Hot on the heels of Harley-Davidson’s big reveals earlier this week comes news that the MoCo is now working on an autonomous braking system.
On Monday, Harley-Davidson surprised the motorcycle world with news of plans to build a new adventure bike and streetfighter, among other new models. Other news included talk of a new 60-degree V-twin platform and interest in e-bikes and other interesting electric vehicles.
Now, Motorcycle.com has uncovered a patent application by Harley-Davidson for an emergency braking system that would automatically activate in extreme cases. The patent application drawing above gives a little insight into how the system would work; after detecting an imminent threat (perhaps through onboard radar or some sort of camera technology), the motorcycle’s safety system determines if the rider is capable of responding quickly through a variety of physical inputs. If the answer is no, the braking system is automatically activated.
Science fiction? Airy-fairy pie-in-the-sky tech? Probably not. Similar systems have already been available on cars for years, and sooner or later, there will be a market for it in the motorcycle world (Honda’s already working on it, too). Maybe Harley-Davidson will include it on a future edition of one of its massive touring bikes? Stay tuned.
Don’t get too fancy Harley, there is something to be said for old school simplicity.
Let the rest of the market turn their bikes into overly complicated whiz bangs.