The concept of a single wheeled motorcycle is one which has intrigued designers through the ages. Various people have experimented with the format but the idea has never really caught on, partly because the single wheeled layout is inherently unstable without significant design and development, and the end result has never really been enough to justify the time and resources required to make it work. So the monocycle, or monowheel, has remained a novelty on the sidelines of motorcycle development history.

Until Kerry McLean came along, that is. Kerry is no stranger to oddball engineering projects, having spent much of his formative years in Michigan building Hot Rods, Trikes and jet propelled bicycles. When he first started experimenting with single wheeled motorcycles back in the mid seventies he found the problems inherent in the design were far from from insoluble, and over the next thirty years devoted much of his spare time into making the concept work.

The result is a range of monowheels which Kerry now has in production, albeit in very small numbers, each wheel being individually hand crafted to the highest standards.

And Kerrys designs work, as evidenced by his V8 powered "Rocket Roadster" seen here in preparation for the run at Bonneville Salt Flats which earned him the exclusive title of fastest man on one wheel. The V8 is capable of more than 100mph and features a rear wing which aids stability at high speeds.

The Rocket Roadster is the result of many years development and a couple of hard knocks. An early prototype suffered a wheel rim failure at over 50mph which sent Kerry into a spectacular gyroscopic wobble before crashing heavily. Now every single component is fabricated and tested to the highest standards.

For more practical daily transport Kerry developed his mini wheel powered by a 5hp snowmobile engine. Still capable of a fair lick of speed this wheel is light enough to be carried over his shoulder when not in use.

Every single part of the wheel is precision made from top quality materials and then hand finished to a standard that would grace any art gallery. This wheel is actually road legal as a moped in Michigan and carries lights, a horn and mirrors.

I was privileged to be one of the few people outside the US to ride one of Kerry's wheels on his visit to the UK in June 2002, and although I wasn't able to ride it on the road it made a remarkable impression on the shoppers in Tesco's car park! Riding a machine like this is a skill which comes with practice, but after only 20 minutes I was beginning to accelerate with confidence and wobble fairly predictably around corners. The most disconcerting effect is called "gerbilling" - under acceleration or braking the rider runs up inside the wheel like a sprinting hamster, but after a little practice this becomes controllable and great fun, though sudden stops require a fair bit of rider skill. Click the following links to view short MPEG clips of Kerry riding the wheel.

Lapping Tesco's car park 1 (1Mb)
Lapping Tesco's car park 2 (2Mb)
Limbering up for the one wheeled land speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats (6.2Mb).

Kerry is now in a position to import limited numbers of wheels into the UK. Should you be interested in acquiring one drop us an e-mail here and we'll put you in touch. For less than the price of a 600 Bandit you could be one of the few people in world to own one of these exclusive, hand-crafted machines. It's an experience you'll never forget.

Dr.Rod.