Published on October 14th, 2016
The BMW Motorrad VISION NEXT 100 is the the futuristic two-wheeler for superheroes.
Riding a motorcycle is the ultimate sensual and analog experience in a more and more digital world,” says Edgar Heinrich, BMW Motorrad’s head of design. “The wind in your hair, the centrifugal forces, the indescribable feeling in pit of your stomach.” His retro-futuristic concept is a swoop of black carbon fiber. It will never wipe out, but it still demands a human rider. Because without someone to enthrall, it’s useless.
The bike is indeed radical in form and function. Its body is culled from a slinky carbon fiber shell that forms a menacing swoosh. A turn of the handlebars redirects the bike. It boasts zero carbon emissions and has incorporated driver assistance, a camera-based sensor technology, making it essentially the anti-crash motorcycle. One feature of this system is called the Visor, a set of spectacles that are controlled through eye movements. It also has a self-balancing system.
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The BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 is built from a single “flexframe,” a carbon fiber shell that extends from the front to the rear wheel. The designers call its shape a dynamic sweep, and it does away with old fashioned things like bearings and joints. Turning the handlebars moves the whole frame to change direction, and it can relax and stiffen to change steering effort. “It will allow us to introduce new steering movements that are very far removed from today’s geometries,” says Heinrich.
The driver’s physical interaction with the bike will change.
A lightweight, flexible suit that cools or heats the rider.
Killing the need for heavy leather and kevlar doesn’t mean you can’t dress like a boss. BMW has also designed a lightweight, flexible suit that cools or heats the rider, while enhancing comfort and posture with banded and strengthened areas. If it senses danger, it can vibrate against its wearer’s skin as an alert. The idea is to blend the best parts of the digital and analog worlds. Sure, you could get most of the experience at home, with VR goggles on, sitting in front of a fan—but only if you don’t have anywhere to go.
New powertrain in an old design.
The classic BMW boxer engine shape remains, although this bike will have a zero emissions drivetrain, which currently comes with zero further details like horsepower, top speed, or acceleration. And actually, that boxer shape is subject to change. Compact when the bike is stationary, it will extend outwards to enhance aerodynamics and help protect the rider from the elements as she piles on speed.
Look Mutter, nein helmut!
“The vision vehicle will act with foresight and is able to protect the rider at any time,” says Heinrich. Driver assistance features will continually monitor the environment, the route, the speed, the angle of lean, and myriad other factors, intervening to ensure the rider can’t crash. Gyroscopes keep the bike upright when stationary, so you can’t even fall when stopped. BMW’s roughly an eternity from actually telling riders to ditch traditional safety gear, but things like traction control, hill start assist, and antilock brakes are already making it harder to kill yourself on two wheels.
Goggles are a must.
Instead of a traditional instrument cluster, the bike communicates key data like speed and navigation through a head-up display. That’s why you need the goggles. Most of the time, they display minimal information, just a triangle and two horizontal lines showing banking angle and ideal cornering lines. There’s no reason to interrupt your emotional journey.
Motorcycling In The Distant Future.
The bike lets me break out of my daily routine. From that moment I get on the bike I can feel total freedom immediately – The Great Escape.“
– Edgar Heinrich
It’s Still A Roadster.
The Frame Follows The Wheel
Opposed-twin Engine With Emissionless Drive
Self-balancing: No Chance Of Tilting Over
When designing a bike, we usually think about the next 5 to 10 years. A further prospect has been really exciting and appealing to us.“
– Edgar Heinrich
Data Glasses Instead Of A Helmet
Tangible fiction
Watch This Video BMW Motorrad VISION NEXT 100.
Source: brand.bmw-motorrad.com
