Founder John Piper has worked for Formula One teams like Williams and Benetton for most of his career. This is his current project.
What do you get when an engineer who used to work in Formula One chooses to make a scooter? To begin with, it’s not just any bike; it’s the Piper Moto J1.
“Super scooter” is what founder John Piper calls it. Piper worked as an engineer for Williams, Benetton, and ProDrive, among other clients. In some other situations, you might have thought those words were just some marketing fluff.
A 690cc KTM LC4 Duke single-cylinder engine that makes 67 horsepower, on the other hand, makes it hard to think that the scooter wouldn’t be great. The company also says that the car can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat, has a top speed of 120 mph, weighs 160 kilograms (about 352 pounds) when dry, and has a perfect 50-50 weight balance thanks to the engine being mounted in the middle.
Of course, that doesn’t take into account how stylish the J1 is. With two exactly placed single seats, one right in front of the other, it can fit two people. The lines and shapes are both classic and modern at the same time. The air vents in the front fairing that go around the cabin are a great example of this. The frame is made of tubular steel, and the body is made of a pressure-cured carbon and epoxy polymer that is woven together.
Instead of the smaller 12- to 14-inch tires that come with most scooters, the J1 has 17-inch wheels with spokes. That should give you a lot more tire options when it’s time to get new ones.
In the front, there is a single Brembo four-piston radial-mount caliper with a 320mm brake disc. In the back, there is a Brembo single-piston moving caliper with a 240mm brake disc. The front suspension is a 43mm upside-down WP fork, and the rear suspension is a cast aluminum swingarm with a concentric spring and an Exe-TC remote two-way damper reservoir.
There are six speeds on the Piper Moto J1, and unlike most twist-and-go bikes in 2023, you can shift them by hand if you want to. The normal hand-clutch and foot-shifter may not work, though. A finger switch on the handlebar turns on an electronic shifter instead.
It is possible to make a small batch of Piper J1s if everything goes well with the prototype. For more information or to get on a list for when it’s for sale, we’ll include a link to the site in our Sources.