Kawasaki could be planning to axe conventional handlebars and replace them with a fixed bar, according to a patent design they have filed for an electric motorcycle.
Instead of a moveable handlebar for counter steering inputs, the rider holds on to fixed bars with a throttle and simply leans.
The patent application says electronic sensors and accelerometers will detect what the rider wants to do and will steer the bike accordingly.
This is definitely not a design for lazy riders!
We’re also not sure how it would work at low speed when the rider doesn’t lean.
The patent drawings also show front and rear steering with the wheels supported by mono shock suspension and electric motors in the hubs.
Planning for the future
Like Honda, Kawasaki has been busy filing patent applications for all sorts of strange inventions.
None or all many eventually come to market.
It seems they are just planning for the future and trying to protect their intellectual property, no matter how zany the idea.
Some of the other recent planning ideas for which Kawasaki has filed patent applications include:
In the future, your emotions could be monitored by household appliances and sent to your motorcycle to govern the way it is ridden.
This is the scenario being considered by Honda which has filed for a patent.
The Japanese auto manufacturer hasn’t supplied a lot of details except for a crude drawing of appliances and how they all communicate with each other like Amazon’s Alexa.
Emotions
For example, it might know you were up late watching TV, so it might suggest you grab a cup of coffee before your ride.
Or perhaps your selection of heavy metal music or slamming the front door indicates anger and might then regulate the speed of your motorcycle.
On the flip side, if you’ve been watching depressing movies or eating lots of ice cream, your household appliances may think you are depressed and suggest a burn on your bike!
It is both interesting and quite scary to think your house could determine your mood and then adjust your motorcycle’s throttle, brakes, traction control, speed limiter and suspension.
As yet it is just a hazy notion for a patent application.
We’re not sure how a patent would even apply!
Honda patents
Honda patent for variable riding position
It should be noted that Honda has been busy this past year filing a host of interesting patents:
All, some or none of these patents could make it into production.
Honda just seems to be applying for a bunch of patents to protect their intellectual property.
It’s a shame they don’t put their efforts into providing more relevant motorcycles.
Honda has been busy this past year filing several interesting patents including the most recent for active aero and direct injection, possibly in the Africa Twin (above).
Active aero is like those cars that deploy a rear spoiler at certain speeds, only this deploys MotoGP-style winglets.
Ducati winglets
Direct injection is widely used in diesel engines to improve efficiency and decrease emissions. Basically it squirts the fuel at high pressure directly into the combustion chamber.
These new patents join the following over the past year:
Not all of these may make it into production, but these latest two patents seem more commonsense.
Active aero
The patent drawings for Honda’s active aero system seem to show a new sportsbike with an inline-four engine.
It features winglets with servo motors that deploy at certain speeds to increase downforce.
Several MotoGP bikes, Ducati’s V4, Aprilia’s RSV4 and their upcoming RS660 all have fixed winglets.
Aprilia RS 660
Honda’s active aero idea to have winglets attached to servo motors to deploy them at high speed makes a lot of sense as the winglets are only effective at high speed anyway.
Although we wonder whether the extra weight of the servo motors and cabling will cancel out the added efficiency of the winglets.
Suzuki Motorcycles has filed its second patent for a major upgrade to its Hayabusa speed demon with semi-automatic transmission.
The ageing Hayabusa has only had two major upgrades in its 17-year history as the world’s fastest production motorcycles of the last century.
While many are expecting turbo or supercharger technology, the two patents so far have been for a semi-automatic transmission.
The first patent in February 2018 details how actuators will be used to control clutch engagement and the shifting of gears.
Suzuki automatics patents in Hayabusa
So it’s not totally automatic as riders would still need to change gears but without the need to use a clutch.
While the patent application used a drawing of a Hayabusa, it was not necessarily meant for that bike.
Second patent
However, the second patent describes the gear position sensor, confirming that it is destined for the Hayabusa.
Second Hayabusa GSX1300
The rest of the drawings show the bike much as it is now which means it could probably be powered by the same 1340cc in-line four-cylinder engine with 148kW of power.
However, there is talk of a 1400cc version and possibly forced induction.
Suzuki president Toshihiro Suzuki has confirmed that Suzuki engineers are working on the new bike, but has not said when it would be due.
He says it will follow the same style, but gain several electronic riding aids.
Beccie Ellis on her Hayabusa Turbo
There is not much they can do with the styling as the bike was designed to be aerodynamically stable at high speeds.
It was apparently designed on paper by aerodynamic experts, but not tested in a wind tunnel until several years later when it was confirmed the aero theories actually worked.
So when it was updated in 2008 and 2017, there was no need to change the shape.
