How Fast Is It? The World's First Diesel Engine Superbike!

Diesel-powered motorcycles are a rare sight anywhere in the world. While they offer certain advantages over gasoline engines, diesel engines also come with significant drawbacks when used in motorcycles. Consequently, diesel engines are more effectively utilized in industrial machinery, heavy transport vehicles, and other work-related vehicles. Royal Enfield stands out as one of the few renowned manufacturers that ventured into producing diesel engine motorcycles. Despite the Royal Enfield Diesel's impressive fuel efficiency of 86 kilometers per liter, production was eventually halted due to its environmentally unfriendly emissions. Another notable diesel motorcycle from a different era is the HDTM 1030, specifically designed for the U.S. Marine Corps. This bike not only boasts excellent fuel economy, but also has the capability to run on JP8 fuel, a type commonly used in aircraft and armored vehicles. This feature ensures the motorcycle can be deployed to the front lines using the same fuel as other military vehicles. Unfortunately, when the military vehicle manufacturer attempted to create a civilian version for general sale, certain unclear reasons prevented the plan from coming to fruition. Observing the underwhelming development of diesel motorcycles, a Dutch enthusiast and diesel motorcycle aficionado named Kees van der Stara came up with a groundbreaking idea. He aimed to create a diesel motorcycle to prove that diesel engines could be just as good, if not better, than gasoline engines. Kees van der Stara is one of the founders of Star Twin Motorcycles, an Italian motorcycle specialist dealer since 1979. Besides selling motorcycles, Star Twin also has Star Twin Technique, which focuses on manufacturing exhaust systems for various vehicles, frame and wheel centering, motorcycle luggage racks, and custom motorcycles. Star Twin Technique's creations include the Lovell F20, a lightweight three-wheeled car with 145 horsepower that can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 3.5 seconds. They also produce drag racing bikes, custom choppers, custom diesel engines, and more. These creations showcase the engineering prowess of Star Twin Technique. In fact, they take on any project as long as the customer is willing to pay, including making motorcycle spare parts, custom brackets, and other custom parts, living by their motto, Kan niet, bestaat niet, nothing is impossible. Van der Stara's enthusiasm and technical expertise in creating unique and different automotive works eventually led to the realization of his idea to build a diesel motorcycle, which would later be named the Star Twin Thunderstar 1200 TDI. Unlike other diesel motorcycles that prioritize fuel efficiency and long-range travel on a full tank, the Thunderstar 1200 TDI was not designed for these purposes. Instead, its concept was a fast diesel motorcycle ready for racing. To bring this project to life, Van der Stara used a three-cylinder diesel engine from a VW Lupo city car. He acquired this engine through an insider, who happened to be his intern, also working at Volkswagen. The VW Lupo diesel engine has a displacement of 1,191 cubic centimeters, an inline three-cylinder configuration, and is equipped with turbocharger direct injection technology, claiming an output of 60 horsepower and a peak torque of 140 newton meters. While this standard power was already sufficient to make the motorcycle fast, Van der Stara wasn't satisfied. He further tuned the engine, increasing its power to 70 horsepower and torque to 160 newton meters. Finally, the engine was perfected with a Mitsubishi turbocharger at 2.5 bar pressure, larger injectors, and a modified five-speed gearbox from a Yamaha FZR 1000. The result was a significant power output increase to 125 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and torque of 250 newton meters to 2,500 rpm. Thanks to its brutal torque, the Thunderstar 1200 TDI is claimed to accelerate as quickly as a superbike. With a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the torque is so fierce across the entire rpm range that riders won't notice which gear they're in, as the acceleration response is nearly identical in every gear. Due to its extraordinary performance, the Thunderstar 1200 TDI is touted by its creator as the world's first diesel engine superbike, and possibly the only one ever made. The reason why the Thunderstar 1200 TDI was designed as a superbike rather than another type of motorcycle is that, according to van der Staara, superbike are challenging and difficult to develop. He believes that a superbike engine is easier to adapt to various other motorcycle genres compared to the reverse. To handle its strong torque, in addition to a modified gearbox with an extra output shaft, a custom-made 14-plate dry slipper clutch was also installed. To reduce weight, van der Staara redesigned the engine casing to be lighter and more compact, used a 5-kilogram trellis frame, carbon fiber bodywork and wheels, and several aluminum parts, bringing the total weight of the motorcycle to 205 kilograms, which is comparable to the average superbike weight at that time. This lightweight achievement is significant for the Thunderstar 1200 TDI, considering that diesel engine motorcycles typically struggle with weight issues due to the denser metal materials used in diesel engines compared to gasoline engines. For the finishing touches, the Thunderstar 1200 TDI incorporated parts from other motorcycles, such as an aluminum swingarm from the Ducati 900 Supersport, a headlamp from the Kajiva V-Raptor, suspension from White Power, and brake calipers from PFM Performance Brake. The motorcycle was finally completed and showcased to the public at the Amsterdam Motorij Motorcycle Show in 2005. However, despite the completion of this diesel superbike prototype, the creator had no plans for mass production. When interviewed by Gizmag about whether the diesel superbike would be mass-produced, Kies van der Staara responded that it likely wouldn't be, as producing such a detailed machine on a large scale wouldn't be economical. In 2014, news of the diesel superbike resurfaced when a Japanese biodiesel company, Revo International, expressed interest in the motorcycle and agreed to sponsor it for the classic Isle of Man TT parade in 2014. Japanese rider Yoshihiro Kishimoto was chosen to ride this diesel beast, and the plan was to enter the Star Twin 1200 TDI in the Isle of Man TT's TTX GP class in 2015. After testing on the 60-kilometer track, the Star Twin 1200 TDI recorded an average speed of 177 kilometers per hour. However, due to technical reasons or other issues, the plan was never realized. The Star Twin 1200 TDI faded from the spotlight after failing to appear in the race. The motorcycle was last seen on the Classic Car Marketplace gallery Aldering and was eventually sold in 2022. So, what do you think about this diesel engine superbike? Okay, that's all for our discussion in this video. Thank you for watching and see you in the next videos.