Motorcycle safety yesterday and today

Posted on by admin

Table of contents

Security campaign

Consideration has right of way

Motorcycle safety yesterday and today
Arnold Debus

Motorcycle safety yesterday and today

Motorcycle safety yesterday and today
lead by technology

An engine and two wheels, tank, seat and handlebars: a motorcycle’s silhouette has barely changed in over a century of construction. Even up close, many of today’s motorcycles look like great-grandfather’s barn finds. But let’s not be fooled: almost everything has changed under the dress! Today’s motorcycles are one thing above all else: they have become very, very safe! Let’s look at the technology in detail.


Jorg Lohse,

Karsten Schwers

05/27/2021

light

For decades it has been an obligation for motorcycles to be on the move with dipped headlights in order to improve perception. This “Unique position” has fallen behind due to the increasing use of daytime running lights in cars and trucks. Thanks to LED technology, however, new motorcycle models can again be more conspicuous. In the meantime, there are even indicators in some of them “Daytime driving” integrated to emphasize the narrow front silhouette. Daytime running lights can also be retrofitted to older bikes – but keep an eye on the conformity with StVZO! In order to warn the traffic behind, there are also dynamic brake lights on motorcycles, which flash staccato with the hazard warning lights during emergency braking. This function is also available as a retrofit solution for older types. The driver himself benefits from better lighting technology, which illuminates the road efficiently, especially at night, and is less dazzling to oncoming traffic. Active headlights are increasingly being used which, depending on the lean angle, can now also illuminate curves – retrofit kits are also available here!

Connectivity

Motorcycles are particularly sensitive to incorrect inflation pressures in the tires, and in the worst case a fall is unavoidable. It is good that the tire pressure systems (RDS), which are also known from cars, have now become established in two-wheelers and the driver is immediately notified of the low pressure warning via the cockpit. Good news for owners of older sweethearts: this tool can easily be retrofitted to tubeless tires. Also available as a retrofit solution, but also as an extra ex works from some manufacturers (including BMW), is an automatic emergency call system that triggers when all parameters indicate a fall or accident. This life insurance from around 300 euros, which is permanently installed on the motorcycle, is unaffordable in an emergency. In the meantime, there are also cheaper solutions that can be installed as an app on the smartphone.

Brakes

The anti-lock braking system has been on the advance since the late 1980s. BMW was a big pioneer, but for a long time ABS remained an extra subject to a surcharge. The big breakthrough came at the turn of the millennium, when ABS was offered hesitantly, but also increasingly by the major Japanese manufacturers for entry-level and mid-range bikes. But ABS has only been a mandatory feature of new vehicles since 2016 (Euro 4). The technical progress is tangible and measurable: Out of baggy, bulky components with ten kilograms more weight have become small, compact, around one kilogram units that regulate ever more finely. Compared to a first-generation ABS, the braking distance with today’s systems has been reduced by over 30 percent. For around six years now, cornering ABS has been on the advance as a further significant advance, which considerably minimizes the risk of falling, especially when braking in an inclined position – which has also been firmly confirmed in many MOTORRAD tests.

Vehicle electronics

The engine is still the heart, but the pacemaker of modern motorcycles is called IMU, the abbreviation for Inertial Measurement Unit – a high-tech control center with now six-axis sensors that ensures the smooth interaction of all assistance systems on board. In addition to ABS, driving programs in particular help to bring performance safely and well to the road. Even mid-range bikes have this form of traction control with a special rain mode that cuts power and torque and thus prevents the dangerous slipping of the rear wheel when accelerating on slippery roads. When downshifting, drag torque or engine brake control can be of great help. On high-horsepower power bikes or the latest high-end athletes, the setting options with in some cases individually programmable driving modes with wheelie, stoppie and launch control grow almost immeasurably. Of course, the anticipatory driver, who pulls the (now electronically controlled) throttle with great feeling, is still the decisive authority on board, but he benefits from a huge plus in safety thanks to the small black box called IMU.

