Honda's 750cc NM4 Vultus: A new species of motorcycle
Honda has announced a new motorcycle – the 750cc NM4, which will be
known as the Vultus in European markets – and it's a new species of
motorcycle that represents such a bold departure from tradition that it
could become a landmark in the evolution of motorized two-wheeled
transport.
The NM4 (NM stands for "New Motorcycle") is styled along
“Japanimation” lines, and though the cult anime/manga bodywork is no
doubt challenging to the eye of existing motorcycle enthusiasts, it’s
not the styling that sets the NM4 apart – it's the combination of the
very low seat height, semi-recumbent, feet-first rider posture,
adjustable backrest and large futuristic dashboard to create what Honda
describes as the seating position and cockpit of a “fighter pilot.”
At just 650 mm (25.5"), the seat height of the NM4 is much lower than
anything we've ever seen before in a 750 cc class, mass production
motorcycle an indication that Honda is intending to produce large
capacity motorcycles for people less than 170 cm (5' 7") tall.
When
the Honda NM4 Vultus reaches showrooms later this year (2014), it will
have the lowest seat height of any large capacity motorcycle at just
650mm. Whatsmore, note the location of the footboards and brake pedal.
The NM4 Vultus is a recumbent motorcycle - a brave move from Honda.
What's more, the NM4 has been designed for ease-of-use. It comes standard with Honda's proprietary
Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) and
Combined Brake System that includes a dual-channel Anti Lock Brake system (ABS).
Between the two systems, the two most-difficult aspects of riding a
motorcycle (braking and changing gear) have been reduced to scooter-like
simplicity. At the same time, by removing the necessity to have the
rider's feet at the foot controls of a traditional motorcycle, it is
offering a great deal more choice about riding position (while the foot
brake still exists, its use is optional because the brake lever on the
right handlebar operates both front and rear brakes through the linked
braking system).
1 - Tapping new markets
The design of the NM4 facilitates several potentially rich new sources of customers for Honda.
The
first and potentially largest new marketplace for the Vultus is in
young style-conscious Asian countries where edgy futuristic Manga design
is a desirable attribute, scooters are the most common form of personal
transport, average height is considerably less, and riding motorcycles
is not almost exclusively gender-specific as it is in Western society.
1-1 Eastern Markets
The first and potentially largest new marketplace for the Vultus is
in young style-conscious Asian countries where edgy futuristic Manga
design is a highly desirable attribute, scooters are the most common
form of personal transport, average height is considerably less than in
Europe and North America, and riding motorcycles is not almost
exclusively gender-specific as it is in Western society.
Seat height is already a key decision-making criteria in the purchase
of motorcycles for the small percentage of women in Western countries
who buy them. In Asian countries nearly all existing large capacity
motorcycles currently preclude women from the mix by virtue of their
seat height, not to mention a significant proportion of males.
Two-thirds of the world's population lives in Asia and has been raised
in an environment where scooters ARE the family car.
More
people live inside this circle than outside. The 21st century is
sometimes referred to as the Asian century. The rise of Asia’s wealth is
changing the world and has profound implications for people everywhere -
including the shape of personal transport.
1-2 Western Markets
The NM4 can also be expected to cultivate new customers in Western
markets, as it will undoubtedly be the first large capacity motorcycle
to appeal to non-enthusiasts with its futuristic Japanese cult styling
and ease-of-use.
A poster for the 1988 Japanese theatrical release "Akira" which has been heavily influential in Japanese culture
Drawing heavily from the futuristic bikes seen in the anime/manga
illustrated books, television series and films, it has many similarities
to Shotaro Kaneda's bike from
Akira, and the work of
Katsuhiro Otomo.
Known collectively as “Japanimation," both genres are established
adult entertainment in Japan, woven into the fabric of society. Now, the
philosophy, attitude, fashion and feeling of this originally Japanese
entertainment form have spread worldwide and become a mainstream
phenomena.
Finally, Honda is keen to attract car drivers onto motorcycles and it
recognizes that the current state of the world's increasingly congested
roads is driving change in the global personal transportation
marketplace.
In advanced economies, a wind of change is sweeping through
motorcycle land. After decades of refinement, enthusiast motorcycles are
now astoundingly good and the enthusiast is already well catered for.
