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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)
It's not a car.
That's a cage. That's a car.
No beer and no TV make Homer something something
The gyos add complexity, and dropping a third wheel doesn't save that much space. See Riley's classic http://www.amazon.com/Alternat... or just search for some of his existing designs.
As a previous owner of a Sparrow, I wish these guys luck. Unfortunately, I need a three seater ...my trusty (actual) motorcycle sits idle since I've too often got to worry about hauling two kids these days.
Because the internet has programmed us to communicate entirely by pop culture references and oblique sexualized insults, leaving no room for actual critical examination of anything.
Looks like Kyle has some sand in his vagina again.
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?...
Guaranteed death in a car accident -- what's not to love?
That doesn't stop all the motorcyclists and bicyclists out there; they have even less protection than this offers.
Plus in this you don't have to wear stifling leather clothing, and you can drive in the rain without getting soaked.
I think there is a market for this.
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
the appeal behind motorcycles is gotta go fast, the wind in your hair, and being able to squeeze through tight spots, this abomination does none of these.
Everyone who ever rode a motorcycle knows very well they those things already self-balance to an impressive degree. Even if you wanted, you couldn't make one simply fall over (short of giving the handlebar a huge jerk)
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
The key to this one is that you don't need to put feet down when stopped, so it can be recumbant and fully-enclosed.
Wonder if you could have a two-seater?
Yes. The video shows a prototype with a rack of control circuitry behind the driver's seat, but near the end he mentions how they've miniaturized the circuitry enough since this prototype was built to replace it with a second seat.
Cup holders.
Guaranteed death in a car accident -- what's not to love?
That's an unfair comparison. You're thinking of it as a very, very small car, which in the case of a collision involving almost any four-wheeled vehicle can never offer its occupants an equal chance of emerging unscathed (the reason why a friend of mine always preferred that his wife drive a Cadillac). Instead, think of the C-1 as a greener, much safer and more comfortable version of a motorcycle that also has a cost per mile of 0.6 cents.
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.
the appeal behind motorcycles is gotta go fast
There are 200,000 Harley buyers a year that disagree with you.
Are you remembering this?
http://cobbsblog.com/gyro/gyro...
(I remember reading that Science & Mechanics article in the day.)
- Mike
Yeah, and don't forget that "loud pipes save lives" around typical inattentive drivers. This thing is silent but deadly.
A coworker of mine thought that.
He was STILL clobbered because of a dingbat driving her well sound insulated white SUV - and drove off; never to be caught for hit and run.
He's pretty screwed up but can still program.
As for me, walking on the side fo the road to have some narcissistic assholes cruising along at 10MPH - twisting their throttle - VROOM! VROOM! VROOM! - with their fat guts and gray hair hanging out of their over priced leather outfits, just has me putting my fingers in my ears, shaking my head and feeling sorry for such losers who have nothing better in their lives than to spend too much money on crap and live a delusion that they are "born to be wild" on weekends and have to go to their souless corporate drone lives on Monday.
4 wheels is a car. Cars have a metric shit-load of regulations associated with production, testing, warranty. Many of these are specific barriers to entry to prevent new car companies from entering the market.
2 wheels allows them to avoid all that and build something that is ultra-light and efficient and can be brought to market. Bravo for them.
It's all smoke and mirrors like the VentureOne, and the Moller Skycar.
Gyrocars are nothing new. ... What makes this one so special and why do they think this gyrocar will succeed where others have failed?
Thanks to the fact that the C-1 is electric and makes use of modern computer technology, it's simpler, lighter and cheaper to produce than its conceptual predecessors and has the potential to be much more reliable. Oh, and a gyrocar in production... that would be something new.
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"?
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.
I like it when my brakes stop me before I slide into something.
Motorcycles are actually better at stopping than most cars. Ever heard of a stopee?
