{"id":12505,"date":"2017-04-04T12:11:15","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T02:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/?p=12505"},"modified":"2017-04-05T21:56:29","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T11:56:29","slug":"weird-sexy-world-gyroscopic-motorbikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/weird-sexy-world-gyroscopic-motorbikes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Weird and Sexy World Of Gyroscopic Motorbikes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"intro\">We are all time travellers. We just do it at a rate of one second per second,\u00a0which can make the\u00a0progress seem less than spectacular. But, with technology in the midst of an ever-magnifying boom, we are now tantalisingly close to a time in which the machines we drool over in sci-fi films can be drooled over in our own garages.<\/p>\n<p>While personal teleportation devices and jetpacks are still a fair way off, the transportation methods that will soon be available to us are still pretty bad ass. The latest electric, gyroscopic and robotic motorbikes are definitely worthy of a look (and a little bit of drool).<\/p>\n<h2>BMW&#8217;s Vision Next: weird but sexy<\/h2>\n<p>Revealed for BMW&#8217;s 100th birthday, the Vision Next is reminiscent of something you&#8217;d see in a comic book. Rather than looking back on past achievements, the company claim they are looking forward, focussed on the next 100 years. Hence the &#8220;Vision Next&#8221; moniker.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"BMW Vision Next 100 electric motorcycle\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R8rV6s_irKE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The futuristic bike\u00a0comes with a digital companion that offers guidance to help you level-up your riding skills. If you have an attention fail, it will take over to\u00a0steer you off your path to\u00a0disaster. You&#8217;ll basically be Judge Dredd, just without the iconic helmet; because BMW say their bike is so safe you won&#8217;t need one.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12521\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12521\" style=\"width: 654px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12521 size-full\" src=\"\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/dredd-bike-jdh.jpg\" alt=\"Judge Dredd Bike\" width=\"654\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magmedia.machines4u.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/04095318\/dredd-bike-jdh.jpg 654w, https:\/\/magmedia.machines4u.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/04095318\/dredd-bike-jdh-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/magmedia.machines4u.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/04095318\/dredd-bike-jdh-500x367.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 654px) 100vw, 654px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12521\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\">Image Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/2000ad.wordpress.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">2000ad<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While helmets may be optional, the design does come with protective gear. It is made to be compatible with special\u00a0clothing that has sensors able to\u00a0detect if your body is too close to the road and instruct the bike to adjust accordingly.<\/p>\n<h2>Lit Motors&#8217; C1: just plain weird<\/h2>\n<p>The CI looks like a car that&#8217;s had a midlife crisis and decided to try out being a motorbike. Because motorbikes are cool. The awkward little vehicle has some extreme levels of torque (more than 1700N.m), generated by its twin gyros. The makers claim it would take a baby elephant with a grudge machines to knock it over.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mU-NGPOOMVM&#038;spfreload=5\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mU-NGPOOMVM&amp;spfreload=5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You will need a motorbike licence to take it for a spin but, since it&#8217;s fully enclosed, no helmet is required. Apart from its gyroscopic technology, the vehicle is also electric meaning you can recharge it like your phone instead of having to stop at a servo. If you like the look of the bike-car hybrid, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/litmotors.com\/reserve\/\" target=\"_blank\">jump on the Lit Motors website and reserve one<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Honda&#8217;s non-gyroscopic ride assist technology<\/h2>\n<p>Gyroscopes aren&#8217;t the only way to keep a bike upright. Honda\u2019s latest prototype uses robotic technology instead of\u00a0gyros, allowing it to keep the weight of the bike lower than its gyroscopic competitors. The technology is a far more staunch-looking\u00a0evolution of the company&#8217;s odd little\u00a0&#8220;UNI-CUB&#8221; self-balancing mobility devices (which look like penguins when you&#8217;re not using them and mobile toilets when you are).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12552\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12552\" style=\"width: 230px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12552\" src=\"\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/penguin-bikes.jpg\" alt=\"penguin bikes\" width=\"230\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magmedia.machines4u.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/04112116\/penguin-bikes.jpg 320w, https:\/\/magmedia.machines4u.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/04112116\/penguin-bikes-274x300.jpg 274w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12552\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\">Penguin inspired design. Image Credit: <a href=\"http:\/\/world.honda.com\/UNI-CUB\/introduction\/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Honda<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12553\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12553\" style=\"width: 202px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12553\" src=\"\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/toilet-bikes.jpg\" alt=\"toilet bikes\" width=\"202\" height=\"253\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12553\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\">A new meaning to portaloo. Image Credit: <a href=\"http:\/\/world.honda.com\/UNI-CUB\/introduction\/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Honda<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Looking much more boss than its predecessor, the prototype bike&#8217;s balancing system is computer-controlled at low speeds. A\u00a0small, individual motor adjusts\u00a0steering to keep it balanced. The mechanism, which is tucked up beneath\u00a0the headlight, extends the front fork, giving it\u00a0a negative trail so the bike won&#8217;t tip,\u00a0even when you&#8217;re at a complete stand-still. While it won&#8217;t be on the market for some time, it&#8217;s an exciting glimpse into where robotics can take us in the future.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Honda Riding Assist\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VH60-R8MOKo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are all time travellers. We just do it at a rate of one second per second,\u00a0which can make the\u00a0progress seem less than spectacular. But, with technology in the midst of an ever-magnifying boom, we are now tantalisingly close to a time in which the machines we drool over in sci-fi films can be drooled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9853],"tags":[10702,10704,10705,10701,10706,10703,8334],"yst_prominent_words":[832,10720,1386,10714,10713,10709,3120,10707,145,707,10719,10717,1405,5085,10710,7828,9347,907,601,10096],"class_list":["post-12505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fast-machines","tag-bmw","tag-electric-motorbike","tag-futuristic-bikes","tag-gyroscopic","tag-gyroscopic-motorcycle","tag-lit-motors","tag-motorbikes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12505"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.machines4u.com.au\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=12505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}