The NM4 caters for the non-enthusiast who is not mired in traditional,
often spartan motorcycle form factors.
1-3 Urban Markets
The imperatives of ever-increasing fuel pricing and road congestion
are about to generate a new reason for the world's commuters to consider
motorcycles as a form of transport, a reason which won't go away and
will gradually increase to the point where it cannot be ignored. The
time is coming where enthusiasts will no longer dominate the motorcycle
market – commuters will rule.
2 - Vultus NM4: A very "New Motorcycle"
Just as technology freed the first generation of motorcycle riders
from an array of hand throttles, advance-retard mechanisms and chokes a
century ago, technology will now remove another layer of anachronistic
control mechanisms left over from a prior generation.
My take is that the NM4 is designed by Honda to emancipate
motorcycling one further step, to make riding a motorcycle as easy to
ride as a scooter, and the Japanimation styling is just a sugar coating.
The introduction of a bike as radically non-traditional as the NM4 is
brave new territory, even for a company with the resources of Honda.
When announcing the bike at the Osaka Motorcycle Show, the synopsis in
the first paragraph of the press kit read thus:
New model: A ground-breaking machine inspired by the desire to
establish a unique riding experience and an identity not bound by
standard motorcycle design, with strong echoes of futuristic bikes seen
in Japanese movies. Created by a young design team who remained true to
their original concept at every stage through to production, the NM4
Vultus brings radical style to the streets, with function from the
future for a new breed of rider.
“Honda
is a big company. We make every kind of motorcycle. It’s great that
sometimes we make a certain machine simply because we can and because we
want to, not because we 'should'."
"The NM4 Vultus exists because of a passion from deep
within our company. We wanted to create something special, not just in
the two-wheeled world, but truly unique in the whole world - a machine
that engages a human soul like no other."
"Our intention was to make something that makes every moment
feel cinematic, and we want riding it to be an event – guaranteed –
every single time.”
Mr Keita Mikura, NM4 Vultus Project Leader, Honda Motor Company
Then followed the carefully chosen words of Mr Keita Mikura, the
Project Leader for the NM4 Vultus, which are worth considering in
context. Kimura's brief statement is reproduced under the image above.
Given the lukewarm reception Honda experienced with the DN-01, it has
every reason to be nervous about how the NM4/ Vultus will be received
by its public. Mikura's above words suggest the company has decided to
forge ahead in this direction regardless, and we can expect the NM4 to
be on the market a lot longer than its direct predecessor – the DN-01 was announced in 2005
at the Tokyo Motor Show, came to market in 2008 and was withdrawn in
2010. I was attendant at the 2005 launch of the DN-01, and I have no
doubt that Honda thought the moment was a very significant one in its
history.
The DN-01 (
read Loz Blain's road test of the bike here)
remains one of the very few large capacity motorcycles ever to have
used an automatic transmission, in this case an ingenious CVT
(Continuously Variable Transmission), which worked well and offered many
benefits to learners and experienced riders alike but was largely
misunderstood and lambasted by the traditional motorcycle media.
Much of the DNA of the Vultus can be found in the DN-01, with its
semi-recumbent seating position, electronically-controlled "Human
Friendly Transmission" and equally human-friendly, big V-twin motor. The
DN-01's motor was built for mid-range and usability, not outright
horsepower and performance, and was roundly criticized by the same
motorcycle media for its lack of outright horsepower.
Given the reception of the DN-01 at the cash register, and the
response of a motorcycle media staunchly resistant to any motorcycle
without sporting aspirations, Honda's move in releasing the NM4 is to be
roundly lauded. It has regrouped following the disappointment of the
DN-01 and is backing its own judgement on the future evolution of the
motorcycle regardless of the opinion of the current change-resistant
enthusiasts and a myopic motorcycle press. It is hoping to use its
corporate momentum to take motorcycle design in a more practical
direction.
3 - Honda deliberately but gently breaks the traditional mold
Honda has thrown every bit of trickery and technology it can muster
at the Vultus NM4 which combines both synthetic feel-good technologies
and a full hand of electronic rider assistance technologies to make
riding a motorcycle much easier. Honda's long term investment in R&D
to develop expertise which gives it a competitive edge is being brought
to bear to create the best possible user experience.
