Kawasaki patents a truly radical motorcycle concept

Bruno Gomes

September 26, 2019

Do the wheels of a motorcycle need to lean in the same angle of the bike itself? Kawasaki thinks not and patents a truly radical motorcycle concept.

Looking at the images that go with this article, you might think something is broken on the motorcycle. Why does the bike lean to one side and the wheels to another? Something has to be broken!

Well, in reality, nothing is broken. This is the first images of a new Kawasaki concept. The Japanese manufacturer registered the patent a few days ago. In this concept the body of the motorcycle will lean at a different angle compared to the wheels.

Unlike what we see in a conventional bike, where the handlebar rotates over bearings on an almost vertical axis, on this Kawasaki concept the handlebar is a “U” shape component that is fixed to the bike body. It doesn’t move.

This concept uses a system that allows for the swingarms to rotate independently from the bike itself, and this way the bike will corner without the handlebar needing to rotate or move at all.

The bike, if it ever becomes something real, needs to be electric. The electric engines will be installed in the wheels. If not, Kawasaki wouldn’t be able to make the bike and the wheels to lean at different angles.

With a chain, driveshaft or belt secondary transmission, the rear wheel would need to lean at the same angle of the bike. With the electric engines fitted inside the wheels, Kawasaki eliminates this problem.

Will we ever see such a radical motorcycle concept become reality? Probably not in the near future. But it’s interesting to see that Kawasaki is looking into some truly radical motorcycle concept.