Are you ever grateful that you are old enough to be dead and buried before those things you have come to know and love are changed by technology into something unrecognizable? Asking for a friend.
The MOTOROiD2 seen in these photos is a Yamaha concept that has evolved from an original design introduced previously. It is an electric motorcycle, of sorts, as well as a trusted friend and confidant.
The MOTOROiD2 will be displayed by Yamaha at the upcoming Japan Mobility Show. Below is a press release from the manufacturer:
How do you coexist with a machine like a living creature?
What will human–machine interfaces actually be like in the future? This experimental model melds mobility with intelligent technologies in order to study that question. Yamaha Motor hypothesized that achieving a closer relationship between rider and machine in which they resonate harmoniously with each other like partners would lead to new forms of Jin-Ki Kanno,* and since unveiling the MOTOROiD in 2017, the Company has since continued its R&D into technologies, designs, and more based on that concept.
As a further evolution of the original MOTOROiD, MOTOROiD2 is also a vehicle for personal mobility that can recognize its owner, get up off its kickstand, and move alongside its rider, but also has a distinctly lifelike feel when somebody is riding on its back and has a presence more like a lifetime companion. The Active Mass Center Control System (AMCES) for attitude sensing and self-balancing as well as the image recognition AI system for recognizing and reacting to the owner’s face and gestures have both been further refined. Additionally, MOTOROiD2 features a new Leaf structure unlike any motorcycle before, giving the model a chassis specialized for lifelike and complementary reactions to the rider.
*Yamaha Motor’s development ideal that seeks to deliver users the seductive exhilaration felt when they truly become one with their machine.
You dang kids get off my motorcycle website!
It’s a freaking design concept… relax.
Maybe you want all the major manufacturers to stick with the designs that _you_ are comfortable with so they can end up like Harley with a nearly dead customer base in 20 years…
If no like, no buy. Non-problem solves itself.
If somebody like, somebody buy. And manufacturers get to stay in business and build you nostalgia cycles….
Geez…
Oh men the picture is mind blowing
AI
I take these concepts with a grain of salt. I like to scan them for interesting ideas or new ways of doing things. This one? Nah.
I’m not even fired up about the dancer gal. She might be a nice gal and all that. But if I were the guy setting up the photo shoot, I guess I would opt for a gal with much darker skin to get the look they were going for.
“…the image recognition AI system for recognizing and reacting to the owner’s face…”
I’m always amused by things like this. It’s like the designers have never ridden a motorcycle themselves. How is this going to work with a full face helmet on?
They ride horses as it was mentioned below.
Maybe the sensor is inside the helmet as part of something like an integrated HUD/facial recognition sensor/speaker system
Remember the Yamaha MotoBot? Out-weirded by Motoroid2, the latest Pie-in-some-remote-part-of-the-universe tech? It sure ain’t even qualifying as Pie-in-the-sky, too far out for that. Could be proving the Multiverse Theory, and it’s from the Bizarro Universe (old geezer Superman fans will get that ref), at least they lost the square wheels…
https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/superman-tales-of-the-bizarro-world
Or the products of a Make Work Dep’t for people with “apprehending reality” mental conditions that Japanese law says Yamaha has to work-accommodate?
In any case, nearly none of this imaginary tech is remotely practical. Really, if they are going to get this weird, where are the Dick Tracy anti-gravity pods? Or is that what those training wheels are intended to morph into on some future iteration?
And where is my commute-to-work jet-pack they promised in the 1950s? https://www.pocket-lint.com/gadgets/news/142963-the-history-and-future-of-jetpacks-mankind-s-obsession-with-personal-flight-in-photos/
Uglier than hammered dog poop and about as useful.
WHY?????????
From the visionary maroons that brought you the GTS1000…Comes the MotoLoid-Pi3.141. Clearly they are not paying attention to anyone that rides in the real world.
ORT
The GTS1000 was a marvel compared to this shit…
…”a chassis specialized for lifelike and complementary reactions to the rider.” So it’s more like a horse than a motorcycle? Is this progress? Who writes this drivel? Moreover, who would even conceive of something so idiotic and irrelevant? This is definitely not an inspiring gaze into the future.
has crutchlow ridden it? i would love to hear his take on it.
I can’t believe that Yamaha has dared to present this piece of crap as a “futuristic” motorcycle…
I think a lot of the concepts for the mechanical/electronic advances they are looking into would be great – on a motorcycle that a human could ride. Something not too far off of a current sport or sport-touring bike, perhaps.
