What does it take to design a motorcycle when the brief comes from the battlefield instead of the showroom?

In this episode of Bore and Stoke, we sit down with longtime motorcycle designer Michael Uhlarik to talk about his career shaping bikes across the globe, his latest project developing an electric motorcycle for military use, and why we’re looking at the wrong metrics when it comes to the future of this sport.

00:00 Intro

00:34 Advertisement

01:03 Introducing our special guest

03:22 Motorcycle background

10:29 LEGO is the reason

14:23 The connection between LEGOs and MotoGP

24:21 Motorcycle trends

34:10 Advertisement

34:42 Michael’s take on today’s MotoGP bikes

43:35 Aerodynamics on street bikes are superfluous

50:15 The most difficult motorcycle he’s ever worked on

58:30 Challenges with building military motorcycles

01:01:40 The future of motorcycling is brighter than you think

01:07:45 Sorting the economics 

01:20:03 If it looks good, and is affordable, people will come

01:25:31 Closing things out/Comment/Rate us

01:28:00 Advertisement

From the fundamentals of great motorcycle design to the challenges of packaging electric powertrains, Uhlarik gives us a rare look behind the curtain at how motorcycles come to life. We also dive into motorcycle design for the track versus the street, and how designing for military applications changes everything — from durability and stealth to real-world usability in extreme conditions.

If you’ve ever wondered what goes into motorcycle design — and how some of those decisions are made — this is an episode you don’t want to miss.