Lit Motors C-1 enclosed motorcycle

[drivin98]

Ok, now THIS is cool. An enclosed motorcycle with flywheels hidden away inside to keep you upright. Look Ma, no training wheels!

It's got the looks, great performance, reasonable price. Now, if it works in practice as well as in theory, this could be big. (BIG!, I say.)

Here's the story on AutoblogGreen. Comes with videos.

[SEGsby]

The energy expended just keeping you upright (in this configuration), is less than what a third wheel might consume????

[NeilBlanchard]

No kidding, and leaning it over in a turn must take some effort. It can't be very nimble. It seems to be gimicky and I would feel weird riding/driving it, I think.

[PatQ562]

Well this is outside the box thinking! The energy to keep a large gyro going need not be excessive - dozens of watts maybe -- and I noted a "legs down" readout in the promo video presumably for parking. If three wheels are more efficient than 4, then 2 wheels are more efficient still -- minimal frontal area, less tire drag, AND it fits in a narrow garage, and it travels on any road or trail. The patent apparently deals with the system for assisted leaning, that works with the gyro. If they can make this user-friendly to drive, they might actually have something more efficient than original-Aptera.

That's a notable "if" of course, and like so many others, even if it basically works, it may never reach production. A "wild card" to monitor however.

Pat Q

[SEGsby]

Honda has a low speed electric unicycle, but I don't know of any plans to make it go faster or seat more than one, like GM did with their EN-V (segway based) prototypes...

[AlfredWAB]

Ok, been following this stuff since finding the x-prize. And I'm not very mechanical or techno savy, but I don't see what's new here. Isn't this just a more clunky copy of the E-Tracer idea?

[Adreitz]

The E-Tracer scares me ever since I found out that you have to manually put down the training wheels whenever you stop. I just see that ending in disaster on a highway somewhere -- only a moment's lapse in concentration would be enough. This system would reduce the needed driver interaction and the risks from having training wheels up or down when they're not supposed to be. I'd need to see energy use and reliability data to actually trust it, though. And I can see the gyroscope tearing itself out of the body of the vehicle in a side impact.

Aaron

[NeilBlanchard]

This is a variation on what the E-Tracer is -- single seat vs tandem seating, and gyroscope stabilization vs outriggers. (I think the ABG article is a bit nasty to use use the term "training wheels".)

[AlfredWAB]

Yes, of all these enclosed motorcyle concepts, my favorite so far is the Persu Mobility. But even there you have to put some trust in the tilt mechanisms. Still I'm not afraid of falling over if they fail because it does have 3 wheels at least. I'm still a bit afraid of all the drive-by-wire stuff.

[randyd]

It cracks me up that in the video, it is a Nissan Leaf that broadsides the C-1.

Regarding the technology, I like it. I really hope they get the leaning/turning feedback right. On a motorcycle, you first turn the handlebars left to start your lean, so you can turn right. In the C-1, you *could* just turn the handlebars to the right to turn right, and the lean *could* be created by the flywheels. On a Segway, I have to adapt to it's controls. I suppose I would adapt to the C-1 controls too, but it is within their power to really get it wrong.

I don't see any mechanical stand, but there must be. They can't possible sell a vehicle that must have a charged battery to keep from falling over. I mean, what if you need to park it where there is no electricity for a few months? Perhaps the "kick" stand is an extra cost accessory.