When a couple of passionate Italians formed Zaeta in 2007, the focus was dirt track and the minimalist beauty of the discipline. A street legal version is apparently next . . . to be known as the 530 DT.
Based on the TM 530cc motocross engine, with six speeds, a slipper clutch and a healthy 60 horsepower, the initial concept has taken the stunning form you see here. Yes, those spoked wheels take tubeless tires.
Zaeta believes the finished street bike will weigh roughly 250 pounds! If you have ridden a modern 450cc motocross bike (weighing in at roughly 225 pounds), then you have some idea of what this Zaeta is capable of . . . such as third gear, clutchless power wheelies. Things you can only get from ultra light weight combined with the huge torque of a big, modern, four-valve single. Nothing quite like it, actually.
Regarding the Husaberg FS570 comment – I bought one last year in San Diego. They’re pricey, but available – mine weighs around 270 lbs. I’ve owned two earlier KTM Dukes (’95 & ’01) that were lots of fun but weighed around 50 lbs more. The Husaberg does require more maintenance (oil changes based on hours ridden, not miles), but there’s nothing like a supermoto for the street.
Can you promise me it won’t implode at 20,000 mi like literally every other single I’ve ever owned?
No thanks…I’ll stick with the 70HP KTM Duke 690R…
Just take me to jail now and save me the money…
http://Www.borile.it
The idea is 14 years old. Borile presented a carbon copy concept in Milano in 1998. You can find the info at their website. It hasn’t advanced much since, despite a clamoring audience. The Borile looks much better, by the way. It’s the BCR500.
Correction: B500CR. Last I checked the price was above 11K euros ($15K). Expensive for a sport bike, but a bargain compared to a HD lawn mower.
I like the numbers, but it’s got some seriously funky proportions. A bit like a caricature of a motorcycle. I think I’d rather have a 450 Supermoto with lights.
You guys can all have this thing. No interest to me.
Holy sh*t I want one.
If you are into this go buy an Aprilia SXV550. Right around 300 pounds, and even more horses with a good tune. It even has a hands on maintenance schedule. If you take care of them they can last, and you can find a used piece for $5k or less. As long as you don’t mind a dirtbike seat they not uncomfortable.
Trying to remember the other single cylinder streetbike from a boutique manufacturer. Borellis? Borrels? Something like that…neat bike. Poorly-built and not reliable.
But we love our singles, don’t we? At least in concept; bottom line is that we don’t buy enough of them to convince manufacturers to keep bringing them to U.S. Shores. No Yamaha MT-03 either. And don’t even get me started on the Ducati Supermono!
Gawd, that looks fun!
Sadly the 2012 updated KTM Duke 690 will not be imported into the USA.
KTM spent millions developing the concept of a light and fast street single over the years ….. then management decides not to bring the 2012 Duke 690 to the USA …big promotions and pay increases -or- pink slips!!!!
Considering the number of Dukes I’ve seen on the road in the past 12 years (I can count them on one finger), I am not surprised. Awesome bike, but not much demand for a super-premium single in these parts.
My view is there has not been a super single in any of these parts ever to date…. so lack of sales is directly related to lack of results that is necessary to generate real interest.
Ofcourse racing the spec version of the new Duke 690 at 308lb and 78hp in WERA and winning could get it noticed and actually generate sales in the USA….tought to do with none in the states.
With KTMs big twins finishing 10th – 15th in most AMA races this does not help the 690 Duke single either.
Again….not bringing this bike to the USA will get big salary increases for KTM marketing…….and promotions
Well actually, there is something quite like it. It’s called the KTM Duke 690. I find that I need to be very very emotionally centered and physically alert when I ride mine. Otherwise the front wheel comes up leaving the light; the back wheel comes up when I stop. Come to think of it, the swing arm on the Zaeta looks just like the one on my KTM. Why am I not surprised? Admittedly the weight is a bit more than what’s projected for the Zaeta. A closer match would be the Husaberg FS 570. Another fine bike not allowed on our roads. Click: http://www.husaberg.com/Supermoto.301.13.html
Anyone know who makes those tubeless rims/wheels?
I like it but…. I like my street tracker xs650 yam that i am building Much better One i made it 2 i can afford it.
Sorry to burst a few bubbles, but that’s a Sportster Headlight with eyelid and Sportster front forks. Don’t know how they expect to achieve 250# by going into the Harley parts bin. This really makes me doubt that they will achieve their weight goals, but who knows…miracles do happen now and then.
Sportster forks and headlight.So,you mean Showa forks and Asian headlight.
Despite the visor mounted headlight,I don’t think that’s a Sportster fork. Bottom tree is machined billet and has 2 pinch bolts per side, the fender mounts are much higher, and the rubber dust boot doesn’t fit over the top of the fork leg like a Harley fork, but appears to fit in on top the seal. Blow up the photo and the details become obvious.
This bike is cool looking but a DRZ400SM with a big bore kit puts out 50hp and will last tens of thousands of miles….with a relaxed maintenance schedule. That doesn’t detract from how great this concept looks though. It’s really nice.
Maybe a longer swingarm so you’re not always looking into the sky?
Drool… I don’t know what that thing would cost, but it would be worth it.
