Daily motorbike news, views & reviews
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: A helmet that integrates with the bike and monitors for of an impending rear-ender; A helmet that recognises your face when you put …
Yamaha might be going down the blown track like Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Ducati with a patent filing for a turbocharged parallel twin. It follows Kawasaki’s H2 supercharged bike and patent filings by Suzuki and Honda for turbocharged engines, while Ducati applied for a patent for an exhaust system turbine. So it seems the future …
Kawasaki is the latest manufacturer to indicate they will add radar systems to their bikes to detect imminent collisions and either warn riders or intervene with automatic braking. The Japanese manufacturer has filed patents for their system which uses front and rear radars and controls the brakes and throttle. Kawasaki’s patent drawings of what looks …
Honda has filed a patent application for a facial-recognition helmet that would act as a key fob to unlock your motorcycle. It features a camera on the inside that identifies your face and then activates the motorcycle. Don’t expect that this will happen any time soon. It’s sort of an answer to a question no …
Honda is forging ahead with plans for hydrogen fuel-cell motorcycles. A patent for the design which was submitted in late 2017 has just been made public. The design shows a rather conventional bike from the outside with a perimeter frame, telescopic forks and shaft drive. However, and the seat is a hydrogen gas tank and an …
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 …
The big four Japanese manufacturers are believed to be working to standardise electric motorcycle batteries and charging infrastructure. Noted electric vehicle website Electrek says Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki hope to standardise the technology to prevent any obstacles to its adoption. No doubt it’s also hoped to avoid the Beta/VHS situation where new video recording …
Camo motorcycle riding pants were once a big thing and now it looks like urban camouflage paint is coming to motorcycles. Royal Enfield recently launched the Himalayan Street in grey camo and Californian electric motorcycle company Fly Free has a model in grey camo. Now, famous Swiss custom motorcycle company Gannet Design has produced this custom Honda …
The next Honda Goldwing could have emergency brakes that sense a collision and slow the bike automatically. These automatic or emergency braking systems have been endorsed in all new cars made in Europe from 2020. The decision is based on a joint study by Euro NCAP and Australasian NCAP which concluded that automatic emergency brakes …
A Honda Neowing leaning three-wheeler looks likely to be coming soon, possibly as a replacement for the Goldwing. Honda has now applied for a patent for the power steering of its Neowing leaning three-wheel concept (pictured above) unveiled at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. If it does go into production, Honda would be following the bike …