In 1985 Back to the Future premiered in movie theaters. A time-traveling DeLorean wasn't the only futuristic vehicle to come out that year, though. At the 1985 Tokyo Motor Show, Suzuki showed off the Falcorustyco Concept, a mouthful of a name with an equally complicated design. While a few of the ideas presented here would eventually come true, it was mostly an idea of what the future would hold that doesn't hold up today.

"Falco Rusticulous" is the Latin name for the world's largest falcon species, the Gyrfalcon. This somewhat reflected the Hayabusa, which is the Japanese name for the peregrine falcon. I don't think anyone would argue that Falcorustyco doesn't exactly roll off the tongue as nicely as Hayabusa, though. In a way, the overly complicated name reflects the overly complicated nature of the bike itself.

Suzuki Falcorustyco Concept

There is no frame. The engine is the central structure of the entire bike. We've seen a number of bikes using the engine as a structural member in recent history, but in this case, the engine supports the front and rear swingarms. Yes, a front swingarm. Gone are the traditional forks, replaced by a hydraulic steering mechanism. This was presumably controlled by the grips resembling Atari 2600 joysticks coming out of the fairing in place of traditional handlebars.

Not only was the steering hydraulic, so was the drive system—to both wheels. The Falcorustyco was all-wheel-drive. I can't imagine how much power this would have sucked out of even Suzuki's 500cc square-four four-stroke engine. Think of the power loss through the fluid in an automatic transmission car. Sure, you wouldn't have to change gears on this bike, but by the time power got to both wheels I can't imagine there'd be enough left to even break traction.

One technology the Falcorustyco had that has come true is an electronically-controlled suspension. Previously reserved for high-end sports cars, more and more vehicles these days, including motorcycles, enable you to control the firmness or softness of your suspension on the fly. That's a pretty cool feature that this bike accurately predicted.

Go watch Back to the Future 2, and see just how wrong it got its prediction of our world in 2015. That's just about the same level of wrongness that Suzuki nailed with the Falcorustyco. There's a little bit of truth—the writers modeled Biff as President after none other than Donald Trump—but for the most part, they both got the future completely wrong. That's okay, though. It's good to dream and imagine the impossible. With time and technology, sometimes it comes true.

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