58 WORDS IN ACTION http://www.abrbuzz.co.za
Smart Bikes.
Do we need them?
The 1960’s will be remembered as
the decade of change, when the
Japanese launched an onslaught that
changed the way motorcycles would
be perceived foreverT
he ‘70s followed with a horsepower war that saw bikes
judged almost solely on straight line performance, while
the ‘80s and ‘90s saw the arrival of decent-handling
super-quick race replicas from all the manufacturers.
The last 17 years, however, have been marked by the arrival
of a raft of electronic rider aids – some would say too many.
Three-way traction control, ABS brakes, multi-setting power
modes suitable for various combinations of wet, dry, track, city
and touring purposes, active and passive electronic suspensionsettings, wheelie control and launch control are all now
seen as standard at the top end of the market, and they
contribute enormously to the cost of modern bikes. Still
being perfected are electrically-powered bikes and the
batteries needed to give them a decent range, then they
too will take up a role in modern motorcycling.All these gizmos and gimmicks are sensible, if sometimes
overplayed. They took years or even decades to develop,
and it’s interesting to see how far the clever guys in white
coats have already got ahead of the game. Consider
Yamaha’s Motobot project, where the factory has built
a robot-bike that can run quick laps around a racetrack
on its own. Unlike current self-driving cars, the bike is
ridden by a humanoid u sing all the conventional controls- throttle, clutch, front and rear brakes, steering and gear shifters,
and adjusting its actions according to feedback from various
sensors. Yamaha reckons they can use the info so derived
to improve the relationship between rider input and machine
behaviour, to develop better motorcycles in the future. Visit https://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjZPvXKewFk to see it chipping
away at Valentino Rossi’s superhuman on-track advantage...Then, of course, there’s the big H! Honda! Honda’s worked with
robots in their Asimo program since 2000, and over the last
year have shown off two versions of a motorcycle that uses
the technology so derived to become perfectly self-balancing.
Eff orts to achieve this by other manufacturers have usually relied
upon heavy gyroscopes to hold the machines upright, but
Honda’s system uses a small electronic device to balance
the bike at very low speeds by making tiny adjustments
to the steering at low speeds and standstill, like a foot-up
trials exponent might do, but better. The bike’s handlebars
disconnect from the forks and the rake and trail change
to suit the circumstances. Rider stops the bike, climbs off
and walks away. Bike stands upright without any outside
assistance, and remains dead still. If the rider wishes he can
touch the front mudguard to activate a “follow me” mode,
and the motorcycle will dog his heels like a well-trained –
well, horse- as he walks away. That could be useful after a
long evening in the pub. The video does not demonstrate
how the bike will behave if the rider walks up a fl ight of
stairs, but I’d be tempted to try it!.BIKE TORQUE
by Gavin Fosterwatch?v=Okf283Ct-NY for a look into the future.