(I ride a motorcycle, I find riding in the rain to be unpleasant for a variety of reasons)
Yes, because if you manage to get your motorcycle's front wheel to slide, it usually means you fall will over. But, that's exactly one of the reasons why the C-1 is so cool: it's gyroscopically stabilized, so if it slides for whatever reason it won't fall over. In that respect it will behave much like a car.
Don't forget countersteering too!
Bring back the old version of slashdot.
Seems like overkill to me. I have ridden some good sized bikes and, I mean, this was an issue for a little while, until I realized that I didn't really need to hold up that much weight. You know the bike, it has this big wheels....they can take the bike's weight, leave it on them. You don't need to take that much weight on your leg to keep stable.
Once in motion, the bike has two big rubber flywheels that do a great job of "self balancing". Overall I think the MSF course is probably a better buy than a bike with an extra flywheel. I actually learned on my own in a parking lot before I took the course and had to break myself of a bunch of bad habits, including how I sat at a stop.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
Let's be honest here. Would you like to compare % death rates for MILES TRAVELED instead? I'm a motorcyclist. It's dangerous out there. And how long is the riding season in most of Canada, 5 months?
It's not guaranteed death by any means. But it's dangerous.
Lots of sneering from motorcyclists, that's to be expected. But in fact this type of design has been attempted for many years (it's called the "feet forwards" or FF motorcycle) and the rationale for it is pretty sound: a small, efficient, personal transport that is as nimble as a motorcycle but has the comfort of a car.
The main problem with attempts made to date has been the one of staying upright when stationary. Some designs had open sides so you could use your feet, but that obviously compromises bad-weather comfort. Others have pop-down stabilisers but that's inelegant and difficult to make work at the right moment. If this has solved that problem and truly allows an enclosed cabin, they might have actually finally done it. I think this could well have a significant market, but probably not one with existing die-hard motorcyclists. I like it; it's pretty cool and I wish them well.
While batteries are at the energy densities they are, this size of vehicle makes a lot more sense than an SUV-sized behemoth. I've done the maths, and excellent performance and range are perfectly doable with LiPO4 technology, 20kW of power at a gross vehicle weight of 400kg. I think it definitely has a future.
You have made a false claim because you are terrible at statistics. Deaths divided by serious injuries is a nonsensical metric.
Hint: Go find the total miles driven in cars and motorcycles.
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.
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2006, 13.10 cars out of 100,000 ended up in fatal crashes. The rate for motorcycles is 72.34 per 100,000 registered motorcycles. Motorcycles also have a higher fatality rate per unit of distance travelled when compared with automobiles. Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists' risk of a fatal crash is 35 times greater than a passenger car. In 2004, figures from the UK Department for Transport indicated that motorcycles have 16 times the rate of serious injuries compared to cars, and double the rate of bicycles.
Additional data from the United States reveals that there are over four million motorcycles registered in the United States. Motorcycle fatalities represent approximately five percent of all highway fatalities each year, yet motorcycles represent just two percent of all registered vehicles in the United States. One of the main reasons motorcyclists are killed in crashes is because the motorcycle itself provides virtually no protection in a crash. For example, approximately 80 percent of reported motorcycle crashes result in injury or death; a comparable figure for automobiles is about 20 percent.
Motorcycle safety
It'd have no effect. The gyro could be precessed to help turning, but it would only have a minor effect on the lean, and none on the turn. This isn't the first gyro-stabilized motorbike.
Learn to love Alaska
Here, let me read the FAQ for you:
Q: Didn't BMW already use the name 'C-1'?
A: Yep, they did (as did Chevrolet, Citroën, and a variety of others). 'C-1' is just a working name for our vehicle; it will change as we near production.
Being able to put feet down requires a more upright and open riding position.
Removing that requirement enables a recumbant seating position (for better aerodynamics) and a fully-enclosed cabin. Making the cabin fully-enclosed allows for better protection from weather, better soundproofing, air conditioning, etc.