Honda's
CB750 of 1969 is regarded as the first superbike. Comparing its vital
statistics to those of the Vultus NM4 is highly illustrative
When Honda launched the CB750 nearly half a century ago, it created
what enthusiasts commonly refer to as the UJM (Universal Japanese
Motorcycle) – a four cylinder bike with smooth power delivery, but
lacking the character which motorcycle enthusiasts held dear. It might
seem like a no-brainer now to create a compact multi-cylinder
motorcycle, but the first few thousand bikes shipped from Japan to
America had sand-cast casings for good reason – Honda wasn't sure the
bike would sell and did not wish to invest in the tooling required for
serious mass production until it had proof that the motorcycle was
viable at the cash register. The rest is history.
3-1 Honda's 750 parallel "faux" V-twin
Five decades on, and the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer is
no longer smoothing the vibrations but purposefully infusing its
machinery with characterful rumblings. It may have balancing shafts to
remove annoying high frequency vibrations, but the primal rhythms of the
Vultus are a critically important part of the primary design.
On the surface, the NM4 is powered by a SOHC 8-valve 750 cc parallel
twin, similar in power output and capacity to the 650 cc Triumph
Bonneville (35.8 kW @ 7200 rpm), 750 cc Norton Commando (43.8 kW @ 6800
rpm) and 650 cc BSA Lightning (35.8 kW @ 7000 rpm), which were kings of
the road almost 50 years ago. By comparison, the 750cc Vultus stacks up
well with 40.3 kW at 6,250 rpm with a far stronger low- and mid-range
than the bikes which lost Britain's motorcycle empire.
In reality, Honda's parallel-twin engine has a 270 degree crank
throw, which gives it the feel and sound of a V-twin. In building the
NM4, Honda has combined all of the advantages of a V-twin, while
conveniently canting its parallel twin forward to fit it neatly into the
form factor it desired. The DN-01 had a big V-twin, the NM4 has a faux
V-twin.
It's no co-incidence that most of the truly iconic motorcycles and
those with massive cult followings have used the V-twin engine
configuration.
From the iconic motorcycles of yore such as Indian, Brough Superior,
the legendary Vincent Black Shadow, through to the most recent cult
machinery such as Ducati, Buell/EBR, Victory and Confederate, and the
Harley-Davidson marque which has endured a century based on a
proprietary 45 degree design, all have used the uneven firing order of
the V-twin to seduce their audience. V-twins offer a sweet, torquey
mid-range, but it's the vibrational characteristics and intoxicating
sound of a V-twin which are as much key factors in their allure as the
engine's usability.
As hall-of-fame motorcycle designer Erik Buell recently told Ashack.blogspot.com, "motorcycles are a very emotional product and big v-twins sound cool ... sound is a key part of the experience for the rider."
The numbers speak for themselves: 17 of the 20 most expensive motorcycles ever sold at auction
are V-twins, one is a flat twin BMW, and two are V4 Ducati MotoGP
bikes. 100 percent are four-strokes, 95 percent have V-configuration
engines and 85 percent are V-twins.
The 745 cc engine of the Vultus is largely identical to the 700
(actually 670 cc) engine already in use in Honda’s CTX700 and NC700,
with the bore increased by 4 mm to 77 mm and the same 80 mm stroke for a
swept volume of 745 cc.
We've been through the clever design of the canted compact Honda twin previously.
It's not a sports engine but one designed and specifically tuned for
real world speeds and conditions. The additional benefits of the NM4's
10 percent engine capacity increase over the 670 cc motor used in the
NX700 and CTX700 have resulted not in greater peak horsepower (as is
customary with engine capacity increases), but in a punchier lower
range, with peak torque of 68 Nm produced at just 4,750 rpm.
One final thought on the Vultus engine. While traditional
motorcyclists might scoff at its less than sporting performance in
comparison to the extreme sports motorcycles in the same capacity class,
it is interesting to compare the NM4's engine performance with Honda's
most famous motorcycle, the CB750, a motorcycle generally regarded as
the first "superbike."
In terms of horsepower, the CB750 produced 50 kW @ 8,000 rpm, which
is 24 percent more peak horsepower than NM4's 40.3 kW at a slightly more
modest 6,250rpm.
