Honda has been busy recently applying for patents for a range of out-there inventions including this helmet that integrates with the bike and monitors for of an impending rear-ender.
The helmet features a rear-facing camera that monitors traffic behind the rider.
This information is sent to a processing unit which detects a fast-approaching vehicle and sends a visual warning to the rider via the motorcycle’s instruments.
Rear-ender crashes are among the most common involving motorcycles, so this could be a useful safety device.
Honda helmet radar monitors for rear-enders
Bike radar monitors for crash
It is similar to systems already found in many cars. Now it appears to be coming to motorcycles.
There are several problems with integrating such technology into a helmet.
It makes the helmet heavier, more expensive, limits the choice of helmet that can be used with the bike, and, since helmets should be changed every five years, it would be obsolete long before the motorcycle.
Remote key fobs are almost universal in cars, but only a few luxury motorcycle brands offer them.
Most Harleys have remote key fobs
They can be handy for riders.
How many times have you put your gloves on and then had to take them off to dig your keys out of your pants pocket?
It’s hardly an inconvenience,but anything that seems to add convenience is an extra selling point for a vehicle.
However, the problem with a helmet that acts as a key fob is that after about five years you should replace your helmet and we expect this lid would be quite expensive.
The other drawback is that it would add weight to the helmet.
Upcoming smart helmets already have a lot of included technology such as head-up display, 360-degree cameras, bluetooth units and more.
Honda has been granted a patent for a leaning trike possibly powered by the Goldwing six-cylinder engine, a V-twin or electric motor.
Honda’s patent granted
The Japanese company filed for the patent with the European Patent Office in August 2016 after the Neowing leaning three-wheel concept (pictured above) was unveiled at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.
The filing has just been granted and published on March 20, 2019.
It follows another patent filing in January for a patent for the power steering for the trike.
Neowing patent drawings (Image: Morebikes.co.uk)
Like the Yamaha Niken and Can-Am Spyder, this trike roadster has two front wheels rather than the traditional two back wheels.
While the Spyder and most other trikes don’t lean, the Honda and Yamaha models do.
Yamaha Niken
The Honda patent also shows their leaning trike may be powered by either a two- or a six-cylinder engine, possibly the 1833cc Goldwing flat six with 94kW of power and 170Nm of torque.
Their patent document also says the engine “may be configured such that the driving source includes an electric motor.”
Honda’s patent
The Neowing concept featured a four-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine with electric motors in each wheel, but they are not included in the patent.
Leaning trike
Riding motorcycles is all about leaning into the corner, something which a trike usually can’t do.
However, we’ve ridden several leaning three-wheeled scooters and they are great fun.
The advantages are more front-end grip, better handling and increased braking performance.
Honda’s leaning trike
The disadvantages are extra weight and price.
The Niken is based on the triple-cylinder MT-09 which sells for $12,299 (plus on-road costs) up to $15,499 for the Tracer model and $16,999 for the Tracer GT.
Niken starts at $21,999 which is about a third more expensive!
It’s also beefier. The MT-09 weighs about 188kg and the Niken is a hefty 263kg.
Niken
Honda’s patent looks a lot more complex, heavy and expensive.
It would need a powerful engine to cope with the extra weight and power requirements of the steering system.
If it includes a low-speed locking system like the MP3 scooter that prevents it falling over when you stop, it would be great for mature-aged Goldwing riders who can no longer hold up a big bike.
Some might say these leaning three-wheelers are not strictly motorcycles.
But if they provide the same thrill as a motorcycle, yet with more grip, who cares!
If you get sweaty in the crotch riding your motorcycle, you may be interested in Honda’s plans to develop a climate-controlled seat that heats and cools your backside.
It’s like many luxury cars that have venting in the seats to pump in warm or cool air.
In these drawings it seems to be pumped via a duct under the perforated seat.
The plan is revealed in a patent application image that shows a control button on the handlebar switchgear.
It appears the drawing is of a previous-generation Fireblade, but we suspect it will also be used on their Goldwing and perhaps their sports and adventure tourers.
Honda has apparently conducted wind-tunnel tests for the climate-controlled seat.
While it appears the system uses hot air from around the radiator for heating and fresh air from the ram air intake for cooling, there is no air-conditioning to reduce the air temperature.
Controlling the climate
However, there are several air-conditioning patents and inventions that hope to control the climate for the rider.
Another Honda patent is for a stand-alone, tank-mounted air-conditioning unit.
Honda’s air-conditioning patent design
It draws hot air through mesh openings in the sides of a tank bag and passes it over an ice pack stored underneath and a blower powered by rechargeable batteries to blow cool at the rider.
