Akrapovič Full Moon Concept: An Exhaust-Shaped Custom

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The Akrapovič Full Moon Concept turns the motorcycle exhaust into its central design idea. Unveiled at the 2014 Custombike Show in Bad Salzuflen, Germany, this one-off show machine wraps a large S&S Knucklehead engine in smooth silver bodywork, with a fully exposed front wheel and a tail that narrows to an almost spacecraft-like point.

A 30-inch wheel sets the proportions

The Full Moon’s defining visual feature is its reported 30-inch composite front wheel. It is not tucked behind a conventional mudguard; instead, the wheel sits in clear view beneath a sweeping front structure. That choice makes the circular rim the visual counterpoint to the long, low body, which helps explain the motorcycle’s name.

The wheel is paired with a composite brake disc, another unusual detail for a custom motorcycle of this scale. The front end uses a minimal steering rod rather than the visible cables normally associated with a conventional layout. Akrapovič described the steering system as automated, a solution that keeps the area around the wheel unusually clean.

Bodywork built around the exhaust

Akrapovič and Slovenian Dreamachine Motorcycles developed the Full Moon as a follow-up to their earlier Morsus, but the later concept takes a very different visual direction. The silver shell is broad and rounded through the rear, then tapers into a sharp tail section. From the side, the body appears to flow directly from the engine area toward the rear outlet, while cut-outs and dark carbon-fibre surfaces add depth beneath the smooth outer skin.

The company’s launch material described the frame and bodywork as sheet-metal components that extend the modified Akrapovič exhausts. That makes the exhaust system more than a collection of pipes mounted to the motorcycle: it is presented as part of the machine’s structure and visual identity. The supplied detail images show how the treatment continues into the broad lower platform, where a textured black insert and small lighting elements break up the otherwise monochrome finish.

A display machine with unusual hardware

Power comes from an S&S Knucklehead engine with a reported 1,524cc displacement. The polished engine stands deliberately exposed between the front wheel and the enclosing bodywork, giving the concept a mechanical centre beneath its highly finished exterior.

Akrapovič reported that more than 800 hours went into creating the Full Moon. Hydraulic suspension was also specified, allowing the concept to remain upright when parked. Those details underline its role as a technical design exercise and promotional showpiece rather than a conventional production model. Its value is in the concentration of ideas: oversized wheel proportions, concealed control hardware, integrated exhaust-led bodywork and a silhouette unlike the usual custom vocabulary.

For the original unveiling account, see Akrapovič’s launch announcement.

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