Alligator

Dan Gurney Alligator motorcycles Inc. is an All American Racers’ (AAR) division created by Dan Gurney, an American legendary race driver and bike constructor. He is known for winning a range of reputable racing competitions and designing the famous Alligator motorcycle. 

History of the Alligator Division

Dan Gurney became a co-founder of AAR in 1964, and the name of the other co-founder was Carroll Shelby. He left it soon, which made Gurney the only owner. In 1967, he became the first and the only one US racer driving an American car to win in Formula 1. Further, he showed the best results in a range of motorcycle racing competitions. 

Gurney was a pretty tall man, which made it not so much convenient for him to ride a standard bike. The inventor did not want to give up and accept obvious issues, and that is why he started thinking of how to help this situation out by creating a new design of the motorcycle. This is how the Alligator, the only bike designed and built by AAR, was created. 

Only one mechanic was started working on the Alligator project, which soon became extremely popular motorbike. The first bike was created in 1980. There have been several prototypes of the Alligator project created. The 2002 prototype of the motorcycle was taken very well, and only a few motorbikes enthusiasts could enjoy riding Alligator. Dan liked to experiment with different engines and chassis options. The project still continues even after the death of its creator in January 2018.  

The Alligator project 

Probably, the project would not be developed if a great inventor and racer Dan Gurney was a little bit lower. He aimed at creating a motorbike comfortable for tall riders, and this is how an idea of creating a unique motorbike came up. The Alligator is a feet first (FF) motorcycle, with comes with low-slung seating position. It was not the first attempt to create such a model, and the idea was based on the prototype created by in Gottlieb Daimler 1886 and Honda XL350. 

All in all, there were 6 different prototypes of the bike created. The prototype 6 was built in the early 2000s, and in 2002 there were 36 motorcycles built by the Alligator division. That was a ‘limited edition’ production. The sale price for the bike was $35,000. It had a carbon fiber body instead of a chromed frame and was equipped with a 70 hp single-cylinder 710 cc Honda. The following are the list of other moto brands used for creating the model: Ferrari, Porsche, Ford, Bloor, Tucker, and Britten.

The typical design colors of the bike are blue and white. At the age of 82 years old, the inventor planned to add four more prototypes to the product catalog. According to the information on the official website of the division, he also aimed at creating an engine from scratch and launch new production cycles. 

Interesting Facts

·    The Alligator name was chosen as a trademark because of the bike appearance reminding this reptile as well as specifics of its lifestyle and behavior in nature;

·    36 motorcycles were produced in 2002 because this was the number of the inventor in Formula 1;

·    "More Smiles Per Mile!" is the most famous slogan of the bike.