landing gear

What use is the best-tuned engine if the power cannot be brought safely to the road? Quantum leaps have also taken place in chassis technology. Ever more sensitive, appealing spring elements, some of which are semi-actively electronically controlled and adapt to changed route conditions within a fraction of a second. With large tourers and travel enduros, the various load conditions (solo or with pillion passenger and luggage) can now be adjusted at the push of a button. Servomotors ensure correct and therefore safe chassis tuning. A little bit of the future, but already on the home stretch for series production is the next evolutionary stage of an active chassis, which can stabilize the motorcycle again by recoil from a gas cartridge in the event of an impending fall.

tire

Power is nothing without control … that is the well-known advertising slogan of a well-known tire brand from bella Italia. In fact, one could be scared and afraid when one considers that the contact area of ​​a 200 HP motorcycle with the road is only a few square centimeters. It is all the more astonishing what motorcycle tire developers mix with strong and ultra-stable rubber compounds year after year and bake them in a round tire shape. Best of all: It’s not just new motorcycles that benefit from these development spurts. Even a motorcycle with an H license plate can be raised to a completely different level in terms of safety with a modern pair of tires – especially in critical situations such as B. emergency braking on a wet road. Is there a safety tuning tip for all bikers? Yes – new tires!

Airbag

Interestingly, the ubiquitous airbag in cars has not yet been able to establish itself on or in motorcycles. Only Honda offers a system integrated in the tank console as an extra for the Gold Wing. A MOTORRAD tester (involuntarily) found out firsthand how reliably the airbag can protect against a side impact in a car. In return, however, various airbag systems have been able to establish themselves in the driver’s equipment (textile jacket, leather suit). There are simple rip cord systems, electronically controlled systems protect much more effectively, which can unfold in fractions of a second using pyrotechnics. The cost of an e-airbag jacket: around 1,000 euros.

  • New Bosch motorcycle safety systems

    Bosch 17th pictures Bosch 1/17 To make motorcycling even safer, Bosch is developing numerous new assistance systems. Bosch 2/17 Motorcycles should learn…

  • DVD on motorcycle driving safety

    Sports & scene DVD on motorcycle driving safety DVD “Motorcycles ride well and safely” Price reduced to 9.90 euros Motorcycles ride well and safely…

  • Scene: motorcycle legends and their situation today

    MZ Sports & scene Scene: motorcycle legends and their situation today Scene: motorcycle legends and their situation today What are actually doing……

  • Ducati KTM safety systems

    KTM counselor technology & future Ducati KTM safety systems Ducati and KTM safety systems Front and rear radar ready for series production by 2020 Ducati…

  • Active safety systems in motorcycles

    Bosch 10 pictures MOTORCYCLE archive 1/10 ABS – Should prevent the wheels from locking when braking hard or on slippery surfaces. KTM 2/10 “Cornering ABS…

  • The right tire choice for a motorcycle

    Markus Jahn 26th pictures MOTORCYCLE 1/26 On the way on alpine passes? That’s how it works! MOTORCYCLE 2/26 Seductive winding curves with risk. The…

  • Motorcycles are networked for more safety

    CMC 17th pictures 1/17 This is how the warning of an upcoming construction site that was previously not visible on the curve could look like. The key to…

  • Additional safety through assistance systems

    Security campaign Consideration has right of way Yixin Chen 7th pictures Yixin Chen 1/7 Bosch 2/7 Adaptive Cruise Control adapts the speed to the flow of…

  • Motorcycle production at Bimota

    Jahn counselor traffic & business Motorcycle production at Bimota This is how one of the smallest manufacturers in the world produces Motorcycle…

  • Anlas motorcycle winter tires tested

    factstudio.de 5 pictures factstudio.de 1/5 Turkey is not exactly known as a classic motorcycle or winter sports country. Nevertheless, a winter tire for…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *