Honda's Self-Balancing Motorcycle Is Amazing

Until it malfunctions and the wheel jerks to the side when you're doing 60 on the freeway... :eek:

Don't get me wrong, though, this is a cool idea.
 
That's awesome. Needs to have a Enforcement Droid Series 209 frame built over it though.
 
I was reminded of the 2nd gen graboids (the walking ones) from tremors 2 when it walked through the door and looked side to side.
 
This is so cool. That female engineer is also nice.
 
Lifelite said:
Sweet, now you can lay back on your bike and jerk off while riding!
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Motorcycles are already inherently stable at speed. There's no need to hold the handlebar for the bike to remain upright.

Although this is neat, it doesn't really solve a problem most people have.

You can't leave it on, so its not a replacement for a center stand, and it is exceedingly rare that anyone but a total noob would actually fall when coming to a stop, and putting a foot or two down is actually comfortable on a motorcycle.

This would be far more useful on a scooter, since then you'd have the excuse of making a wider floorboard for your feet, and it'd be more comfortable to keep your feet up when coming to a stop.
 
Ya it was a terrible terminator movie (aside from the Alice in Chains) ... but this bike reminds me of the moto-terminators

60eb3988798d51317af5b9fd2cc9ddd1.jpg
 
Why didn't someone kick the side of it? Or be on top wobbling back and forth? That would have been the real test.
 
They make self driving cars, farm equipment, trucks, trains, and now motorcycles...How is humanity supposed to enjoy any old-fashioned, dangerous vehicular fun if all of our vehicles drive themselves?
 
VooDooPC said:
When the bike rolls out the door and looks both directions, it ALMOST looks like it's checking for other people before murdering that woman.
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To me it looked a bit lonely, like "why did you walk away, we were having so much fun... hey, hey... where are you going? why don't we play more? what's happening in this room here... other people? but I thought we were friends..." it continues to sulk for the rest of the day then kills you in your sleep by slowly cuddle-crushing you to death
 
Not bad, but I can do pretty good myself. Maybe when I'm a tad older and can't hold the motorcycle up.
 
Actually, one thing that wasn't mentioned yet is that they were also showing off variable geometry up front, where it can adjust the rake dramatically on the fly.

I assume they'd program it so that when you're on the highway it can go into "cruise" mode and put in massive rake which also as a side effect lowers the bike, so its really stable. Then at lower speeds or when pressing a "sport" button or at higher lean angles, it decreases the rake to make it more nimble and increase ground clearance.
 
and this is a perfect example of tech in the last 10 years. Absolutely totally fucking useless and fixes a problem that doesn't exist. Great waste of resources humans. It must be getting that time of the century where we have a massive crash/loss of life to purge and refocus efforts onto things that actually help us go onward and upward.
 
Very, very few times (count it one hand) that I've had a close call, usually on an unexpectedly changing terrain at very slow speed and not paying attention, e.g. turning on a steep unfamiliar driveway, with a near invisible channel in the concrete. Worst case suddenly you have no way to put your foot down on one steep side of the bike if you e.g .stall or whatever. Just don't be a fucking tard lol.
It will also be sought by newbies and will give them shitty sense of balance from the get go, so they'll never properly learn low speed weight shifting and importance of balance..

It will breed a new generation of even more squiddish squids than before.
 
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N4CR said:
Very, very few times (count it one hand) that I've had a close call, usually on an unexpectedly changing terrain at very slow speed and not paying attention, e.g. turning on a steep unfamiliar driveway, with a near invisible channel in the concrete. Worst case suddenly you have no way to put your foot down on one steep side of the bike if you e.g .stall or whatever. Just don't be a fucking tard lol.
It will also be sought by newbies and will give them shitty sense of balance from the get go, so they'll never properly learn low speed weight shifting and importance of balance..

It will breed a new generation of even more squiddish squids than before.
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But think of all the texting you can do!
 
Could be useful for the times you put your foot down on gravel and your shoe slips. Some states have roads that are not well maintained.
 
Speaking of gravel... Actually, notice how the handle bar DOES NOT move when the wheel moves? So that means any movement you make on the bar is just a suggestion... I wonder how that impacts fine control of the bike and feeling, or if it numbs it to the point you can no longer feel the road surface properly... Hmmm.

On the other hand, I wonder if it can respond rapidly enough that if you were to drive over wet leaves or sand on the road, if it could respond SO fast as to rescue what might otherwise be a low-slide crash from the brief loss of traction.

It would also make loading and unloading the bike from a trailer ramp or pickup truck a lot easier if it really works well enough.

But personally, I don't think you can ever beat the possibilities of three wheels in stability, as if you increase the front traction and have two different contact patches, you increase front grip and possibility of both losing grip simultaneously and if the back slides its usually far more controllable and won't low-slide, plus you can implement independent computer controlled wheel braking with three wheels to create added stability.

And when you want a three wheel scooter to stay upright for example, all you have to do is lock the leaning component, which requires no battery power to accomplish unlike constantly self-balancing, which means its superior for parking. So I'd wager Yamaha's TriCity solution is probably superior to what Honda has here for people wanting a safe commuter.

yamaha-tricity-9_600x0w.jpg
 
I see the market doing this so when a biker is trying to outrun the law, the
cops just push a button , bike will slow down and roll to a stop without
injuring rider...
I don't like all these changes, call me old fashioned , love the thumping and challenge
of riding a mc...
 
I see the market doing this so when a biker is trying to outrun the law, the
cops just push a button , bike will slow down and roll to a stop without
injuring rider...
I don't like all these changes, call me old fashioned , love the thumping and challenge
of riding a mc...
 
Just put spinners on motorcycle wheels. Automatic gyroscopic stability at lower speeds. Plus look cool in the hood.
 
Ducman69 said:
Speaking of gravel... Actually, notice how the handle bar DOES NOT move when the wheel moves? So that means any movement you make on the bar is just a suggestion... I wonder how that impacts fine control of the bike and feeling, or if it numbs it to the point you can no longer feel the road surface properly... Hmmm.

On the other hand, I wonder if it can respond rapidly enough that if you were to drive over wet leaves or sand on the road, if it could respond SO fast as to rescue what might otherwise be a low-slide crash from the brief loss of traction.

It would also make loading and unloading the bike from a trailer ramp or pickup truck a lot easier if it really works well enough.

But personally, I don't think you can ever beat the possibilities of three wheels in stability, as if you increase the front traction and have two different contact patches, you increase front grip and possibility of both losing grip simultaneously and if the back slides its usually far more controllable and won't low-slide, plus you can implement independent computer controlled wheel braking with three wheels to create added stability.

And when you want a three wheel scooter to stay upright for example, all you have to do is lock the leaning component, which requires no battery power to accomplish unlike constantly self-balancing, which means its superior for parking. So I'd wager Yamaha's TriCity solution is probably superior to what Honda has here for people wanting a safe commuter.
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Amusingly, Honda and Yamaha are teaming up for smaller bike and scooter development. In practice, Yamaha is shutting down scooter production in favor of rebranding Hondas.
 
c3k said:
But think of all the texting you can do!
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Didn't think about that.

However, I loved my old Motorola V3i, could text with gloves on and not have to look at anything.. Young and dumb and stupid!
 
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