Auto push
The push toward automatics and semi-auto transmission is gaining momentum.
While most automatic two-wheelers are scooters with CVT, there is a growing list of motorcycles with auto or semi-auto clutchless transmissions.
And many electric motorcycles are virtually automatic because the electric motor can be used as a direct-drive unit. It is similar to turning up the volume on an amplifier or turning up the “suck” on your vacuum cleaner.
Harley-Davidson employs this drive on their LiveWire electric motorcycle.
We have also heard unconfirmed reports that Harley has invested in American clutch company Rekluse which makes aftermarket auto clutches for Harleys.
Harley-Davidson is joining Bosch, Ducati and KTM in developing motorcycle adaptive cruise control, but with a special feature that allows for group riding.
The company has recently applied to the US Patent Office for a patent on its system.
Adaptive cruise
Many touring motorcycles now come with cruise control and adaptive cruise is the next step.
Ducati even announced they would introduce it and blind spot awareness in “every” 2020 model! We will see when they release their 2020 model line-up on October 23.
Staggered riding
Harley riders love a parade.
If you’re wondering how this would affect Harley group rides where they ride in close, staggered formation, fear not. Harley is cleverly planning something a little different.
Adaptive cruise control uses radar sensors to detectvehicles in front and varies your vehicle’s speed accordingly.
It keeps your vehicle a pre-determined distance behind that varies with your speed. Some allow you to select a certain timed gap, such as two seconds and up to about five seconds.
But motorcycles may be a little different because two motorcycles can legally share the same lane in some jurisdictions and group rides tend to run in a staggered formation.
While the bike directly in front may be a safe distance away, the bike in the other wheel track, but the same lane can be a lot closer. That would interfere with adaptive cruise control.
But that’s where Harley’s system is a little different.
It recognises the difference between cars and motorcycles.
Safer group rides?
The system also allows the rider to select which vehicle they want to adapt their speed to, allowing safe staggered-formation rides at any speed.
Hopefully the controls aren’t too fiddly or it could become a distraction, rather than a safety device.
Harley has also applied for a patent for an automatic braking system which would no doubt be linked into this tech to make group riding safer.
Imagine a seat that slides with the riders when they move sideways out of their seat for corners or forward and back for aerodynamic effect.
Now Finnish engineering company Etteplan has received a patent for a seat that slides sideways and forward and back with the rider.
The seat has been tested by disabled Finnish racer Ulla Kulju who was paralysed at 15 in a snowboarding accident.
Ulla
She works as a Senior Design Engineer at Etteplan and is the world’s first paraplegic female motorcycle racer, coming sixth in the disabled world championships 2017.
Perhaps it would be useful for disabled riders, but we’re not so sure it would be useful for other riders.
What would prevent it sliding around and upsetting the rider’s control?
The company says the invention would be useful for all racers and helped Ulla improve her lap times.
Not only has the patent been granted for the seat, but also the manufacturing process as it is 3D printed in one piece.
Printing motorcycle parts on 3D printers looks like being the future of motorcycling for precise and cheap manufacturer.
BMW’s infamous C1 scooter with a roof looks like it might be back on the drawing board, according to these 2017 patent drawings which have just surfaced.
The German company currently has five scooters: the C 650 GT, C 650 Sport, C 400 X and C 400 GT, plus the C Evolution electric scooter which has not yet been imported to Australia.
BMW C Evolution electric scooter
These patent drawings show what looks like a detachable roof with rear storage area on the electric scooter, but it may also be adapted for the petrol-powered models.
It could even be retrofitted to current models.
Retrofit roof
This is not the first time BMW has thought about bringing back the scooter roof. In 2009, BMW’s first electric scooter was the roofed C1-E concept, powered by a Vectrix motor.
C1-E concept
Roof failure
The whole idea of a motorcycle or scooter is to experience freedom from the cage of cars.
Adding a roof to a motorcycle or scooter not only looks ridiculous, but also makes it heavier and more unwieldy to ride because of its high centre of gravity.
Old C1 scooters can still be seen in crowded European cities such as Paris, but it was a dismal flop around the rest of the civilised world.
C1
The idea was to attract car drivers to two wheels. In some countries, riders of the C1 were even allowed to go helmet-less!
Given the sales flop of the C1 which was only built from 2000 to 2002, you have to ask why BMW would consider its reintroduction?
Hopefully, the BMW patent doesn’t give safety nannies the idea that the introduction of a scooter with a protective cage and seatbelt is the answer to two-wheeled injuries and deaths.
Details of the Aprilia RS 660 production bike have been revealed in patent drawings that show the Italian company’s intention to go turn the concept into reality.
