BMW Motorrad, the creator of unique bikes with drive shafts, ABS, Airbags you name it; they just have a complete different philosophy when it comes to building bikes.
This time around, BMW will be building a 3 wheeled scooter, complete with a roof, roll bars and seat belts.
Hit the jump to read our extensive study on BMW's concept and videos of a previous study done by BMW.
Now it all sounds simple, but when you start thinking and solving problems like how BMW engineers does, it will go very complicated. First off, motorcyclist are most expose to risks merely because they weren't protected by anything else when it comes to a crash or a skid, hell even a simple downfall could cause hazard for them.
Hence providing a roof would help fend off rainwater, dusts, small pebbles and plenty of hazardous little stuffs spun off by cars rolling by, but the legs of passengers are still exposed, when it comes to a crash, passengers will simple be thrown off their vehicles, why not covering them up entirely - Like the picture above? Cool! But then how are they capable of balancing themselves when they're legs couldn't be placed outwards when the vehicle comes to a halt?
This is where another set of wheels would come into play, with 2 wheels and either the front or the rear, the vehicle will be able to balance itself when it's not moving, however fundamentally the problem with a three wheeled vehicle is the symmetrical layout where tilting could happen when cornering at high speeds, to counter this, the vehicle's center of gravity would have to be moved lower when cornering, much like what bikers do when they corner - tilting it side ways, hence to solve the problem, the rear axles had to be connected to the body where the passengers were being ferried by a hydraulic system that uses an on board computer to adjust it's level, hence when the the vehicle steers, the hydraulics will react, tilting towards the same direction whilst the rear axles maintain level for traction and stability that ultimately results for safety.
This then would solve the problem of raining for passengers in a BMW Bike.
BMW had earlier on tested on such a concept dubbed the BMW CLEVER that runs on Natural Gas and returns mileage of 79 kilometers from 1 liter of Natural Gas.
Check out photos of the BMW CLEVER (Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport) Concept in research earlier.
Top Gear's Richard Hammond testing a similar concept in Switzerland, named the Carver.
2 comments:
Hurry up I want to test drive one
When will it hit the market,especially in the northeast?
Post a Comment
Why just read? Post your comments. Don't be selfish. Cheers!