Cafe Racer of the week: Shotaro Kaneda and his hot (as in stolen) Cafe Bike.

Image of the "real" bike from the BlueBladeAKIRA site.

Damn punk: Shotaro Kaneda

From wikipedia:

Known by his family name, 16-year-old Kaneda plays one of main roles in the film and manga Akira. Definitely the best known character, he is famous for his custom bike and is envied for it; mainly by childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima. A streetwise punk Kaneda leads a gang of bikers (the Capsules) on the streets of Neo-Tokyo.

Kaneda is brave, independent, and defiant of the law and adult authority. He is rebellious, disobedient, uncooperative and tries to show off in everything he does. He is known to act before thinking things out fully and he pays for this several times. The organizer and leader of his gang he attends reform school in Neo-Tokyo and is perceived by his fellow students as more than a little egotistical. It is often suggested that he is somewhat of a skirtchaser and, even though he is brave to an extent, he does panic in a comical fashion, especially when Kei's comrades question him. Kaneda was Tetsuo Shima's only friend in the orphanage where both he and Tetsuo grew up and the two stuck together, but Kaneda was always the braver of the two and even though they're now teengaers, the same personality differences remain. Out of everyone in the gang, Kaneda is the only one who has an obvious friendship to Tetsuo, whilst the others seem to ignore Tetsuo. His friends look up to him, and Kaneda's 'tough guy' personality only makes him more of a natural born leader, even if he isn't the smartest of guys. Kaneda (as everyone in the Capsules), seems to be younger in the manga, in contrast to Kei, who seems older.

Kaneda's bike:

One of the most memorable and iconic features of Akira is Kaneda's futuristic motorcycle, a high performance red racing bike of unspecified make and model (though a badge closely resembling the BMW logo is visible on its left hand side in the movie, but the old Honda motorcycle logo is also clearly seen in the manga). The bike also bears the logos of Canon Inc., Shoei, Arai (seen only in the movie), the Citizen Watch Co., the ELF Corporation (seen only in the manga), and the roundel for the U.S. Air Force. It is implied by Kaneda himself at the beginning of the movie that the bike was stolen. Numerous models of the vehicle are available for purchase from toy and hobby suppliers. Some mechanically-inclined fans have even attempted to fabricate actual working models of this popular fantasy motorcycle. Kaneda's bike has a reverse function, as well as a "Ceramic double-rotor two-wheel disk drive", whatever that may mean. (It could suggest a ceramic two-rotor Wankel engine which drives both wheels of the bike. The 'disk' word could mean that both wheels have disc brakes under the red wheel covers.)

Specs:
Overall Length : 2.947mm
Overall Height : 1,171mm (incl.shield)
Overall Width : 831mm
Seat Height ; 340mm
Wheelbase : 2,194mm
Ground Clearance : 76mm
Dry Weight : 154kg
Number of Riders : 1
Braking Distance : 9.9m (Initial Speed : 50 km/h)
Minimum Turning Distance : 3.4m
Tire Size : 18 inches (front), 19 inches (rear)
Power Generator : Cold Superconducting Generator
Maximum Power : 83 kw/12,500 rpm
Maximum Voltage : 12,000 V
Steering System : Power Support System
Front Axie Caster Angle : 39°12', Rear Axie Caster Angle : 3°00'
Frame : Ceramic Box Frame, Cowl : FRP and Carbon
Energy Consumption at Rest : 2.3w
Maximum Speed : 243 km/h
Drag Coefficient : CD=0.24
Equipped with:

Computer Controlled Anti-Lock Brakes
Auto-Navigation System
Forward-Looking Radar
CD Player
Glove Compartment.
Headlamp : 100w Neo Halogen Laser Light (can switch to fog lamp)
Statistics

Speed : 0 to 400m : 9.8 sec, 0 to 100 km/h : 8.7 sec
Battery Charger Time : 1MW every 40 sec (can run for two hours at full throttle on fully charged battery

Kanedas group often fights with a rival bike gang called the "The Clowns"..here's a few of thier (clownish) bikes.

Just a bunch of silly geeky cartoon nonsense?..just ask Dan Gurney about his "Alligator".

..and its not just Gurney who thought of the idea, there is always Malcolm Newell's Quasar.

If the idea of "Feet-First Motorcycles" grabs you, go check out the FF Web.