Alan Gibbs, the mind behind the Biski, is also known as the man who created the world’s first high-performance amphibious car, the Aquada. Biski, the company’s latest invention, takes the idea a step further and puts the amphibious motor on two wheels instead of four. The Biski, much like the Aquada and Gibbs Quadski, can seamlessly go from land to water. Let’s explore precisely what this amphibious motorbike can do.
How it works
The Biski uses two propulsion systems to move it around on both land and in the water. On land, the power of the bike comes from a two-cylinder engine that the inventor claims will help the bike reach a maximum speed of around 80 mph. While in the water, the Biski uses a proprietary dual-jet marine propulsion system that pumps out about 55 horsepower. This results in a top speed around 37 mph – 32 knots for those who are more akin to boating terms.
Flipping the switch
Biski makes it easy for riders to go from the street to the water. To switch from riding on land to moving through the water, riders simply flip a switch, and within seconds they are ready to go. However, what might be more difficult is switching your gear from one terrain to the next. As of now, there is no cargo space available on the vehicle. Riders will most likely not wear the same attire in the water as they do on land. Therefore, having some form of storage space is somewhat of a necessity for housing the appropriate gear for each riding setting.
The Biski on land
Some agree that the Biski performs much more like a maxi-scooter rather than a street bike. The Biski has an automatic transmission and a ground clearance of six inches, as stated by the manufacturer. The lean angle is not specified by Gibbs, and the introduction video shows that the bike may have a bit of a difficult time twisting around curves. Though it looks quite heavy, the Biski’s curb weight comes in around 503 lbs.
GIBBS-Biski-Amphibious-Motorcycle-On-Land
GIBBS Sports
The Biski in the water
While using the Biski as a jet-ski, riders can plane in under three seconds. Within five seconds from riding on land, the Biski wheels retract, and the jet propulsion system kicks in. The all-hollow design of the amphibious bike allows riders to float while using the vehicle in the water. Due to the Biski’s cumbersome design, its clearance around turns seems to be its most significant flaw.
Price and availability
If you are looking to get your hands on a Biski anytime soon, then you may find yourself having to practice a healthy dose of patience. Still in its concept phase, the Biski has yet to make it into wide-scale production. Because there is little known about when or how the company’s amphibious bike will make its way to the public, little is known about where potential buyers will be able to score their own. There is currently no publicly known price for the Biski.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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