His airconditioning unit features thermoelectric cooling that uses electricity to release cold air. It is similar to those used in wine coolers and mini fridges.
Riding in a hot climate is not only uncomfortable but can be unsafe.
However, they tell us they have changed their business model and now we are working with a manufacturer who will take the product to market. We will keep you updated on progress.
Because AC units are usually bulky, some of the “solutions” feature units that are mounted on the bike.
For example, the bulky 4.5kg BikeAir unit sits on the back seat of the bike and plugs into a special jacket that allows the cool air to flow through.
Suzuki Motorcycles have developed a radar reflector, not to detect or jam a police speed radar, but to make motorcycles easier for hi-tech cars to detect them.
In fact, the radar reflector could make motorcycles easier for police to detect with radar guns!
Suzuki have filed a patent in Japan for the radar reflector.
There is no word yet from Suzuki about whether they will make or fit the reflectors to their motorcycles.
The reflectors would react with various automotive collision avoidance systems such as blind spot alert, as well as the coming wave of autonomous vehicles.
Drawing from Suzuki’s patent application
Radar reflector
The Suzuki patent might help address the valid concern that autonomous vehicles and various collision avoidance systems have difficulty detecting vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.
While cyclists and pedestrians may not be able to carry radar reflectors, they could easily be included on a motorcycle.
But it’s yet another piece of technology that creates extra expense and puts the emphasis on motorists trusting technology rather than their own crash-avoidance skills.
While most riders like to expose themselves to the elements, there have always been inventors trying to make the ultimate airconditioning unit to cool riders.
The latest comes from Bruce Hammond of Hammond Brothers Motorsports, Colorado, who has invented a turbofan that blows cold air at the rider from the handlebars.
Bruce with his AC turbofan
Bruce, 35, says motorcycles are not always going fast but spend a lot of time going slow in traffic when it can get very hot.
His airconditioning unit features thermoelectric cooling that uses electricity to release cold air. It is similar to those used in wine coolers and mini fridges.
It’s a much more compact system than large compressor units that circulate liquid refrigerant.
Bruce invented his airconditioning unit after living and riding in Florida’s oppressive heat.
It took him more than four years to develop and cost him $US21,000 to secure two vital patents for his design.
So far he only has produce cumbersome-looking prototypes and has not yet gone into production.
We wish him luck.
Another example of Bruce’s cool AC fan (Images provided by Bruce)
Airconditioning riders
Riding in hot conditions is not only uncomfortable but can be unsafe.
However, we have not been able to get in touch with the company for an update.
Because AC units are usually bulky, some of the “solutions” feature units that are mounted on the bike.
For example, the bulky 4.5kg BikeAir unit sits on the back seat of the bike and plugs into a special jacket that allows the cool air to flow through.
EntroSys BikeAir motorcycle air-conditioner
Honda has also patented a stand-alone, tank-mounted air-conditioning unit, but it has not yet hit the market.
It draws hot air through mesh openings in the sides of the tank bag and passes it over an ice pack stored underneath and a blower powered by rechargeable batteries to blow cool at the rider.
BMW Motorrad is seeking a patent for a hybrid drive motorcycle with a boxer engine and a back-up electric motor that would also act as a starter motor.
At the time, BMW Motorrad Australia GM Andreas Lundgren said there was a “very thin border between fact and fiction in their pranks … the concept is plausible”.
He seems to be right, according to these recently released simplistic patent drawings filed with the German patent office on August 8, 2017.
The April Fool’s Day press release declared it would be called xDrive Hybrid and include an electric motor in the front wheel hub as developed by their automobile engineers for hybrid vehicles. That would make it a two-wheel-drive bike.
However, the patent filing is not for a two-wheel-drive bike.
Hybrid drive
Instead, it’s for a hybrid drive bike with the electric motor and boxer engine delivering power to the rear wheel.
They would be connected by a planetary gear system with a torque-limiting slip clutch on the electric motor driving the crank.
The electric motor would also function as a starter motor and generator, converting mechanical power from the boxer engine into electricity.
Being a hybrid drive system, BMW could reduce the size of the boxer engine and appease stringent Euro 5 emissions targets due in 2020.
April Fool’s Day pranksters
The Bavarian jokesters are famous for their April Fool’s Day jokes, having begun running spoof advertisements on April 1 in the early 1980s.
BMW’s marketing department says April Fool jokes are “designed to teeter on the verge of credibility” and often focus on a new and revolutionary piece of technology, but “push the idea just beyond the plausible.”