In terms of torque, the NM4's 68 Nm @ 4,750 rpm is 13 percent more
than the CB750's 60 Nm @ 7,000 rpm, and it produces that grunt much
lower in the rev range.
In the real world, most CB750s averaged around 35-40 mpg and that is
where the biggest single performance difference can be seen between the
two – the NM4 delivers better than 80 mpg. That's miserly scooter-like
gas-pump-performance from a motorcycle capable of outperforming any car
this side of $100,000, and it'll easily leave a supercar behind without
ever raising its revs beyond that torque-laden mid-range.
The NM4 is a rare motorcycle designed with a surfeit of common sense –
a motorcycle for the real world. It might not cut superbike lap times,
but in its natural habitat, it will be a far nicer traveling companion.
3-2 Honda's Dual Clutch Transmission
Honda has been seeking to make motorcycling simpler for a long time.
It produced automatic versions of its 400 cc twin and 750 cc four
cylinder road machines for a brief period in the late 1970s and I spent a
week on the CB750A at that time and loved it. With an powerband
restacked for low-range torque and two-speed Hondamatic gear-changing,
it was simplicity personified – twist-and-go and enjoy the ride.
Even then, the trends Honda was watching in the United States car
market suggested that motorcycles would one day be automatic, as
automatic transmissions were taking over from stick-shifts in cars.
Humans want simplicity it seems and by 1976 when Honda launched its
automatic motorcycles, two thirds of new car sales were fitted with an
automatic transmission.
The current percentage of new car sales in America with automatic
transmissions is 92.5 percent. The staunchly traditional motorcycle
marketplace did not however, feel the same way about the idea of an
automatic motorcycle in the 1970s and the Honda CB750A only garnered a
few thousand sales. It was shelved and it was another three decades
before the Honda DN-01 emerged with another automatic. The DN-01's
"Human Friendly Transmission" was a CVT, but regardless of what
mechanisms it used to do its job, it was an automatic.
The Dual Clutch Transmission is different though. It uses two
clutches: one for first, third and fifth gears, the other for second,
fourth and sixth, with the mainshaft for both clutches concentric, and
each independently controlled by its own electro-hydraulic circuit. When
a gear change occurs, the system pre-selects the target gear using the
clutch not currently in use. The first clutch is then electronically
disengaged as, simultaneously, the second clutch engages.
Honda spent a lot of money and time developing its own DCT. It's the
only motorcycle currently in production that uses a DCT, though quite a
few manufacturers use dual clutch transmissions in their performance
cars. Numerous models from Ferrari, Audi and Porsche, plus supercars
such as the Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Huracan, McLaren MP4-12C,
Mercedes SLS AMG, BMW M3, Nissan GT-R, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X use
dual clutch transmissions and Lotus has just applied for a patent for a
simplified DCT. With a list of DCT devotees of such quality, Honda's
efforts in developing the only motorcycle DCT in existence seem more
than justified. A DCT does it faster and more efficiently and smoother.
Q.E.D.
Remarkably, the DCT fitted to the Vultus is already Honda's second
generation motorcycle DCT, the first being fitted to the 2009 VFR1200F.
The
Honda DCT offers three modes of gear changing - automatic twist-and-go
in D and S mode, plus a trigger-operated computer-game-style manual MT
mode - similar to the paddle gear-changes on a Formula One car and quite
different to the foot-pedal operated sequential gearbox of a
traditional motorcycle. In MT mode, the gears are shifted manually using
the left index finger to shift up and the thumb to shift down
Traditional motorcycle enthusiasts love to pedal a manual gearbox,
loading up the gear shift lever and flicking the throttle off
momentarily for a fast gear change under acceleration. The irony is that
novices will be able to change gears faster and smoother on the NM4
because the co-ordination of swapping cogs efficiently is done with
technology, not with human clumsiness. Put two riders of equal weight,
reflexes and co-ordination on two otherwise identical bikes, one with a
manual gearbox and one with DCT, and the rider of the DCT bike will be
faster over a quarter mile.
Similarly, when hurtling into a corner and downshifting under brakes,
enthusiasts love the challenge of getting it right by blipping the
throttle and matching the revs to avoid the rear wheel chirping, as
there's nothing quite like mastering a big motorcycle to make you feel
king of the universe. Beginners will be able to achieve the same feeling
and results without the same degree of riding expertise on the NM4 –
another reason enthusiasts will hate it.
