Retro Thinking is Not Going to Save the PW2
Throughout 2017 the news highlighted by the international motorcycle media was of Scramblers and roadsters. During the same period, the automotive press wrote of nothing else but autonomous driving cars. The mainstream news proclaimed that self-driving technology was going to save us from ourselves, while curmudgeons declared that it was the end of freedom. One irate motorcyclist even started a crowd funding campaign to produce a movie about “The Last Motorcycle on Earth”.
All the hyperbole and vitriol spilled out regarding advanced computer-aided riding technology on motorcycles really just served to reinforce what industry insiders have known since the 1990's, that modern motorcyclists, far from being outlaw loner-types, are in fact some of the most conservative consumers in the world and suffer from dangerous amounts of groupthink.
Originality and individual freedom are the stereotypical tropes trotted out by the so-called legacy brands of motorcycling. While Harley-Davidson may have done the most to ram this ideological branding down the throats of people everywhere, all of the European brands and to a lesser extent Indian, Royal Enfield, Victory and others are guilty of it too. Decades of pop culture, movies and advertising have presented motorcycling as an outré, counter-culture for those of us who demand individual freedom and resist conformity.
This idea does not pass even the most casual observation. Motorcycle cultures, starting at the top with Harley-Davidson, demand absolute conformity of character, style, and fashion. How else do you explain the generic black and orange, skull-and-flames, chrome and airbrush eagle pageantry of events like Rolling Thunder or Sturgis? Or how about the consistency of BMW/Moto-Guzzi/Honda CB750 rider's attire and modifications in the hipster café scene? Saturday night squids with neon light kits and basketball shoes; weekend dirt bike rides littered with purple anodized bolts and plastered with energy drink stickers; downtown Ducatisiti wearing the same Dainese jackets and too much hair product inside the same italian espresso bar... individually expressing their freedom to be like the rest of their chosen tribe.
Thats all fine. I have tribes too, and in tribes we find non-judgmental comfort and friendships in which to expand our motorcycle enjoyment. But the point is clear, most motorcyclists are not freedom-loving individuals as much as insecure individuals seeking freedom from the fear. Fear of judgement. And from fear of injury. Evolution teaches that safety comes in numbers.
A herd is safe from ridicule because a group of bikers on loud motorcycles parading around on obnoxiously styled machines are unlikely to be confronted than an individual. Similarly a bunch of motorcyclists riding together are more visible on the road and less likely to get accidentally hit by a car than one travelling alone.
The herd is great. The herd is safe. And the herd benefit is precisely what autonomous vehicle technologies are promising to deliver. Cars, trucks and motorcycles that communicate wirelessly to each other at all times will reduce traffic accidents to almost nothing. Motorcycles that have multi-axis inertial sensors attached to full-authority digital engine and brake control (FADEC) systems will stop you from high-siding, or low-siding, or hitting objects in front of you when you are unable, or unwilling (frozen in fear) to do so yourself.
In 2017 Honda, Yamaha and BMW quietly presented a variety of futuristic motorcycle prototypes that promised to deliver on some or all of these technologies. Of course the Japanese are the furthest along with actual demonstrable AI-powered motorcycles that self-balance or can ride by themselves without human interference. BMW's concept was more styling concept than technology demonstrator but it clearly shows corporate intent. Ducati announced just last month that all their new bikes would have front and rear facing radar from 2025 on.
The chorus proclaiming these developments as the death of the motorcycle is loud. Equally loud as that which accompanied the development of electric start (“if you can't start a motorcycle with a kick starter you shouldn't be riding one”), fuel injection (“robs motorcycles of snappy delivery and peak power”) and mandatory ABS brakes (“ruining off-road riding and taking away skill and control”).
Every commercial flight you have taken since in the last forty years has been in fly by wire craft, where the pilot “suggests” engine throttle controls and the computer makes millions of tiny adjustments to prevent surges or loss of power. Many jetliners (and all military fighters) have had complete fly by wire steering but you don't hear senior captains or fighter jocks complaining about lack of “feel”.
Technology progresses to improve control, safety, performance and reduce cost. Fire made surviving winter and hostile predator environments easier, and autonomous motorcycle tech will make riding a motorcycle easier and safer. It will introduce newcomers to motorcycling, expanding the market which always reduces costs and ensures a brighter future.
No one is coming to pry your beloved Panhead away from you, but electric-powered, digitally-controlled motorcycles are coming very soon. You may discover you like them. Motorcycling is not about the how, but the why. Or, you can join the cavemen who thought fire was for wusses, and would lead to a degenerate society.