Very cool! Even better than my street legal XR650R, which also has a 19″ front wheel and similar tires. But, although my XRR is heavier and makes only about 50HP, I think it will be much more reliable and better off road. Still very cool!
Wow… ‘stupid’ fun. I’d lose my license lol
I had a Suzuki TU250. Great bike. Too low. Not enough wheelbase. Harley and the Japanese companies and the European companies should realize a market for a really cool well made single or twin like this with a competitive price. We can’t all buy Road Glides and Sportsters are 1970s crap for the money. Monsters have those insane curved seats and are still too racey for most poeple (Ducati). Bikes like the Versys have high bars and high pegs that slide you into the tank. The Triumph Bonneville is brillant but too expensive at over 9000 out the door. Make it: simple, quality, inexpensive to Joe Working Guy and exciting. Not hard. Leave off all the chrome and all that crap. Most Americans are barely surviving. Let’s get real. This bike is awesome. Bigger tank. Make it here with our AT LEAST FIFTEEN PERCENT inner city unemployment. Get all those gang bangers building killer bikes and pay them well!
This is an exotic niche piece, not an every-man’s motorcycle. In America most motorcycles are toys, not tools.
You’re asking Prosche to build a Honda Civic competitor.
I think more of a Geo Metro competitor, they don’t give away Civics!
Well, at the moment one Japanese company does – Honda with the CBR250R. $5k with ABS. Dual-sport version releasing in Europe. Try one, you’ll like it.
Good point. 60hp is doable with the current 450cc engines so this @ 530cc should be more reliable. My moto buddies tell me that this is only true if you modify the engines. However this is dirt riding they’re experienced with. How these engines hold up against extended revs on the road is another question.
If you have not ridden a KTM Duke single or DR-650 with a few street mods you will miss the whole sensation of a really light bike that handles like nothing else. They don’t need mega horsepower to accelerate or very high dollar suspension with their weight to power ratio. Unfortunately this will never make it to the states.
Sorry everyone. I would’ve posted a comment earlier but all the drool kind of shorted out my keyboard. Luckily, I’m at work so it wasn’t really -my- keyboard. Anyway, I really like this concept. My home state of Washington just enacted a law allowing us to license off-road bikes for street use and I had already been thinking about one of the 450cc bikes (partial to the Kawasaki) as a street going, minimalist ride. I don’t really go for the motard look that most end up with. This one gives me lots of good ideas to steal.
http://licensingexpress.wordpress.com/off-road-motorcycle-qa/
Thanks for the link but that’s old news (at least a couple of years). This new legislation just took effect this past January. Ask the Googles about WA SB5800.
Woo Hoo, does a NSR250 qualify as an “off road bike”? I mean, isn’t a racetrack technically off road / closed course? After WA registration I could start bringing this stuff into CA.
-todd
That CNC bolt-up frame makes me think we could do an “open source” motorcycle. It would be an interesting design project to pick commonly available motors, wheels, forks, etc. and design the parts that would be needed to pull them together. Obviously works best with a minimalist design, which would be my preference anyway.
There goes my license
Awesome idea and very cool looking bike. Wish I could take one for a spin.
I noticed that too. I was surprised that there aren’t more comments. Things like, “I’d shoot my own grandmother to own one”, or “This is perfect, I can’t wait to get mine!”. Maybe the guys that consider all other bikes >300# as porky are still lying in bed?
I like the see-through aspect of the bike, everything mechanical is visible and at hand. However, the bike actually appears dainty. I wounder how long that lower shock mount will last in the real world? Also, what is with that lonely cable hanging down the left side of the bike? One more thing, don’t wear boots with laces on this unit, that countershaft sprocket is lying in wait.
“what is with that lonely cable hanging down the left side of the bike”
I’d bet hydraulic clutch hose. Looks the same as on my V-Strom.
Need.
I love it! But…. I too am concerned that the engine won’t last…. as noted, word is these new 4 stoke MX motors need a ton of PM to keep them running….
Someone needs to make this bike with a more reliable motor made specifically for the bike…. or stick the 795 Ducati engine in there
I’m waiting for the KTM 350 Duke!
Looks like a lot of fun. 🙂
Too bad Honda or Yamaha would never produce such a bike to go on sale at my local dealer.
The issues I see here are…
1) The motor with a 15-hour race-pace lifespan. How will that hold up over sustained high-rpm use that comes with street-time…especially the “hooligan time” a bike like this will promote?
2) The five to ten minutes worth of fuel range there. I want that power-to-weight with a useable 200-mile range.
3) Parts availability & dealership network support for the boutique motocross mill. How many Moto-TM shops are there in the US?
LOVE IT !
But I’ve read the 450 MX/SX single bike motors have a SHORT life span.
what are the prices of existing Zaeta bikes? Like a Honda, a BMW,Ducati or an exotic all-carbon and titanium one-off? By that I mean are Zaeta’s something only Jay Leno can buy, or something I could get?
Nice! Just needs a bigger tank.
I’m surprised not to see a bunch of posts here. Not really a bike I’d buy, I’m not really a singles guy, but this thing seems to really fulfill what singles people say they want. Not super high horsepower but enough combined with really light weight.
Not a bike that will be found in my garage but I’d love to take on for a ride on a really twisty road.
Goose