The DCT delivers a quick, smooth, consistent, seamless gear change
conducted by a computer that is better than any human can orchestrate
with a clutch, throttle and shift-pedal ... every time, no brainpower
required. As the transmission transfers drive from one gear to the next
with infinitesimal interruption of the power to the rear wheel, there is
no gear change shock, and pitching of the machine is minimized, making
the change feel direct as well as smooth.
The NM4 does not have a clutch lever or shift pedal. The Honda DCT
offers three modes of gear changing – automatic twist-and-go in D and S
mode, plus a trigger-operated computer-game-style manual MT mode –
similar to the paddle gear-changes on a Formula One car and quite
different to the foot-pedal operated sequential gearbox of a traditional
motorcycle.
In MT mode, the gears are shifted manually using the left index
finger to shift up and the thumb to shift down. This can even be
employed to use engine braking to stabilize the bike on the entry into a
corner. As it has two clutches, the NM4's power is delivered to the
rear wheel without a break, and downshifts are seamless.
The
digital dash of the NM4 changes colour depending on the drive mode
selected, with subtle colour changes from Neutral (white) through D
(blue) to S (pink), ultimately to MT (red). The rider can choose one
colour from five other tonal ranges of each colour - 25 individual
colours altogether.
Automatic D mode is ideal for city riding, and offers the best fuel
economy. Automatic S mode is sportier and the ECU lets the engine rev
higher before shifting up and shifts down sooner when decelerating for
extra engine braking.
In either D or S mode, the DCT offers manual intervention – the rider
simply selects the required gear using the up and down shift triggers on
the left handlebar. It's not immediate, but soon after you've told it
you want to go up or down a gear, it will shift seamlessly into that
gear. Thanks to engine mapping and a well-programmed ECU, the DCT is
designed to seamlessly revert back to automatic mode when it decides the
excitement is over, using a number of parameters (throttle opening,
vehicle speed and gear position) to make that decision. If you're a
purist or a control freak, the Vultus will piss you off big time.
Furthermore, in D mode, the DCT system detects variations in rider
input typical to certain environments, from busy urban streets to
mountain switchbacks, and adapts its gear change schedule accordingly to
create an extra level of riding compatibility. Motorcycling newbies
raised on game systems will love these adaptive features,
traditionalists will not.
3-3 Honda's combined brake system and dual-channel anti-lock brakes
Stopping a motorcycle is a difficult business for the uninitiated.
Unlike with automobiles where you simply press one pedal to operate all
four brakes, motorcycles usually have independent braking – one brake
for the front wheel, controlled with the right handlebar lever, and one
for the rear wheel, controlled with the right foot. Curiously, the brake
on the right handlebar lever must be operated with the same hand as the
throttle twist-grip, which is also on the right handlebar – one of
those "we've always done it that way" design throwbacks which would not
pass muster in usability testing these days. The majority of braking on a
motorcycle, around 70-80 percent, is done with the front wheel, though
the rear is important in stabilizing the bike and reducing the forward
pitching under heavy braking.
This forward pitching under braking changes the geometry, and can
catch an inexperienced rider out, and though an experienced rider can
vary the braking power applied to each wheel for the best results in
different conditions, it's a minefield for newbies. With long travel
suspension and powerful brakes, controlling a motorcycle in a crash stop
situation on slippery road surfaces has brought many a newbie to their
knees (and hands and face).
Honda's Combined Brake System aims to automatically generate an ideal
balance of braking power to each wheel, achieving expert level braking
with one hand. Once more, it does so with no brainpower required.
Yes, Vale, Jorge and Marc are better with two independent brakes, but
there are only two problems: most riders are nowhere near as good as
the aforementioned, and all riders like to think they are. Automating
the difficult and critical bits of riding a motorcycle makes sense, and
stopping a motorcycle is a critical business because the human body is
both frail and vulnerable, particularly at speed on a motorcycle. This
is indeed a matter of life and death.
Honda's combined braking systems only employ one front disk for some
reason (presumably a logical one) despite the seemingly obvious
engineering benefits of two front discs generating symmetrical forces
through the fork legs. I'm prepared to back that Honda's single front
320 mm disc, two-piston brake caliper set-up and single rear 240 mm disc
and single-piston caliper with the aforementioned technological cunning
applied, are more than up to the task.
