# Uno: Benjamin Gulak’s Two-Wheeled Electric Motorcycle

- Link: https://custommotorcycles.info/uno/
- Published: 2015-07-31T10:14:23-04:00
- Author: Manny Costa

[View Uno Photo Gallery](https://custommotorcycles.info/uno/#photogallery)

The Uno does not resemble a conventional motorcycle so much as a compact vehicle
wrapped around a balancing experiment. Finished in bright orange and grey, Benjamin
Gulak’s one-off machine places two wheels side by side beneath a sharply styled 
body and uses electronic gyroscopes to remain upright. It first appeared publicly
at the 2008 National Motorcycle Show in Toronto, where its unusual stance made it
difficult to mistake for anything else on the floor.

## Two wheels, one balancing system

The key engineering decision is visible from the front: the Uno’s wheels share the
same lateral plane rather than following the usual motorcycle layout. That arrangement
removes the stability normally created by forward motion and rider balance, so the
machine relies on two programmed gyros instead. According to the period description,
one gyro manages movement forward and backward while the other assists with turning.

The result is a motorcycle controlled without a conventional gearshift or a long
list of switches. The reported operating system is deliberately simple: switch the
Uno on, lean forward to move ahead, and lean back to slow or reverse. The gyros 
interpret that change in attitude and direct the twin electric motors—one assigned
to each wheel—to provide the required drive.

## Computer sketches translated into bodywork

Gulak designed the Uno in SketchUp before turning the digital outline into a physical
machine. The source account identifies a Yamaha R1 chassis as part of the foundation,
while the outer panels were made by Gulak himself. That combination gives the project
an interesting split personality: familiar motorcycle hardware underneath, with 
a highly individual body wrapped around it.

The bodywork is more than a simple cover. Its orange panels sweep forward from the
seat and rise around the wheel assembly, while dark grey sections form a narrow 
upper fairing and cockpit surround. From the side, the enclosed shape makes the 
machine look almost like a small streamlined pod. From the front, the narrow gap
between the two tyres gives away the unconventional mechanical layout immediately.

## A working demonstration rather than a practical replacement

Photographs from the period show the Uno being ridden, with its stabilising feet
and compact controls clearly visible. The reported mass was 54 kilograms, a figure
that would help explain why the small electric motors and balancing system could
move the machine with relatively little hardware. No performance figures or production
plans are established in the supplied material, however, and the Uno is best understood
as a demonstration of control engineering and fabrication rather than a finished
alternative to an everyday motorcycle.

That is precisely where its appeal lies. The Uno changes the basic question asked
of a motorcycle: instead of how a rider keeps two wheels balanced, it asks how software,
sensors and electric drive can take over that job while preserving lean-based control.
For a one-off shown at a motorcycle exhibition, it is an unusually clear—and visually
memorable—statement of that idea.

**Source:** [Motorcycle Mojo’s period report on the Uno](http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/articles/the-uno/).

## Photo Gallery

[⌊Uno 4⌉⌊Uno 4⌉[
 [⌊Uno 3⌉](https://custommotorcycles.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uno-3.jpg) [⌊Uno
2⌉](https://custommotorcycles.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uno-2.jpg) [⌊Uno⌉](https://custommotorcycles.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uno-.jpg) [⌊Uno
1⌉](https://custommotorcycles.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uno-1.jpg)