When you’re moving at high speeds, balancing a bike doesn’t usually pose much of a problem. Unfortunately, when you slow down and lose momentum, gravity tends to become a little more insistent, particularly when you’re riding a heavy motorcycle.
At CES 2017, Honda is trying to defy our cruel mistress gravity with its new Ride Assist technology which will keep your bike upright even when it’s stationary.
In fact, Honda’s new technology will keep your stationary bike upright even when you’re not on it.
Defying gravity
Rather than use gyroscopes for balance, which can add unwanted weight to a vehicle, Honda’s Ride Assist is based on and adapted from technology the company is already using in its ASIMO robot and UNI-MO self-balancing scooter.
So, when the Honda motorcyle is moving less than three miles per hour, or is standing completely still, it’s able to enter ‘balance mode’ which sees the bike’s metal forks extend the front wheel away from the main body of the vehicle to provide greater stability.
There’s no word yet on when, or even if, we’ll see this Ride Assist technology rolled out to Honda’s motorcycles en masse. But it’s certainly a useful development and an interesting example of how the company’s research and development projects can be applied across its products.
You can see the clever technology in action below:
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