3-4 The recumbent feet-forward riding position
Like almost every idea under the sun, there is "prior art" regarding
recumbent feet-first seating positions but not from a manufacturer with
gravitas. Most feet-forward motorcycle manufacturers (Quasar, Alligator,
Ner-a-car, Acerbion, Swiss Zerotracer, ad infinitum) have sold dozens of motorcycles. Honda sells 22 million motorcycles a year.
Not one recumbent (feet-forward) motorcycle has ever never seen mass
production. Until now! The Vultus is the closest motorcycle yet to the
"feet forward" definition. Honda has indicated the Vultus will be
available to buy this year (2014), and Honda doesn't do small production
runs, so the new Vultus might well influence the form-factor of the
motorcycle in a big way if its distinctive aesthetics catch on.
The existing bikes which will most likely be seen as the NM4's competition: Aprilia's SRV850 at top left, then clockwise, BMW's C 650 GT, Yamaha's T-Max 530 and Suzuki's Burgman 650
The Vultus has the most pronounced feet-forward riding position yet
seen on a mass production motorcycle and a very low seat height of just
650 mm. By comparison, the Suzuki Burgman’s seat height is 755 mm, the Aprilia RSV 850’s
seat is 780mm high, the Yamaha T-Max 530’s seat height is 800 mm and
the BMW 650 GT runs to 805 mm, and they are all bikes that have paid a
lot of attention to getting a very low seat height in the first place.
Motorcycles are another level of seat height above the scooters.
The NM4's seat also has a built-in back-rest for the rider,
completing the seating position in a non-conventional way – its angle
can be adjusted through three positions and it slides backwards or
forwards 25mm through four settings, so "cockpit comfort" can be
fine-tuned.
Non-traditional technologies and shapes haven't sold all that well in
the past, but there are now growing imperatives for motorcycle
manufacturers to begin melding car-like feature sets with their
motorcycles for non-enthusiast riders, and we're likely to see more
non-traditional motorcycles like the Vultus appearing in the
not-too-distant future. Yamaha and Suzuki have shown many concept bikes
in a similar mold, but none apart from the Yamaha Maxam Morphous ever
saw production – the Morphous lasted just two years on the showroom
floor before it was shelved.
Top images: Honda's new 750cc Vultus NM4. Bottom row: Honda's 750cc Elysium, 750cc Griffon and 900cc E4-01
concepts. The Vultus is designed for the next generation motorcyclist,
with a very low seat, recumbent riding position, and ease-of-use
foremost. As can be seen from its concept bikes (more inside), Honda has
been gauging opinion as to when to embody these ideas into a production
motorcycle for decades. Do not discount the possibility the Vultus will
be offered with an optional Elysium-style roof within one or two model
updates
On this point, the low seat height and the angle of the Vultus
windscreen suggest to me that a folding roof is the next logical step
for the Vultus if it gains acceptance and begins selling. The seat is
low enough to accommodate a rider under a roof line which continued
onwards from the screen (as with the Elysium concept it showed at Tokyo
Motor Show in 2001), and it would be the final factor that would
complete a two-wheeler capable of delivering car-like weather
protection. Honda has indicated that a taller screen will be available
as an option for the Vultus/NM4 though it has not been shown at this
stage. A taller screen could facilitate an even better roof line.
This article will no doubt generate a bit of controversy about
whether the Vultus actually constitutes a feet-forward motorcycle, so
we've used the term recumbent motorcycle as much as possible to try to
focus on the issues.
The
Vultus' instrument panel plays the "fighter pilot" cockpit metaphor to
the full - it is viewed from a much lower angle than normal due to the
lower seat height, is wider than normal, the digital instruments are
outlined with LED lights, and the central display changes colour
depending on the mode deployed.
The Vultus sits somewhere between a normal maxi-scooter and a full
feet-forward motorcycle. Malcolm Newell, inventor of the Qasar and
feet-forward design evangelist, after being continually asked if
choppers were feet-forward motorcycles, proposed a definition that
feet-forward motorcycles should have "a seat base less than 20 inches
(500 mm) from the ground."
