If you believe there's any bike which doesn't crash then stop on down because I can give you one outstanding deal on a bridge in New York. Nevertheless, BMW has a bike which at first I hated but grows kind of cool as I think about it. (WIRED: BMW’s Motorcycle of Tomorrow Is All About the Feels)
Who knows what title is supposed to mean but, wtf, it's WIRED. Here's a pic of the bike:
The frame is carbon fiber and the entire frame flexes when to steer the bike. At first I thought it looks hideous but it's kind of like the bikes in "Tron" or some such and that does show me some twisted futuristic coolness.
Here's the part which may impress you or horrify you:
“The vision vehicle will act with foresight and is able to protect the rider at any time,” says Heinrich. Driver assistance features will continually monitor the environment, the route, the speed, the angle of lean, and myriad other factors, intervening to ensure the rider can’t crash. Gyroscopes keep the bike upright when stationary, so you can’t even fall when stopped. BMW’s roughly an eternity from actually telling riders to ditch traditional safety gear, but things like traction control, hill start assist, and antilock brakes are already making it harder to kill yourself on two wheels.
- WIRED
That may reduce crashing from self-imposed accident but nothing can save you if you get whacked from behind waiting for a light to change.
Note: for me, one of the scariest things on a bike was when I was sitting at a light and I would hear brakes lock up somewhere. Locate, Locate, Locate!
The part which knocks me out is the gyroscopic stabilization since mostly when I hear of gyroscopes they're stabilizing space ships in some sci fi novel.
It seems this does make a bike considerably safer to ride but that seems to eliminate much of the skill required to do it. Maybe most riders take a quiet pride in being able to do something most others can't but it seems even your grandmother could ride this one. I'm sure I sound like ancient Old School but, wtf, how much does a Harley ever change.
On seeing two columns of Harleys with all looking like this bike, maybe we think, "Hey, y'all! Headed for a Code Pink rally, are you?"
Note: that is not even a faint shot at Code Pink since I fully support what they seek to do.
Who knows what title is supposed to mean but, wtf, it's WIRED. Here's a pic of the bike:
The frame is carbon fiber and the entire frame flexes when to steer the bike. At first I thought it looks hideous but it's kind of like the bikes in "Tron" or some such and that does show me some twisted futuristic coolness.
Here's the part which may impress you or horrify you:
“The vision vehicle will act with foresight and is able to protect the rider at any time,” says Heinrich. Driver assistance features will continually monitor the environment, the route, the speed, the angle of lean, and myriad other factors, intervening to ensure the rider can’t crash. Gyroscopes keep the bike upright when stationary, so you can’t even fall when stopped. BMW’s roughly an eternity from actually telling riders to ditch traditional safety gear, but things like traction control, hill start assist, and antilock brakes are already making it harder to kill yourself on two wheels.
- WIRED
That may reduce crashing from self-imposed accident but nothing can save you if you get whacked from behind waiting for a light to change.
Note: for me, one of the scariest things on a bike was when I was sitting at a light and I would hear brakes lock up somewhere. Locate, Locate, Locate!
The part which knocks me out is the gyroscopic stabilization since mostly when I hear of gyroscopes they're stabilizing space ships in some sci fi novel.
It seems this does make a bike considerably safer to ride but that seems to eliminate much of the skill required to do it. Maybe most riders take a quiet pride in being able to do something most others can't but it seems even your grandmother could ride this one. I'm sure I sound like ancient Old School but, wtf, how much does a Harley ever change.
On seeing two columns of Harleys with all looking like this bike, maybe we think, "Hey, y'all! Headed for a Code Pink rally, are you?"
Note: that is not even a faint shot at Code Pink since I fully support what they seek to do.
4 comments:
Traction Control on a bike. What a hideous idea. Traffic lights become more favorabke to run as the takeoff from a green light becomes boring. No more jacking it sideways.
And how could you slide it coming out of a corner.
Might as well add training wheels. Oops harley makes those already
I guess they're probably inevitable but, geez, how twisted. I imagine the first thing comes is the over-ride kit to change the programming. Welcome to the future (larfs).
Might as well ride at Disneyland
Driverless cars. Safe bikes. Just found a use for all those guns
Please shoot me now
I get that sensation a lot (larfs). This endless search for safety is to me like kids blowing bubbles. There's no such thing as perfect safety and the futile pursuit of it just makes people crazy or just weak.
In fact, when I whacked my toe in Italy and really wasted it, I was only trying to walk to the toilet in the middle of the night. If that isn't safe then nothing is! (larfs)
After about a year the nail finally grew back. I couldn't understand why it hurt so much since it looked like I got bloody and leaked a bit but that's not new so why, why, why. Eventually the nail came off altogether. Wow! (larfs)
Perfect safety? Pfft
Post a Comment