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It's Not a Car, It's a Self-Balancing Electric Motorcycle (Video)
Two gyros under the seat keep this vehicle standing up at a stop, which is easier on the driver's legs than putting a foot down the way you do while riding most motorcycles. And no vroom-vroom sound, either. This is an electric motorcycle. The prototype you see in the video gets up to around 20 MPH, but production models are supposed to hit 100 MPH, and go as far as a Tesla S on 1/6 the juice. So little tiny batteries are all the Lit C-1 needs to drive (up to) 200 miles with the gyros spinning merrily away -- keeping the C-1 upright even in crashes, as a simulation in this Lit Motors YouTube video shows. They claim to have more than 200 pre-orders against a projected retail price of $24,000, which is not shabby for a company that hasn't made a single production vehicle so far. (Alternate Video Link)
The gyos add complexity, and dropping a third wheel doesn't save that much space. ...
You must be thinking of something like the Peraves MonoTracer, but my impression of it is that it takes some getting used to. The C-1 will be much, much easier to deal with (not to mention better looking). As for the added complexity, the gyos make it easier to drive and don't make it prohibitively expensive ($24k, v. $104k for the monotracer), so who cares? As long as it works.
Reminds me of the Carver and the Venture One:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
But those tilted with the turn, I wonder how it feels taking a turn when the gyros want to keep this thing upright?
200 pre orders?? Screw that. The Elio has 20,000 pre-orders, and it's not built yet, has a nice low (projected) cost of $6800 and gets 84mpg. And I'd much rather have the Elio than the C-1 (although for a brief moment, I considered the C-1)... But for the long range I need, the Elio fits my requirements better.
http://www.eliomotors.com/
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
Not only is it NOT A MOTORCYCLE! the person talking about it has never ridden a motorcycle.
which is easier on the driver's legs than putting a foot down the way you do while riding most motorcycles.
First all motorcycles. Not most. Second. Who the hell ever pulled up to a stop while riding and thought "Fuck. I have to put my feet down again!"?
Not all. Like it or not "trikes" are considered and labelled motorcycles. As such, your statement is not accurate.
Second, I know a number of people who dislike it due to weaker legs/ankle injuries/etc (and thus, are attracted moreso to the trikes, which, for the record, I HATE).
"Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
They are not as original as they claim. There was a similar concept in kit car magazines in the 90's. There is a Youtube video (Yes, it is Flash but so is the video on the story)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Yes, and over 30 years before that there was the Ford Gyron, which was much more like a car, and even it was not original. However, nothing like that has ever made it into production. If the C-1 does, it'll be the first gyroscopically stabilized vehicle ever to make it to market. And I figure it has a good chance of success, because $24k is hardly unaffordable.
According to these stats for Canada in 2009, car drivers suffered about 1173 deaths and 5393 serious injuries while among motorcyclists there were 194 deaths and 1271 serious injuries. If you add these up and look at the percentage chance of death if involved in a collision severe enough for serious injuries than you'll see an 18% chance of death for the car drivers and 13% for the motorcyclists.
Care to share your source for "guaranteed death"?
Shilovsky's Gyrocar 1914 ftw.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
The gyro would be a flywheel to store some of the power of downhills and flat pedaling, to be expended as a booster on uphills. And because a storage flywheel of this kind would at most times be at maximum speed at signals and stops on the flat, cyclists would no longer have an excuse to not follow traffic controls. Your feet could remain firmly in the pedal clips when you stop at the Stop sign.