Motorcycle manufacturers have introduced ABS and traction control, dual clutches, variable valve timing and lots of other interesting technology, but one thing we haven’t seen yet is night vision. If you’re a rider like Darren Haley and you work for FLIR, a company that makes a lot of thermal imaging equipment for the military, police [...]
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Motorcycle Technology
After all of the teasers, patent drawings and spy shots, Honda has finally introduced their new high tech 2010 VFR1200F. Power comes from a 1237cc liquid-cooled 76-degree V-4, Throttle By Wire, Unicam® valvetrain, optional Dual Clutch Automatic Transmission with manual mode and automatic mode with two D/S modes and paddle-style shifters, Honda slipper clutch in [...]
You can buy a Ducati 1098R with traction control and it’s the kind of bike where you might expect it to appear, hit the hammer hard exiting a corner and the computer keeps you hooked up. Very nice, race oriented tech available on the street. So along comes Kawasaki, with their 2010 Concours 14, offering [...]
If Honda’s dual clutch, which will debut on the new VFR, got your attention, how about a V4 with unequal front and rear cylinder spacing plus cylinder deactivation? These Honda patent drawings show the layout of their new engine with the front cylinders widely spaced and the rear closer together. The connecting rods are mounted [...]
Honda has announced their “Dual Clutch Transmission” for use in large displacement sport bikes. I read through the description of this new bit of technology and it’s pretty interesting, one clutch for odd gears, the other for even gears. Each clutch engages the next gear then, with the assistance of the computer, gradually disengages one [...]
Have you ever noticed how once you start looking for things, they just seem to jump out all over the place, like W configuration engines. After mentioning the Anzani W3 the other day, I came across another one I had never seen before, this one is the Moto Guzzi arrow W103, a 3 cylinder engine [...]
An unplanned wheelie can catch you off guard, but, even when intentional, if it goes too far, it can result in some nasty bruises, road rash, or worse. With all of the stunt guys getting their wheels up, it seems everyone is a wheelie expert but you, even though the vast majority of riders, never [...]
Flossie, the motorcycle test robot, is the first indication that we’re all doomed, … OK, maybe not, it’s actually a Castrol developed robot used for testing motorcycle lubricants under all kinds of specific, extended and sometimes, extreme conditions. It has a self learning capability to get a feel for the clutch, gear change pattern and [...]
Kickboxer Subaru WRX Powered Motorcycle Concept
