WITH COVID-19 seeming to change the motorcycle landscape, it is really no surprise that manufacturers are looking at new and innovative ways to tempt commuters away from traditional modes of transport and onto two wheels.
One factory that is seeming to take the theme of innovative, alternative transport more seriously than any other is Yamaha. It already has the MOTOBOT concept, that sees a robot ride a Yamaha R1 by totally autonomous means, and also the MOTOROiD idea, that can either be ridden by a human or sent to a predetermined location.
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Now though, the firm has confirmed it is working on a new bike that is incapable of falling over. The news came at an online presentation for the new Tricity 300 in Japan. In the live stream, Takuya Kinoshita, Yamaha's general manager of Motorcycle Business Operations, laid out the firm’s plans running until 2030, confirming that the project will form part of a series of vehicles (so we assume they are not just traditional bikes) that will push forward the concept of innovative mobility.
While details regarding how the range to look are still firmly under wraps, we can look to Yamaha’s previous concepts and patents to give us a clue of what they may be planning. We’ve already mentioned the MOTOROiD and MOTOBOT concepts, and it’s highly likely that the new machines will utilise elements of that tech. But it’s also likely that some form of leaning multi-wheel machine will feature in there two, given the firm's long-standing interest in this sector in particular.
Yamaha are not alone in looking forwards to a crashless future, well, one where bikes are a little harder to crash anyway! Harley-Davidson revealed a self-balancing concept motorcycle earlier this year, with Honda also revealing their Riding Assist system back in 2017. Even automotive technology giant Bosch has had a pop at making motorcycle less crashy, with their April Fools-a-like concept that actually turned out to be genuine. That system used high-pressure jets to keep the bike from hitting the deck.
