Electric motorcycles are starting to come to market — and considering the rise in popularity of the electric car, that should come as no surprise to consumers. But what might come as a surprise is an electric motorcycle with no handlebars; Japanese company Yamaha just unveiled concept renderings of this type of vehicle.
The Yamaha Motoroid 2 is reportedly self-balancing, with the handlebars replaced by two rigid hand grips that are basically just something to hang onto so that you don't fall off.
Electrek speculates that the Yamaha Motoroid 2 is meant to be not only self-balancing but potentially riderless as well, meaning that it could drive itself around without any human involvement — possibly to deliver packages or to come when called from long distances, like Gandalf's horse.
Unfortunately for any customers hoping to get their hands on one of these weird, science-fiction-y contraptions, "Yamaha is unlikely to actually produce an electric motorcycle like this," Electrek wrote, but "it is interesting that the company sees enough value in the idea to develop a second concept and even develop a working prototype, which the company says will be shown off next month at the Events Japan Mobility Show 2023."
Considering the less-than-stellar early reviews that competitor Kawasaki garnered for its electric motorcycle — which is coming to market — when its specs were recently released, more innovation, development, and futuristic concepts in electric motorcycles would be welcome.
Yamaha offers some options for electric scooters (complete with standard handlebars and steering).
While some Electrek commenters were confused about the point of a riderless motorcycle, others offered some speculation.
"This is a tech research project," wrote one commenter. "If something similar to the concept gets released for sale it will be an interesting oddity for wealthy people to buy for fun. Other than that, it's just to experiment with new technologies and engineering concepts, some of which may find their way into race or production bikes."
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