AjaxTheDog
New member
I don't mean any of these to replace rider skills. I always need to be vigilant and paranoid at all times, and I am. I have several hundred thousand miles on two wheels and it may kill me someday but at least I'll go out doing what I love to do. I find motorcycling to be a good and healthy outlet for the schizophrenia/paranoia that runs in my family. I am only half kidding. Come to think about it I might not be kidding at all.
My mantra has been don't trust anyone around you on the road. And it is getting worse between distractions and drugs and just plain that anyone can get a license to drive a car now regardless of the ability, maturity, or understanding of the responsibility that the driving a two ton object brings. And then there are the wackos, I can’t explain why they do what they do but they are out there. Any time, any place.
Have you ever seen the display on a modern fighter jet? There are many assists because things just happen too fast to be turning your head and looking all around for dangers around you. That went out with WWI and II. I think we are entering a new era of motorcycling and we need new tools and assists.
Anyway, back to BMW bikes and what I would like to see:
1. Turn on the brake lights when the motorcycle is decelerating. When in traffic and my buddy lets off the gas on his K1200GT his bike slows down fast without any warning. He can downshift several times slowing way down without any indication to those behind him. My smart phone can detect deceleration, so why shouldn’t my bike be able to also? Turn on the brake light!
2. Blinking brake lights - I have these because I added them on aftermarket. but I have noticed that new cars have the third (high on the back window) lights that now blink 3 times when a car brakes. It doesn't have to be the whole motorcycle brake light, but some portion of it should flash when we brake. Hopefully this will catch the eye of the distracted driver and make them notice us.
3. Blind spot radar or whatever it is on cars that shows a red dot in the rear mirror when there is someone within "X" feet of your tail end on either side. I have ridden in a Ford car that had this feature. I won't count on this alone to make sure no one is at my side but when it is ON I will probably won’t move until I am absolutely sure no one is in my blind spot. Even when It is not on I will look anyway.
4. An oscillating headlight for daytime use. If you have ever ridden through Kansas you know what a long, long stretch of two lane highway does to your depth perception. Bikes need to be seen far away. Ideally this could be turned off and on, or maybe auto on when radar indicates no one is near.
5. A kickstand warning - You are stopped but it is not down. I have dropped a couple of bikes thinking the stand was down when it wasn't. Yes, I am stupid, but it has happened. Judging from widespread sales of tip over protections there are many who either have done this or worry about it. Just a little tiny dash light that is red when not down and green when it is. It's a very costly error on a K or R bike, I know that firsthand. Super embarrassing too.
6. OK this one is an outlier, but I sure would like it. How many times have you pulled up to an intersection, put your feet down and found roller bearing gravel beneath them? Many for me. I even considered putting golf cleats on my boots to help with this. In a Jetson’s world there would be a couple of kickstand on either side that shoot out when your bike is at a standstill and exceeding a certain angle so that it doesn’t fall over. Ideally these would retract when you start moving. I did say Jetson’s didn’t I?
I am not advocating for the nanny state. Like I said I would not expect any of these to replace rider skills. I am thinking more like supplement. Some of these are features that are now in use on cars, of which there are many more than bikes, so they must be somewhat reliable.
Recently I looked at a brand new RT. Impressive, color display, etc. It made me think however how much more useful it would be to have a few of these features rather than a color display. Don't get me wrong, a color display is nice, but it’s not essential.
I have crashed a couple of times and luckily been able to walk away without serious long term injuries and continue to ride. I hope I never have to stop. I would like to see these features as a optional safety package and truthfully I’d be willing to pay at least a couple of grand for them. In the BMW motorcycle world that probably means $5,000.
So what I am looking for here is not if you don’t think you need these, but more about other safety ideas you may have. Not trying to dumb it down or make anyone buy or do what they don’t want to.
My mantra has been don't trust anyone around you on the road. And it is getting worse between distractions and drugs and just plain that anyone can get a license to drive a car now regardless of the ability, maturity, or understanding of the responsibility that the driving a two ton object brings. And then there are the wackos, I can’t explain why they do what they do but they are out there. Any time, any place.
Have you ever seen the display on a modern fighter jet? There are many assists because things just happen too fast to be turning your head and looking all around for dangers around you. That went out with WWI and II. I think we are entering a new era of motorcycling and we need new tools and assists.
Anyway, back to BMW bikes and what I would like to see:
1. Turn on the brake lights when the motorcycle is decelerating. When in traffic and my buddy lets off the gas on his K1200GT his bike slows down fast without any warning. He can downshift several times slowing way down without any indication to those behind him. My smart phone can detect deceleration, so why shouldn’t my bike be able to also? Turn on the brake light!
2. Blinking brake lights - I have these because I added them on aftermarket. but I have noticed that new cars have the third (high on the back window) lights that now blink 3 times when a car brakes. It doesn't have to be the whole motorcycle brake light, but some portion of it should flash when we brake. Hopefully this will catch the eye of the distracted driver and make them notice us.
3. Blind spot radar or whatever it is on cars that shows a red dot in the rear mirror when there is someone within "X" feet of your tail end on either side. I have ridden in a Ford car that had this feature. I won't count on this alone to make sure no one is at my side but when it is ON I will probably won’t move until I am absolutely sure no one is in my blind spot. Even when It is not on I will look anyway.
4. An oscillating headlight for daytime use. If you have ever ridden through Kansas you know what a long, long stretch of two lane highway does to your depth perception. Bikes need to be seen far away. Ideally this could be turned off and on, or maybe auto on when radar indicates no one is near.
5. A kickstand warning - You are stopped but it is not down. I have dropped a couple of bikes thinking the stand was down when it wasn't. Yes, I am stupid, but it has happened. Judging from widespread sales of tip over protections there are many who either have done this or worry about it. Just a little tiny dash light that is red when not down and green when it is. It's a very costly error on a K or R bike, I know that firsthand. Super embarrassing too.
6. OK this one is an outlier, but I sure would like it. How many times have you pulled up to an intersection, put your feet down and found roller bearing gravel beneath them? Many for me. I even considered putting golf cleats on my boots to help with this. In a Jetson’s world there would be a couple of kickstand on either side that shoot out when your bike is at a standstill and exceeding a certain angle so that it doesn’t fall over. Ideally these would retract when you start moving. I did say Jetson’s didn’t I?
I am not advocating for the nanny state. Like I said I would not expect any of these to replace rider skills. I am thinking more like supplement. Some of these are features that are now in use on cars, of which there are many more than bikes, so they must be somewhat reliable.
Recently I looked at a brand new RT. Impressive, color display, etc. It made me think however how much more useful it would be to have a few of these features rather than a color display. Don't get me wrong, a color display is nice, but it’s not essential.
I have crashed a couple of times and luckily been able to walk away without serious long term injuries and continue to ride. I hope I never have to stop. I would like to see these features as a optional safety package and truthfully I’d be willing to pay at least a couple of grand for them. In the BMW motorcycle world that probably means $5,000.
So what I am looking for here is not if you don’t think you need these, but more about other safety ideas you may have. Not trying to dumb it down or make anyone buy or do what they don’t want to.
