New Tech Trends Motorcycle Owners Should Expect in 2021
It’s that time of year. Regardless of the weather, you’ve probably had your last ride for the winter. That means the 2020 riding season just concluded. You’ve changed your oil and covered the beast like a bear going into hibernation.
By spring, there will be a whole new plethora of models and customizable options for your hog. If you want to keep up, you had better read on to get some insight into the hottest tech trends in the motorbike world.
4 New Safety Technologies
Safety is the primary concern when it comes to motorcycling. Before increasing your speed and performance, you should be sure to carefully consider the ways to improve personal safety. This is a tall order since you can’t just add a seat belt or side-impact airbags. Nonetheless, innovators have come up with a few clever ideas to make sure you get through 2021 injury-free. But you can’t rely on technology exclusively, so check out this list of safety tips as well.
- Adaptive headlights
- Air-bag clothing
- Improved helmet technology
- Electronic pressure monitors
Adaptive headlights are a newer technology that has great potential to improve your riding experience and save lives in the process. Motorcycle headlights are a weak spot in cycle technology. They are often too small and weak to be as effective as they could be. Adaptive headlights sense your movements and turn to look when you turn a corner to help you look where you’re going and not where you were going.
Air-bag riding gear is a fairly recent invention and is becoming more popular all the time. You can’t exactly put an airbag on your bike. So instead these genius designers decided to put them on your clothing. Specifically, these fancy safety devices cover the most vital and susceptible points. This technology comes in a few forms including a jacket, vest, or racing suit.
They work by rapidly inflating within moments after the sensors detect an abnormal change in speed or direction. Depending on the product, they use multiple accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect dangerous changes in position and posture.
Improved helmet technology is the most reliable and tested way to improve motorcycle safety. New, high-tech modular motorcycle helmets are the best way to ensure you have as many options as possible to meet the needs of each particular situation. This kind of helmet is a full-face helmet with the option to lift the face shield when you need improved air-flow and visibility. This modular approach allows you to modify your technology to match each situation.
Many of these helmets also have a lot of cool new technology that will improve your safety and riding enjoyment. A few examples of some of the more useful tech advancements are improved Bluetooth interconnectivity for your phone and other riders and a rear-view camera.
Electronic tire pressure monitors seem a little lackluster at first glance, but these little bad boys have great potential to save lives. This is because most riders tend to forget to check their tire pressure, which can have devastating consequences. Even those that frequently check their tires often just visually inspect them or give them a quick kick test. Proper tire pressure is essential to safely ride your motorcycle.
New Advancement For Performance And Play
Now that you’ve enhanced your safety gear, it’s time to get to the fun stuff. Speed, power, and flexibility. There are a few pieces of tech that you can’t go into 2021 without learning about.
- More electric bikes are on the way
- Sensors for just about everything
- LCDs on all bikes across all size ranges
- Electronic suspension
- Interactive displays
Electric bikes still aren’t accepted by the majority of motorcycle enthusiasts. There is a variety of reasons for this. The feel, unfamiliarity with the tech, inability to do streetside repairs, lack of range, and silent operation are all reasons why people are still hesitant to hop on board. While you shouldn’t expect to go touring on your new electric bike anytime soon, there is plenty of appealing features to draw in performance-based enthusiasts, like off the line torque that even the most expensive bikes can’t compete with.
Sensors, sensors, sensors. Sensors for everything. Force Sensors, telemetric sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, high sensitivity radar, anti-lock braking sensors, traction control, and anti-wheelie sensors. As you can see, there are more sensor technologies than we can get into here. But if you’re looking for performance and handling improvements, new sensor technology is the way to go.
LCDs are making their way onto all models across the full range of motorbikes. Previously, these kinds of LCDs were only available on the bigger, higher-end models. Well, no more. Now, every biker has the potential to gain the benefits of this new tech.
Electronic suspension takes advantage of several points of action on the bike. Depending on the signals received, smart suspension can respond to your actions and change key performance variables to improve handling for each unique situation.
The Future Is Tech
There is a certain allure to old classic motorcycles without much more electronic innovation beyond headlights and a starter, but the future is tech. Now riders can ride faster while being safer. Further but with more comfort. Be sure to take advantage of the newest tech in the industry and keep your eye out for these innovations this spring.