A diesel motorcycle is a motorcycle with a diesel engine. Few diesel motorcycles have existed as factory offerings, though engine swaps may also be done to convert gasoline-powered motorcycles to diesel.
Royal Enfield was among the only manufacturers that had mass-produced a diesel motorcycle, before it was discontinued owing to pollution laws.[citation needed] The Royal Enfield Taurus, derived from the British-designed Bullet and produced in the 1990s, used a 325cc Lombardini diesel engine.[4]
Sooraj, a tractor company based in Saharanpur, India, also produced a Lombardini-powered diesel motorcycle in the 1980s.[5]
HDT M1030M1
HDT M1030M1
Manufactured by Hayes Diversified Technologies (HDT), the M1030M1 is a Kawasaki KLR650-based motorcycle designed to run on fuels such as diesel and jet fuels, reducing military logistical overhead by doing away with gasoline.[6] Its top speed exceeds 80 miles per hour (130km/h),[6] and fuel consumption is advertised to be 96mpg‑US (2.5L/100km; 115mpg‑imp) at 55mph (89km/h).[citation needed]
A US Marine on an M1030M1, awaiting a helicopter flight into Kuwait
After several years of engine development at Cranfield University,[6][7] the HDT M1030M1 entered service with the United States Marine Corps in 2002. The M1030M1E model is sold to the United Kingdom and other European NATO countries. A version for the civilian market, the D650A1 Bulldog, was originally slated for release in March 2006, but due to increased military demand for the M1030M1, production of the civilian Bulldog has been delayed indefinitely.[citation needed]
At the Eurosatory exhibition in 2010, HDT presented the M1030M2, an improved model with an upgraded 670cc multifuel engine that produces 20% more power.[clarification needed] A patented technology called MAC-C1 enables the engine to run on five major jet fuel types and vegetable oil-based biodiesel in addition to standard gasoline and diesel fuel. As of September 2010, no orders had been placed.[8]
The Neander 1400 uses a 1430cc parallel twin turbo-diesel engine with two gear-coupled counter-rotating crankshafts,[10] which the manufacturer claims to remove engine vibrations.[11]
Axiom Diesel Knight
In 2020, Axiom Diesel presented a prototype of a cruiser using an air-cooled diesel engine.[12] In 2021, they presented the Knight at the International Motorcycle Show (IMS) in Dallas, United States, using a 1-litre turbo-diesel engine mated to a 4-speed gearbox.[13]
KiraBike
Designed by Applied Minds, the KiraBike is designed as a companion vehicle to the Unimog-based KiraVan expedition vehicle. It uses an inline-three turbo-diesel engine paired to a CVT, and features VHF and UHF communications equipment.[14]
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