NEW BIKES
Horsepower and handling? Pah. Next generation bikes will be all about batteries and seamless technology
New generation bikes: it’s all about techology and electricity.
HOW DO YOU get more people on bikes? Cheap, cheerful commuters? Perhaps the wow factor of mad pressure-charged hyperbikes? Nah. You create high-tech two-wheeled electronic devices that stand up on their own, interact with their owner and refuel via a socket. Earlier this year Honda showed their Riding Assist concept. Based on an NC750S, its self-balancing technology from the ASIMO robot helps the rider stay upright at low speed, and it can stand on its own. Now they have Riding Assist-e, with a new chassis and the petrol engine swapped for e-drive electric power. ‘The motorcycle automatically balances using an assistive mechanism derived from robotics, for low-speed situations that require the rider’s attention to balance, such as traffic jams or starting and stopping,’ say Honda, who claim riding is both easier and more fun. And now Yamaha have a self-balancing concept too. The electric Motoroid is said to connect to you using artificial intelligence. ‘The rider resonates harmoniously with machine,’ say Yamaha. ‘It is capable of recognizing its owner and interacting in other capacities like a living creature.’ Videos show it being activated using face recognition, and moving to the rider on its own when beckoned. The Motoroid’s rear wheel can lean and steer, keeping it upright when pushed. Bodywork and controls move to fit you. The Yam is exciting, but clearly still in development. The Honda is a believable reality however, and while it won’t be in showrooms next year it confirms their ‘2030 vision of a carbon-free society’ doesn’t just mean cars. And that date is important. At the Frankfurt car show Volkswagen
announced ‘Roadmap E’ –a scheme for 80 new electric vehicles across their brands in the next seven years, and the electrification of their ‘entire model portfolio’ by 2030. This will include Ducati, whose logo was behind VW’S chairman as he gave the news. And when revealing their new V4, Ducati boss Dominicali told the press, ‘We will have an electrical engine before later.’ Whooshing battery-powered Monster with thumb-print ignition, touchscreen dash, connectivity and rapid charging in 12 years time? It’s a given.