While it is early days to say that the sidecars have returned, but it is interesting to see the direction Honda is heading
One of the most iconic aspects associated with a vintage motorcycle has to be sidecars. Popular in the past, sidecars are not exactly a thing in the modern world. We occasionally see one in a resto-mod of a vintage bike. But Honda thinks Sidecars need to be back and it will make them more technologically advanced than ever before.
Honda Electric Motorcycle With Sidecar
Sidecars are almost non-existent in today’s world. Once considered a practical attribute to multi-personnal transportation, is obsolete today. Today, we only see sidecars with motorcycles in museums, resto-mods of vintage bikes and old movies.
Honda thinks there is more to sidecars and is working on a modern model. With technology taking centre stage, Honda’s new sidecar patent shows modernization and sophistication and is packed full of technology. We say this because Honda’s sidecar model is electrified and seems to be optimized for excellent dynamics.
For starters, there are load sensors on Honda’s upcoming sidecar where the supports connect this external structure to the motorcycle. Sidecar’s wheel is powered by an electric motor which will work on data fed to it by various sensors. Also, controller of this electric motor detects if the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating.
Idea is that the Sidecar will work in tandem with motorcycle and will cause minimum alterations to bike’s dynamics. In a straight line, the electric motor drives itself when motorcycle is accelerating and brakes when the motorcycle is braking. With varying speeds, power delivery of electric motor modulates accordingly.
How does it work?
Honda aims to reduce or remove the sudden yaw movement with added sidecar on straight line conditions. Expecting a uniform motion, reducing change in direction expected with added sidecar. Thus giving riders more confidence to ride a motorcycle with a sidecar attached.
While cornering, sidecar will either apply brakes or accelerate further with the help of an onboard electric motor, depending on said corner. If sidecar is on the outside of a curve, then it needs to cover a larger distance than motorcycle needing slight acceleration. If it is on the inside, it needs to brake to retain traction.
All this sophistication is to neutralize the added effect of a sidecar on motorcycle’s original dynamics. As of now, the efficiency of this system is not yet revealed. It would be interesting to see where this development leads.
We are yet to see sidecars for motorcycles gain more popularity in the future, to justify any input costs to develop a technology in this direction. Also, will this only work with electric motorcycles? Or sidecars will have dedicated batteries of their own? There seem to be more questions than answers.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
