BMMC October Rider Training Update

 

Click here for October 2008 Training Newsletter - "Pre-ride Checklists"

October 2008


So, You want to “wear” your motorcycle, huh?

I. Apparently, that might be in our future. The electric exoskeleton motorcycle is called the Deus and is in the experimental phase as we speak.

Actually, to call Deus a “motorcycle” is a bit of a stretch. It stands vertically when parked, so that the rider can step in and strap the bike on like a full-body suit. A computer interprets your body movements, translates those into directional commands for the motorcycle, and steers the bike using thirty-six pneumatic muscles (artificial muscles that inflate or deflate to change the direction). It leans back as you slow down and lays out forward as you accelerate. The faster you go the more toward horizontal you go.

“It’s like riding two skateboards at once, but stable, because the machine supports the rider’s body,” Jake Loniak, a college junior and the inventor, explains. These two skateboards, however, would be powered by lithium-ion batteries and ultra-capacitors and capable of hitting seventy-five mph. “I never envisioned this as a commuter,” he says. “This is a sport bike.”

Yeah, but where does the passenger sit?

II. We all know how to ride our bikes safely, but do we all know how to make sure our bikes are safe to ride? This month’s Safety Topic deals with the “before” phase of riding. When you walk up to your motorcycle before you go riding each day, do you give it a cursory “look-see” before you start it up? Are you going through any kind of a mental checklist to make sure it’s ready to take onto the road?

We’ve presented the “quick and dirty” basics of what to look for here. We hope you find it helpful and useful.


As always, thanks for your time.

Gene Adee
BMMC Rider Training Coordinator