Canada’s
M ost
Re a d
M o to rcyclin g
Community
N ews p ap e r
issue 06
JULY 2018
Sprockets
Automated vehicle technology for 2 wheels
It’s not only cars and trucks: Some companies are starting to focus on making motorcycles safer with automated-driving technology. Exposed to the elements and operating on two wheels instead of four, motorcyclists are particularly defenseless in the event of a crash. Yet there’s been little innovation in the motorcycle safety industry until recently. Earlier this year, major auto parts supplier Bosch announced it was working on driver-assistance systems for motorcycles, like adaptive cruise control, which accelerates and decelerates to avoid potential collisions. Before that, a Canadian startup called Damon X Labs also launched with the intention of creating a similar system for motorcycles. Now, Israel-based startup Ride Vision is also working on rider safety features for motorcycles. For now, Ride Vision is focused on creating an alert system that uses relatively inexpensive front- and rearview cameras to give a 360-degree view of the motorcycle’s immediate surroundings. The system uses lights attached to the motorcycle’s mirrors to alert the motorcyclist when there is a chance of collision — whether there’s a car passing or the rider is leaning too hard. The idea would be to build these systems into future bikes from traditional motorcycle manufacturers. While some of the self-driving sensors and systems are the same between cars and motorcycles, it’s a notably different product. For one, because most motorcycle usage — and some 97 percent of motorcycle accidents — occurs in good weather conditions, it’s less important to design systems for rain or snow. That means cameras may be sufficient for their vision systems — and expensive radar or lidar sensors may not be necessary, according to Ride Vision co-founder Uri Lavi. That has the potential to cut the cost and time to integrate these systems into production vehicles. Another difference relates to the driving mechanics of a motorcycle. While driver-assistance systems for cars typically incorporate automatic emergency braking, it’s actually less safe to force a motorcycle to stop abruptly, according to Lavi. Depending on the situation, it may make more sense to speed up or slow the motorcycle to avoid collision. “It can’t brake like a car,” Lavi told Recode. “You’ll kill the driver.” While the mechanics are different, the automated motorcycle industry will likely move in a similar direction as the autonomous car industry. Considering the systems’ relatively low demands for hardware costs and capabilities, there may also be an opportunity to sell direct to consumers. It’s unlikely Ride Vision, Bosch and the few others in the space will be alone for much longer. The death rate alone is reason enough for new and existing players to look at making motorcycles safer.
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If you haven’t noticed, the traditional American motorcycle companies (hint there’s only two of them) seriously lag behind the rest of the world’s manufacturers when it comes to brand diversity. For Indian Motorcycle and Harley-Davidson, the rule of thumb is cruisers or bust, but Indian is breaking that tradition with the all-new FTR 1200, and it’s about
Indian FTR 1200
damn time. When Indian announced the streetlegal FTR 1200 would go into production, it made sure to mention it would be obviously related to the FTR750 flat track racer and the one-off FTR1200 Custom that made rounds at last year’s motorcycle shows. Indian Motorcycle Senior Designer Rich Christoph said, “We wanted
to make sure that the FTR 1200 wasn’t merely a regurgitation of the FTR1200 Custom, but something uniquely ‘street,’ albeit flat track inspired.” Hopefully, that translates to more civilized exhaust pipes to meet emissions and swapping the carbon fiber for something more affordable to keep the price down. Everything else continued on PG. 03 needs to stay.
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