Two-stroke engines, notably in motorcycles, have disappeared from the street, victim to stringent emissions and noise regulations but Langen Motorcycles in the UK has a plan to bring back two-strokers, albeit as a track only machine. Based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, Langen intends for Great Britain to again be a leader in motorcycle development and manufacture.
Founded in 2019 by Christofer “Langen” Ratcliffe, Langen Motorcycles will be building a limited production run of 100 Langen Two Strokes, priced at 28,000 pounds sterling (RM163,388). Reservations are being taken and a place in the production queue is secured with a 1,000 pounds sterling (RM5,835) refundable deposit.
Ratcliffe spent 10 years as Chief Design Engineer at CCM Motorcycles, responsible for motorcycles such as the GP450 lightweight adventure bike and the CCM Spitfire cafe racer. Taking inspiration from the Isle of Man TT 250 road racers and the Ace Cafe culture of British cafe racing, Langen is building a stripped down motorcycle designed for speed and omitting all that is unnecessary.
Power comes from a 249 cc, two-stroke Vins, 90-degree V-twin, fed by fuel injection. Power output is claimed to be 75 hp at 11,700 rpm with 45 Nm of torque at 11,700 rpm. While not sounding impressive in this age of 200 hp superbikes, the Langen Two Stroke only weighs 114 kg, giving a power-to-weight ratio of 660 hp per tonne with a claimed top speed of “140-plus mph (225 km/h).”
Ohlins supplies the 43 mm diameter conventional telescopic forks, fully-adjustable while UK suspension specialists KTech – represented in Malaysia by Kratos Motorsports – provide a pair of custom designed Piggyback Razor shock absorbers, also fully-adjustable and including shock length adjustment.
A pair of Dunlop Classic TT100 radials in 120/70 and 150/60 sizes are fitted to the spoked wheels. Braking is done with twin HEL radial-mount billet callipers grabbing 320 mm brake discs and a HEL calliper with 265 mm disc is mounted at the rear.
The engine is wrapped in an aluminium space frame topped by a carbon-fibre fuel tank and bodywork, with 24-karat gold leaf used as design accents. The whole of the Langen Two Stroke conveys an authentically retro touch, including the hand-formed two-stroke exhausts exiting to the right and under the seat.
What do you think, a piece of engineering eye candy that is also purposeful on the race track? Leave a comment with your thoughts below.
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one cool beautiful machine indeed.
How do I get one here i wonder
Two stoke and two exhaust pipes sounds wonderful. Will this bike reach our shores?
its a track only bike, sadly. i would say its too beautiful for trackdays, considering you are expected to drop it.
and if you do have cash to spend on 2 strokes track only machine, why not the MMX Suter?
I’m surely missed the good old days of 2 stroke Moto GP.
this RM163k is more worth than
that RXZ that sold for 100k
Anyone one who had their leg over RD’s like me will be organising welcome back 2 stroke parties. Well done Langen. Is there any chance of a 350 with 100+bhp? Go on…