Tag: rides

Three-wheeled motorcycles are not exactly a new concept, and trikes even have a large following. But Yamaha is bringing out a new three-wheeled motorcycle unlike any that I have seen before. That head-turning new cycle is called the Yamaha NIKEN.

 

 

The NIKEN utilizes Leaning Multi-Wheel (LMW) technology to smooth out your ride as you zoom along the planet over its variety of surfaces and textures.  The LMW technology is also designed to help with cornering by keeping the bike stable in those hard turns.

The multi-wheeled bike is powered like a standard motorcycle, and it employs a liquid cooled 4-stroke DOHC four-valve engine.  The extra mass up front will no doubt take more power to push through the wind, but unlike other three-wheelers, the upfront mechanics appear to be more lightweight by design that a typical full faring setup. But it still manages to employ 15″ tires and an inverted high-performance front end suspension.

 

 

One thing is certain, and that is the NIKEN looks great just sitting on the pavement, ready to ride. I wouldn’t mind taking it for a test drive myself, although I might need to try a few times just to get used to that new and interesting mechanical setup. But yes, it does look good.

 

The Ford GT supercar is not your average daily driver. And the information you are going to need from an instrument cluster is going to change depending on how you are driving the wonderful beast. So how does Ford approach this issue? They built a digital instrument cluster that can change as needed, affording you a quick streamlined information view that is in line with such factors as driving environment and speed at which the car is going.

The GT’s display is about 10 inches across, and displays information based on the current driving mode. This is controlled by a steering wheel mounted control knob, and the driver can select such things as Normal, Wet, Sport, Track, and the exciting sounding V-Max modes. As each mode is selected, the car adjusts accordingly, changing such things as ride height, traction control settings, transmission shift points, and even rear spoiler position.

The display adapts as needed – for example, in Normal mode, the vehicle’s current speed is front and center. In Track mode, the speed is off to the side and the current gear along with engine speed take the prominent positions. And when you are in V-Max, a.k.a. maximum velocity mode, speed again comes to the forefront with supporting information flanking it. The display isn’t customizable, but Ford engineers have put a lot of thought and design into what is displayed for each given mode.

Coming Soon To Other Vehicles

The good news is that Ford is planning to bring the digital instrument cluster to their other vehicles as well. This means that you don’t have to have a Ford GT to appreciate the effort that went into the digital instruments. But to be honest, I don’t know if the instrument cluster is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the beautiful Fort GT Supercar. In fact, I know it isn’t, but it’s still nice to see that Ford is trying to provide the driver with the pertinent information so that they concentrate on job number 1 – driving the Ford GT.

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This camper goes where few tow behind campers can go – on the water! The inventor, Daniel Straub, wanted to create the ultimate recreational vehicle. From what we’ve seen, his creation, dubbed cleverly enough the Sealander, just might succeed. You can cross the lake to that private place only accessible by boat and stay a few days. Works for me.

 

I’ve seen several examples of a single wheeled powered vehicle where the rider is positioned on the inside, but none are any cooler than the 2 passenger “Incredible Dynasphere”. The inventor, Dr. J.A. Purves, claimed that his spherical locomotion technology would revolutionize the transportation industry.

Well, it’s been a while, but we still aren’t riding around inside a big wheel. But then again, everyone doesn’t have a flying car or a personal jetpack either, so maybe its time will still come.