Autonomous Motorcycles vs. Autonomous Motorcyclists
Seems like the only international motorcycle news in 2017 was of Scramblers and roadsters. During the same period, the automotive press wrote of nothing else but self-driving cars. The mainstream news proclaimed that autonomous vehicle 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 called “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 :
modern motorcyclists, far from being outlaw loner-types, are in fact some of the most conservative consumers in the world and suffer from dangerous levels 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 ideology 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 with Harley-Davidson, demand absolute conformity of character, style, and fashion. How else do you explain the seas of black and orange, skull-and-flames and airbrush eagle pageantry at 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 espresso bar.
All these individuals expressing their freedom by imitating each other according to the orthodoxy of their chosen tribes.
Thats all fine. I have tribes too, and in tribes we find comfort and non-judgmental friendships, expanding our motorcycle enjoyment. But the point is clear, most motorcyclists are not freedom-demanding individuals as much as insecure individuals seeking freedom from the fear. Fear of judgement. Fear of isolation. And fear of injury.
Evolution teaches that safety comes in numbers. A herd is safe from ridicule because a group on loud motorcycles parading around obnoxiously are less likely 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 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 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 prototypes that promised to deliver on some or all of these technologies. The Japanese are the furthest along with actual demonstrable AI-powered motorcycles that self-balance or can ride by themselves without human interference. BMW presented more of a styling concept than a technology demonstrator but it clearly showed 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, almost as 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 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 a hostile predator environment easier, and autonomous technology will make riding a motorcycle easier and safer. It will introduce newcomers to motorcycling and expand the market, something which has the benefit of reducing costs.
No one is coming to pry your beloved Panhead/R1200GS/Panigale from you, but digitally-controlled, semi-autonomous motorcycles are coming. You may discover that you like them. Probably because motorcycling is about the why and with whom and less about the how.
Or you can join the cavemen who thought fire would lead to a degenerate society, and join other self-proclaimed freedom-loving individuals as you shout “progress is fine until I don’t recognize it.”
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Michael Uhlarik is an international award winning motorcycle designer, product planner and market analyst, and the founder of Motorcycle Global. His work and analysis have featured in the Globe & Mail, Reuters, Wired, the New York Times Online and most international motorcycle trade publications. He is based in Halifax, Canada.
