2021 4:28 pm as #2
I did not check what I've already written before posting it for a second time. Sorry for wasting your time.