Canada’s
M ost
Re a d
M o to rcyclin g
Community
N ews p ap e r
issue 05
JUNE 2018
Sprockets Bosch Technology to Make Motorcycles Safer There’s no denying the distinct experience of riding a motorcycle. The completely exposed open-air feel, the visceral involvement of sitting above a roaring engine, and the snap-crackle-pop performance all bring an appeal that cars cannot. What cars do bring are active-safety features, a steel box shielding against external forces, and airbags. In other words, security. But numerous companies are constantly improving both the motorcycles themselves and the gear riders wear for protection. Bosch is currently working on several ways to make riding safer by researching thrusterbased “sliding mitigation,” radar detection systems, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The most science-fiction-like program entails gas thrusters that could act as a fail-safe when riders get into trouble. A sensor would detect sideways wheelslip, and when it surpasses a tipping point, a gas accumulator would spit out gas through a nozzle in the opposite direction from the way the bike is sliding. The aim is to have that force restore the motorcycle’s balance and prevent the rider from going down. A more realistic near certainty is motorcycle-tocar communication. Anybody who has been on a bike knows that riding on two wheels isn’t necessarily inherently more dangerous; it’s the environment that makes it so. If all the machines on the road are able to talk to one another, as is the plan for future infrastructure and a major key to the development of autonomous vehicles, the likelihood and frequency of collisions should decrease. Simply knowing a motorcycle is in the vicinity is half the battle, as many crashes happen due to drivers’ lack of awareness and visibility. Safety programs using radar, which is becoming commonplace in cars, could further enhance motorcycle safety. Bosch is currently working on motorcycle versions of adaptive cruise control, a collision-warning system, and blind-spot recognition. The systems would alert riders of potential danger through a visual signal, an audio warning, or both. Bosch is also improving its ABS systems for quicker and more stable braking, which the company cites as an issue in one of every four crashes, and working on what it claims is “the world’s first all-in-one safety system for two-wheelers,” known as Motorcycle Stability Control (MSC). The MSC system measures lean angle and other bike motions, and it can intervene and adjust braking and acceleration to help the rider maintain full control. With the possible exception of the gas thrusters, none of these seem far-fetched. The technology already exists; it’s just about adapting it to motorcycles. Safer motorcycles would broaden the appeal of this more efficient means of getting where you’re going and having fun along the way.
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It’s the brand new Duke of torque! I always love riding a completely new bike. No matter if it’s a 125 scooter, a 1,600cc custom cruiser, or a 215bhp superbike, I’m like a kid, keen to find out what the tech is, how it goes, what they’ve done that’s new, cool and froody. And when said new bike also comes with an all-new engine, the excitement ramps up another notch. Okay, it’s nice
2018 KTM 790 Duke
to see new chassis tech, novel brake systems, suspension, rider aids blah blah blah. But for me, the engine is the biggest thing, and almost always the defining characteristic. So riding the new KTM 790 Duke was always going to be a big deal. Even more so, since I’d read a load of reviews on it already from the international press launch earlier this year. All the folk whose opinions I respect said good things about it
– the engine, chassis and equipment all getting the thumbs up from the good guys worldwide. Anticipation mounted as I grabbed the KTM key and headed out. There was a mild sense of anticlimax though at first. The new mittel-Duke is a fairly spartan affair from the rider’s seat. Sure, the engine felt strong enough, and rattling up to a nice 80-85mph cruise was rapid. continued on PG. 03
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