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Seven self balancing motorbikes for a stylish ride

J.Marian D'souza:

Motorbike dynamics is the study of the motion and the effect of various forces acting on the motorbike and its various components while it is under motion. A motorbike design includes the study of the stability of the motorbike, in order to achieve this all the forces such as gyroscopic effect and the forces due to acceleration and deceleration, etc., have to be taken into account and the unbalanced force which causes stability issues is found out which is crucial for balancing a motorbike. This balancing force is usually provided manually by the rider either by shifting his weight or tilting the vehicle in a particular direction as the need arises.

This however leads to many errors and it is extremely difficult to maintain stability as the speed increases. This led to a need for a new generation of self balancing motorbikes which needs absolutely no manual assistance to stabilize itself no matter what the speed is. Here we have listed a few sleek and stylish self balancing motorbikes which have the potential to revolutionize the motorcycle industry.

1. Uno motorcycle

The Uno motorcycle is the brain child of a 21 year old Canadian named Ben Gulak who is currently a student of Mechanical Engineering at Harvard. A strong desire to save the environment is Gulak’s inspiration behind the self balancing motorbike. The Uno is an electric bike and was designed to be able to bring it inside your residence in order to be able to charge easily. The Uno uses a Gyroscope to maintain stability at lower speeds but as the speeds increase the wheels re-align themselves to a more conventional manner and stack themselves one behind the other which provides ease in handling and also gives better stability. Initially the Uno used to have a more conventional design of 2-wheels but the present model of the Uno consists of 3-wheels. As the bike hits 24km/h the middle wheel moves to the front and the side wheels move back and squeeze together.

Ben is hoping to produce an initial run of 30 bikes within the next year with a limited top speed of 56km/h due to various liability issues and will be available for any enthusiast at $25,000. As the production of this bike goes up the top speed is predicted to increase considerably and the price is predicted to decrease to around $6,500.

2. Taurus electric self-balancing motorcycle

This eco friendly zero emission electric motor bike is the brain child of Erik Lanuza and is still in the development stage. This bike looks very much like a modified Segway. But, unlike the Segway you can ride this bike like any other conventional motorbike compared to standing on a foot platform as in the Segway. The Taurus can be accelerated or decelerated by simply shifting your body weight. If you lean forwards the speed increases and when you lean backwards it decreases. The handle bars on the front are used to change direction as in any other conventional bike.

The enthusiasts around the world are sitting with crossed fingers hoping for the Taurus to go into production as soon as possible as it definitely looks very stylish and comfortable compared to the existing Segway.

3. EniCycle

The EniCycle is a prototype designed by a Slovenian inventor named Aleksander Polutnik. It is a self balancing Unicycle with a 3 hour battery back up, a gyroscope for self balancing all inside a small case and a spring damper to make the riding fun and comfortable. Aleksander Polutnik initially designed the EniCycle to have fun with his unicycle riding girl friend but after the EniCycle received enough attention the Slovenian decided to try to manufacture them in a large scale. The only barrier between the EniCycle and the world is lack of funding. There are currently only two models present in the entire world which the designer built himself. This vehicle is also very easy to learn and contains smart technology which is used to control the device, in order to move forward all you have to do is tilt forward and the electronics built into the EniCycle asks the wheel to catch up and balance itself hence moving forward to slow down all you have to do is tilt backward and the paddles built to the wheel can be used for direction control. Polutnik claims that the vehicle can be learned to ride easily by any person in a matter of just 30 minutes.

4. Single-wheel-drive electric self balancing unicycle

The single wheeled self balancing electric unicycle the SBU2.0 designed by Focus designs has a simple yet very robust design. This Eco-friendly marvel balances it self using cutting edge electronic technology which includes accelerometers and gyroscopes. The wheel of this amazing unicycle is equipped with a powerful 1 kilowatt BLDC hub motor which is used to propel the bike. This balancing module is the key ingredient to this marvelous new invention it performs several functions such as motor speed control, motor torque control and also regenerative breaking. The unicycle is powered by one single lithium-ion nano-phosphate battery which is placed under the seat. The SBU2.0 does not require any pedaling unlike the conventional unicycles and it can be accelerated or decelerated simply by leaning forward and backward respectively directional control can be achieved by tilting the unicycle left or right. The SBU2.0 is built with an Aluminum frame and has a deluxe gel seat for safe riding. The foot pegs are low and foldable which makes the SBU2.0 easy to use and to store. It also comes with several cool options such as a music system with a blue tooth integration and key ignition for protection against theft. Focus designs is currently selling this wonder gadget priced at $1499 and they also claim that the average learning time to ride a SBU2.0 is 20 minutes.

5. Honda U3-X

The Honda U3-X is a single wheel personal mobility system from Honda, ideal for office use but can also be used at home or on the pavements. Honda’s cutting edge technology enables one to move around in the pavements without having to mess around with the walking pedestrians. The U3-X uses Honda’s ‘HOT (Honda Omni Traction) Drive’ for easy control. Like most of the single wheeled systems the U3-x also tracks human body movements to move about. The U3-X is incredibly light and weighs below 10kg and consists of foldable foot pedals and seats. It consists of a lithium-ion battery to power its HOT drive mechanism. The only sad part is that the U3-X is still in its developing stages and is not yet available in the market.

6. Hornet

Designed by Liam Ferguson, the Hornet single wheeled concept bike is the closest thing to a single wheeled super bike. It is powered by 2 in-wheel hydrogen fuel-cell six-phase Neodymium-Iron (Nd-Fe) electric motors which claim to produce an impressive 74hp and give a listed top speed of 146mph. The bike can balance itself using gyroscopes even while parked thanks to the two side wheels and it tilts forward when accelerated and the side wheels are suspended as it moves forward. The Hornet is designed to provide stability irrespective of the vehicle momentum and the rider weight. The basic principle used to build the Hornet is same as that used in a Segway but it has a very good visual appeal and consists of a single wheel drive mechanism which is in fact made out of two parallel wheels which plays a crucial role in maneuvering extreme slow speeds.

7. M. Goventosa’s one wheel motorcycle

Mr. M. Goventosa of Udine, Italy was able to build this monowheel as early as in 1931. A very few details about this vehicle are known, it was known that the monowheel was able to attain a top speed of about 150KPH and that is the only information available on the monowheel motorcycle. It is however not clear as to who Mr. M.Goventosa actually is or what was it that inspired him to build the monowheel and also nobody knows what happened to it since the time it was invented. Many people give Mr.Goventosa all the credit for the creation of the monowheel but it was not his sole creation.

Source http://www.designbuzz.com/entry/balancing-motorbikes-stylish-ride/
Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:20:45 GMT
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