Some of their other April 1 pranks were a self-cleaning car, remote-inflatable tyres, dog-repellent bumpers, tyres that melted snow and a self-driving car that follows you when you go for a jog. This appears to be their first motorcycle prank.
Two-wheel-drive future?
But is BMW still interested in a two-wheel-drive adventure motorcycle?
There have been several other two-wheel-drive motorcycles before, most notably Yamaha’s 2WD system called 2-TRAC. They used it to tackle the Dakar Rally but it never made it into mass production.
The idea is not dead yet with Yamaha, either. Their PES2 electric bike is 2WD and the Japanese company recently filed a patent for a new 2WD system with an electric motor driving the front wheel.
Other 2WD products and concepts include the Christini dirt bikes, Suzuki Nuda concept, Rokon, Ural 2WD outfits and Australia’s own Drysdale stroker which was intended for the Australian Army.
Drysdale Dryvtech
Rokon
But the biggest hint that BMW may actually be considering a 2WD bike comes from BMW accessories company Wunderlich.
The Wunderlich invention is basically a 7.6kW electric hub motor in the front wheel that neatly fits inside the ABS ring.
It sounds very similar to what BMW proposed in their 2017 April 1 press release.
Wunderlich 2WD BMW R 1200 GS
Many online sites fell for that joke, but they weren’t the only ones playing pranks that year.
Other pranks included an Australian Government law to make all bikes water-cooled, Holden producing motorcycles, Triumph introducing a HandleWheel to replace the handlebars and the American Transportation Department requiring all bikes to be fitted with a $35 limiter that restricted top speed to 75mph (120km/h). The latter caused much angst and confusion among riders!
At Motorbike Writer, we report the news and don’t play pranks with our readers.
This is from the BMW Motorrad April 1, 2017, press release on the “xDrive Hybrid” bike:
All-wheel drive can be operated automatically or manually by the rider via the 2WD (Two-Wheel Drive) switch located on the left handlebar operation unit. It activates the wheel-hub e-Drive system which functions both as electric motor and generator. With the additional output of 33 kW (45 hp) and overall 125 kW (170 hp) system performance, the innovative all-wheel drive system opens up a whole new dimension of performance and off-road suitability.
A new generation of batteries, derived from BMW i battery technology, stores the energy recuperated during braking. The e-Drive system on the front wheel is supplied with this energy and the R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid rider can use it for accelerating in addition to the power delivered by the combustion engine. Thanks to sophisticated management technology the power is always supplied to the front wheel in the right amount and appropriately depending on the riding situation. This means that the front wheel only receives the amount of power as the traction conditions permit – for example in wet or deep snow conditions. The rider can use a number of riding modes to customise how the all-wheel drive system operates and adjust the hybrid system’s recuperation strategies to suit his needs. Everything can be controlled using the innovative LCD display.
Optimised braking performance and balanced weight ratio thanks to intelligent recuperation and single disc brake.
Apart from the significant advantages achieved with regard to ride performance, the xDrive Hybrid all-wheel drive also benefits braking greatly. Thanks to the recuperation process, which has been integrated into the BMW Motorrad ABS system, braking performance has been improved even further.
This intelligent combined solution also made it possible to reduce the conventional double-disc hydraulic braking system at the front to a single-disc brake system thereby saving approximately 2.9 kilograms of weight. In combination with the wheel hub e-Drive, which only weighs 880 grams, the bike’s agility was also optimised. Thanks to the bike’s positive weight balance, the weight level of the current R 1200 GS Adventure could be maintained in spite of the additional hybrid all-wheel technology.
This bike will get you anywhere, on any surface – even to the North pole.
In the past months the test version of the new R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid covered countless thousands of kilometres in the toughest of riding conditions. The most extreme demands were placed on the bike last winter, when Reiner Scherbeck, the head of winter testing at BMW Motorrad, rode it to the North Cape on a first stage and from there across the frozen Barents Sea to the North Pole and back again.
Scherbeck: “We were absolutely amazed how problem-free and reliable the all-wheel drive worked even at minus 56 degrees. Thanks to our functional BMW rider equipment, the cold temperatures were no problem for the rider, too. Probably the most thrilling conclusion we can draw from our test runs, is that for the first time we can offer a motorcycle that makes riding a motorcycle a pleasure at snow depths of 1.25 metres in high winter with the new R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid. Special front section components have also been developed for this purpose as well as high-speed suitable M+S all-season tyres. This was also necessary in order to meet the necessary requirements for high-speed winter operation.”
The new BMW R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid will be presented to the public in a suitable location very soon. It will be available from the second half of 2017. BMW Motorrad will announce special tyre combinations and optional equipment features as well as the official sales price at a later date.