The concept twin was revealed at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan last November.
It is powered by two cylinders from a Tuono/RSV4 1100 engine as a 660c parallel twin.
Now, patent images have shown a planned production bike with much of the concept’s features, including MotoGP style winglets, twin LED headlights, asymmetrically mounted rear monoshock and upside-down telescopic front forks.
The concept’s suspension was supplied by Ohlins.
The Italian company said the RS 660 supersport project was aimed at younger riders.
They also said it would be the “development base for a wider range that intends to make Aprilia a key player in an extremely strategic market segment in Europe, but also in Asia and the American market”.
So the patent drawings may not necessarily be the only version to hit the market. We expect there could also be a naked version and maybe even a tourer or adventure bike.
RS 660 aero
Most notable is the aero, which is now a prominent feature of most MotoGP bikes.
Aprilia said the Concept RS 660 was developed out of a “series of aerodynamic studies” in a wind tunnel.
The aero components appear to be coming to the production model, based on the patent drawings.
With fuel economy top of mind and emissions regulations tightening, motorcycle manufacturers are looking for ways to compete and aero remains one of the biggest hurdles to motorcycles, even more so than big, bulky cars.
Aprilia’s Concept RS 660 features a unique “variable front section” which can adjust air flow direction to vary downforce.
The RS 600 has a large saddle and a comfortable riding position to suit most rider sizes. However, there is no pillion seat on the concept or the patent drawings.
It is supported by a lightweight aluminium frame and swingarm with the engine as a stressed element.
The right arm of the swingarm has a curved shape to accomodate the exhaust, while the shock absorber mount is mounted directly to the swingarm with no linkage to reduce weight.
Honda has been going crazy with some equally crazy patents lately but the latest patent applications for a variable riding position and drum brakes are both brilliant and bizarre.
Recent Honda patent applications include:
Variable riding position
We think the idea of a variable riding position is absolutely brilliant.
Cars have had multi-adjustable seats and steering wheels for years to cater for all sizes, but most motorbikes have very little adjustment.
Now Honda’s patent drawings show a CBR1000RR Fireblade that can convert from a sports bike with a crouched riding position to a street bike with an upright position.
It would be great for ageing riders who want a sports bike but can no longer bear the intolerably uncomfortable riding position.
Adjustable bars
The clever Honda patent features clip-on handlebars that can be raised along extendable tubes at the touch of a button.
It also features an adjustable windscreen.
Many bikes have powered adjustable screens that move up and down.
However, this is attached via a scissor-style mechanism so it not only rises, but becomes more upright.
Adjustable windscreen
The patent drawing also shows that the bike is fitted with their “climate” seat.
It’s a shame the seat doesn’t also adjust for height.
Drum brakes
This is where Honda’s patents get weird.
Drum brakes faded out on most bikes years ago just as drum brakes faded under excessive use from heat build-up.
However, hipsters have sparked a new love for old-style bikes such as the popular Yamaha SR400 with its rear drum brake.
Yamaha SR400 with drum brake
This latest Honda patent drawing shows a single-cylinder bike with drums both front and rear.
There doesn’t seem to be any extra cooling to mitigate fading and no reference to linking the brakes or ABS as now required by law.
Maybe this is a patent for a small-capacity bike for countries south East Asia and Africa where those safety technologies are not yet mandated.
Is this the upcoming Indian Raptor? (Image from a leaked brochure)
It is thought the engine was originally developed as the Victory Freedom V2 engine before Polaris axed the brand.
So what’s happening with the current air/oil-cooled Thunderstroke in the Chief, Roadmaster and Springfield models?
According to the latest patent filings in the US, the Thunderstroke will be updated with variable valve timing, most likely to meet stringent Euro 5 emissions targets being introduced from January 2020.
Indian VVT engine patent drawings
VVT spreads
Variable valve timing has been around for ages in cars and is known as VVT-i and VVTL-i in Toyota, MIVEC in Mitsubishi, VVL in Nissan and VANOS by Ford, BMW, Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Honda was the first to introduce it to motorcycles and it is now being progressively introduced to other Japanese and European motorcycles such as BMW, Ducati, Suzuki and Yamaha.
BMW’s 1250cc Shiftcam Boxer engine with variable valve timing
Already many of our popular motorcycle models have been axed because they can’t meet the Euro 4 requirements and more are likely to be axed next year under Euro 5.
One of the solutions to the tighter emissions laws could be variable valve timing which makes the engine more flexible in different conditions, resulting in increased fuel economy, lower emissions and improved performance, particularly torque.
If Indian is planning on VVT, we can also expect compatriot Harley-Davidson to be developing something similar.
