Super-light supermoto looks sure to serve up some serious smiles
Rotobox Splice is light, fast and covered in carbon fibre
Slovenian carbon-fibre experts Rotobox, best known for gorgeous lightweight wheels, have made their first complete bike and it’s one of the most stunning supermotos we’ve ever seen. Built with help from the Yamaha Austria Racing Team, it’s called the Splice and is based on a Yamaha motocross bike (a 250 or 450 motor will fit). A donor bike is stripped down to its engine and frame then, to add stiffness, Rotobox graft on an R6 swingarm from an R6, which allows a 190mm rear tyre, then bolt on lots of bling. Suspension is from Öhlins (FG461 forks paired with TTX Flow rear shock), brakes are from Brembo (GP4RR and X20 calipers on XR0 master cylinders) and of course there are a pair of Rotobox Boost carbon-fibre wheels complete with custom paint. But it doesn’t stop there. Rotobox also make their own bodywork, sprockets, triple clamps, seat and instrument cluster. They 3D print the bike’s mudguards and there’s also a custom-made exhaust, which has a black ceramic coating like the rest of the bike, so it all blends into one great big sea of blackness. The result looks absolutely stunning and tips the scales, fully fuelled and ready to ride, at a featherlight 119kg. And with the best part of 60bhp on tap from the 450 motor it should go like the absolute clappers. There is one downside of course; the price. Retail price for the Splice is a whopping €35,796 (approx. £32,000), which is fairly tasty whichever way you look at it. Still, you’ll never see another one out on the road.