All electric, or a hybrid system that would let you run some distance (without worrying about the next charging station and 40 minute wait to charge) in a sleek, modern chassis might just have this “boomer” buying one.
(The last pic looks like this thing comes with the angel wings you will get after riding it…)
Motoroid? Or Hemorrhoid…
Motoroid… or Hemoroid…?
Anybody get the license of the semi that rear ended this motorcycle?
Somebody help me. Why does the word “hideous” come to mind?
Great, now John Connor can’t even rely on his motorcycle.
Wonder what kind of EMF exposure your stones would get riding that thing?
If you’re riding around an an ICE bike with the current janky charging systems we make do with then that should be much of a concern for you.
Don’t forget the spark plug pulses. How many thousand volts? Deliberately producing sparks, like the first radio systems? But no, a couple of hundred volts that are being carefully contained because that’s how you get any sort of efficiency, now that’s dangerous.
I’ve heard it is not about electro-magnetic fields but about electrostatic fields. It was in fact lectures on safety measures on transport. Drivers of trolley-buses may be exposed to electrostatic fields because of great voltage (great amperage). 600 volts or so. Haven’t heard about danger of 12 volts and spark plugs short small 18 kvolts problems to human being.
I wish Yamaha would quit designing the same motorcycle year after year with only color changes and a few chrome bits being different. Seriously, Yamaha should borrow the Harley Davidson playbook and unveil bold and risky models each year. Anticipating the next Sportster design keeps me trembling for months.
Well said, motorhead …
Those are some magic kickstands. One on each side with no apparent pivots?
I thought those were safety wheels.
“… Asking for a friend.”
Okay, pretty funny.
That said, I love the concept.
It’s like HR Giger stuff but without the awesomeness.
This website should change its name to LudditeCurmudgeonDaily.com
You people are proof that Boomer memes aren’t fiction.
I didn’t realize blind people can ride motorcycles
What’s a boomer meme? 🙂
Us old guys have lived through hundreds of design exercises that have never seen the light of day past a show. The manufacturers actually look for comments on boards like this to get feedback on these design concepts. 99.99% of what you see in a design concept goes into the garbage. There are some interesting concepts in this…er…concept. For example, I like how the hub motor assembly bolts into the rear of the swingarm. I could see that making its way to a production bike. I also find the concept of the fully articulating swing interesting – but I wonder how that would effect handling (there would have to be computer intervention). The undermount shock is interesting, lowering the CG of the bike and opening up space between the swingarm and frame.
So rather than insult people for saying they don’t like what they see, tell us what you like – its a more productive conversation. Boomers, SMH.
BOT alert
Proof that you’re delusional and utterly lost when it comes to tech – calling a regular that they are a bot.
Thanks for proving the point, gramps.
Agreed. It is just a concept. Enjoy it for what it is. Folks need to be a little more open and less defensive. There are plenty of interesting concepts built into this.
Headline: Electric Motorcycle Jumps Over Shark
WHY. – Does anybody get excited about these cartoon paper weights ? Does the girl come with the thing ?
While I have zero interest in buying a mobile, rechargeable thong, I’m not bothered by their existence. Maybe they will even make the prices of real motorcycles more affordable.
It would be interesting to try it honestly, I’ve seen more useless bike before (those Can Am trikes) but what’s the function of those appendices below, dose this not lean more than 10degrees or so?
Since the swingarm looks like it is able to pivot and you countersteer with your butt weight, those hangy down things must be little training wheels.
The answer to a question nobody asked.
Ever heard of “Ergonomics”? Neither did the designer of this…um…motorcycle. Maybe the intended rider is Chim-Chim, no way Speed or Racer X could fit on this thing, let alone Pops, with whom I currently identify. Edit: Maybe the “Hummer Roid 2” would be a more fitting name.
It’s an interesting design concept – with zero production intent. Yet…I’m sure that’s what I said about the Niken when I first saw that. I think that the original MOTOROiD is a more cohesive design (by that I mean I recognize what might be controls and user inputs) but it also served a different purpose…it was trying to be a motorcycle…this machine wants to be your “trusted friend and confidant”. Strange times.
Wait a minute, I think I saw those already in the Terminator: Salvation movie –
https://luxurylaunches.com/transport/the-terminator-motorcycle-is-one-of-the-most-badass-fully-functional-movie-props-ever-created.php
Let’s see, if I wanted something that was designed to have a closer, more intimate human/machine interface, I think that seat would have to start out much smaller before I could get used to it.
Some assembly required. This is what happens when you don’t read directions.