Self balancing "motorbike"

[Cloggy]

Heres a film about it

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQgTne7TAGY]C-1 fully-enclosed self-balancing motorcycle - YouTube[/ame]


Here's a link to the story.

Personally I don't think it will catch on, even if it does work

 

[The Toecutter]

LOL That is COOL !! but what happens when the balancer fail's? and it falls on it side.how would one person be able to get out of the road?

 

[SweaterDude]

appears to be electric and prone to skidding or hydroplaning. the guys i ride with have an expression for this sort of thing(includes trikes and other worthless bikes) its TFC which stands for TAKE the F***ING CAR.

 

[ChevyFazer]

If it always tries to stay upright how are you supposed to lean into a turn, or do they expect it to be like a car on 2 wheels

 

[SweaterDude]

it probably tries to remain in equilibrium so when turning it leans in to counter the lateral g's pulling as it turns. but as i stated earlier it appears to be electric so when the battery runs dry.....

 

[rudog]

If this guy is from Texas, I talked to someone who knows him. A short account:

him: "I know a guy who designed a gyro for a bike."
me: "You know, bikes don't work that way!"
him: "Yeh, but, if you park it you don't need a kick stand."
me: "That won't work when you park for the season. It may drain the battery overnight, but, for nubes, it may help when they forget to put a foot down at a stop light!"
everyone else: lol

 

[Fishwiz4]

It might not be as fun as a motorcycle, and may never have a use in this world, but it still looks pretty cool. Gotta give a guy credit for making the science work

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[sniff6]

Why not just buy a smart car???

 

[mikw73]

I thought up a similar design a coupla years back. Decided it would be heavy enough that fuel efficiency and funness to ride would be too poor to be worth giving it much thought. I'm curious to see how it turns out, technically and market-wise.

And "Lit Motors"? Who are these guys, a bunch of burners with CAD software?

 

[fastar1]

What's with all the hate? I fully expect some guy to come on here and say "get a REAL bike muahahaha" or something equally juvenile.

In my view, this is likely to revolutionize transportation. It addresses all the concerns people have with motorcycles and adds a few side benefits as well.

People who won't ride generally don't consider it because they are afraid of losing balance, of losing traction, of being exposed in an accident, and of being exposed to inclement weather. This concept fixes all those concerns, and since it still leans in corners and can surely be made to open up in good weather, it doesn't lose anything to current bikes.

In fact with the enclosed body it should also get phenomenal mileage, and it would surely get a reverse gear for ease of manoevering. Also makes it a lot harder to steal.

Sorry, what are the downsides again? "It's not a bike man!"

Please grandpa, move on.

Some have asked what would happen when the alternator fails? I'm sure it will have a stand f some sort for parking which could also be used to keep the bike upright if it comes to a stop with no electrical power.

 

[Dartanubis]

Its a cool idea and I'm sure alot of people will be interested in it that don't like the idea of riding a current motorcycle due to fact of what the previous guy said, but for me and i'm sure alot of other motorcycle riders it wouldn't be given a thought for the pure fact of riding for fun of controlling the bike itself through tight turns and whatnot and it not being done itself... its just a dumbed down version of a motorcycle kinda like going from a manual car to an automatic with everything done for you basically.

 

[sniff6]

They keep trying to enclose the motorcycle for whatever reason. Safety probably.But the type of person who rides a motorcycle rides it for the freedom and the frill.(or that could be just me).I've been trawling internet as i was sure they tried something very similar in the 70,s.

Quasar Advertising Material


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV4qVbNPX_w]Lochead Quasar Covered Motorcycle - YouTube[/ame]

Yep looked sh1t then and still do today.

 

[degake]

They keep trying to enclose the motorcycle for whatever reason. Safety probably....
I've been trawling internet as i was sure they tried something very similar in the 70,s.

Yep looked sh1t then and still do today.

Just take a look at the BMW C1



But the design was flawed; how do you ride 2 up???
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:ban:

Grtz,


Degake

 

[Dartanubis]

Just take a look at the BMW C1



But the design was flawed; how do you ride 2 up???
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:ban:

Grtz,


Degake

im sorry that is just... why would you buy that what kind of advantage would that give someone to say they wanted it its just an oversized scooter with a huge ass windshield on it or a sorry excuse for half a cage i just dont see the point... sorry for being a negative nancy or w/e lol.

the only safety advantage i can see is just to bury you in it when you get creamed by a truck cause youd be stuck inside...

 

[Clovis]

Looks kind of gay

 

[Dartanubis]

agreed and also states what a said about a coffin for a collision rofl.

 

[SweaterDude]

What's with all the hate? I fully expect some guy to come on here and say "get a REAL bike muahahaha" or something equally juvenile.

In my view, this is likely to revolutionize transportation. It addresses all the concerns people have with motorcycles and adds a few side benefits as well.

People who won't ride generally don't consider it because they are afraid of losing balance, of losing traction, of being exposed in an accident, and of being exposed to inclement weather. This concept fixes all those concerns, and since it still leans in corners and can surely be made to open up in good weather, it doesn't lose anything to current bikes.

In fact with the enclosed body it should also get phenomenal mileage, and it would surely get a reverse gear for ease of manoevering. Also makes it a lot harder to steal.

Sorry, what are the downsides again? "It's not a bike man!"

Please grandpa, move on.

Some have asked what would happen when the alternator fails? I'm sure it will have a stand f some sort for parking which could also be used to keep the bike upright if it comes to a stop with no electrical power.

yes technically its a bike as it has two wheels. but it defeats the purpose of having a bike. if you want to be covered take a car. if you dont ride in the rain because the contact points on a bike are too small with two wheels and its lack of grip makes it prone to sliding, then theres no benefit to this thing for riding in the rain. also, storage space anyone? its not really hating on this machine its just the multiple thoughts on the impracticality of it

 

[fastar1]

yes technically its a bike as it has two wheels. but it defeats the purpose of having a bike. if you want to be covered take a car. if you dont ride in the rain because the contact points on a bike are too small with two wheels and its lack of grip makes it prone to sliding, then theres no benefit to this thing for riding in the rain. also, storage space anyone? its not really hating on this machine its just the multiple thoughts on the impracticality of it

The purpose of a bike is to be in open air? So a Miata is as good as a bike. Or it doesn't count because the drivers legs aren't exposed? That's it, bikes are special because you get wind on your legs! Please. I hope you get more out of riding than that.

And there is a slightly ginourmous difference in wet weather riding with this bike: if the tires slip, it won't fall over it will just slide, like a car. Or maybe that's part of what makes motorcycles special too, crashing when we lose grip? Well hooray for MCs then and boo for the C1, I guess.

 

[pookamatic]

If it always tries to stay upright how are you supposed to lean into a turn, or do they expect it to be like a car on 2 wheels

I think it recognizes steering input to alter the gyro stabilization.

Pretty cool idea. The video, however, needs less ice hockey rink testing... more hot driver.

 

[Water Bear]

Oh, I think I get it.

At first I wondered what the point was. I suspect people drive cars instead of motorcycles because of safety, and this thing is drastically worse than a car in that regard. I also don't think many motorcyclists are interested in a self-balancing bike, since they already drive vehicles that they have to balance themselves, with cars already being an alternative.

Then I remembered that people drive scooters, and this is drastically better than a scooter in the two ways that might be most important to a scooter user -- weather protection and you can't fall over.