By Newell's definition, the Vultus' 650 mm seat height means the
Vultus is not a feet-forward motorcycle, even allowing 50-100 mm of
padding on top of its v-shaped seat base. It is however, significantly
closer to Newell's definition than anything before it from a major
manufacturer, and Newell's definition is largely arbitrary anyway,
perhaps motivated by a wish to ensure his futuristic designs didn't fall
into the same category as customized choppers.
Hence the Vultus seat height will be greatly appealing to the large
population of existing scooter riders in Asia who are getting wealthier
faster than the rest of the world. By comparison with existing
traditional motorcycles, the Vultus will be a lot easier to control at
the traffic lights for smaller riders, and with the pillion seat which
flips up into an adjustable backrest, Honda’s claims of a “fighter
pilot” seating position seem well founded.
4 - The imperatives of convergence
Aware that the world of personal transportation is changing globally
due to ever-increasing fuel prices and traffic congestion, Honda, Yamaha
and Suzuki have all been exploring the right formula for new models
that will attract more customers from the potentially much larger
non-enthusiast segment with concept models offering more comfort,
ease-of-use, economy, safety and weather-protection.
From top left clockwise: Yamaha's Gen-Ryu Hybrid Concept (2005), Yamaha's Luxair Hybrid Concept (2007), Suzuki's G-Strider Concept (2003) and Yamaha's Maxam 3000 Concept (2005) all explored feet-first riding positions
The imperative to begin pushing the boundaries of luxury motorcycle
design has been increased in recent times with automotive companies
beginning to develop new types of three- and four-wheeled vehicles with
smaller footprints and vastly improved fuel economy, so the race is now
on to provide viable transportation options in the middle ground between
the car and the motorcycle.
Since Nicholas Negroponte first came up with his landmark teething
ring visualization of the coming together of communication, computing
and content, the term convergence has become the uber buzzword.
Now the convergence of the personal transport industry we discussed in detail in Narrow Track Vehicles is beginning to accelerate.
Many
more miniature, narrow-track cars with electric power trains are coming
to market over the next few years. From top left clockwise, Toyota's COMS, Nissan's Mobility Concept, Honda's MC-β and Renault's new Twizy Cargo
The biggest single threat to motorcycling's urban mobility advantage is Toyota's i-Road.
It's electric, it tilts and is hence loads of fun to drive, and it's so
easy to drive that any car driver can drive it straight away
Car makers are attempting to downsize their vehicles to make them
better suited to the world’s increasingly crowded roads, and motorcycle
makers are trying to combine the crucial missing elements from the
motorcycle to make them suitable for sophisticated consumers in
technologically-advanced countries.
Once you have experienced the creature comforts crammed into the
automobile, moving to the current crop of two-wheelers is going to be
difficult, particularly for those who do not wish to be exposed to the
weather and physical danger of riding a two-wheeler in predominantly
car-centric environments.
5 In summary
The NM4 appears to finally consummate the long-standing efforts of
the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer toward designing motorcycles
with greater ease-of-use so it can attract to a new generation of rider
considering two-wheels for its low cost-of-ownership (primarily fuel
consumption) and the ability of a narrow-track vehicle with a small
footprint to ride through the ever-increasing traffic congestion on our
roads.
Clarification re the name of the Vultus NM4
Announced at the Osaka Motorcycle Show, the press materials from
different arms of the Honda empire appear to be conflicting about what
to expect. Honda Europe has announced the Vultus as being produced only
in black, while Honda’s Japanese headquarters is referring to the bikes
as different models, dubbed NM4-1 and NM4-2 respectively, with one
presented in pearlescent white and coming standard with integrated
panniers in the rear.
Ashacks Team attended the Tokyo Motorcycle Show
last weekend and reported that the name Vultus was not used by Honda in
any context – all references to the bike were the black NM4-1 and white
NM4-2.
Though Honda Japan is touting the bikes as different versions, the
integration of carrying capacity appears to be the major, indeed, the
only difference, and panniers will be optional on the all-black Vultus
anyway. The images of the white prototype may hence be of a machine
which doesn’t carry the name Vultus when it appears
A
critical vulnerability has been uncovered in Google that could allow an
attacker to access the internal files of Google’s production servers.
Sounds ridiculous but has been proven by the security researchers from
Detectify.
