Honda has been getting on the technology train a lot as of late, and we ain’t just talking about their obsession with electric power.
From the brand’s goal to have zero traffic fatalities by 2050, to files patented for rider-wrapped airbags, headlight-integrated camera sensors, anti-stalling, hydraulic “anti-stall” clutches, self-balancing bikes, and more, you could say Big Red likes being at the top of the techy heap – and now, new filings show something else:
Jump Control.
The tech will purportedly fall along similar lines to other riding aides we have in today’s industry, such as wheelie control, engine-braking assistant launch control. Using the integration of a camera at the nose and an image-processing computer, the bike will sense, gauge, and execute three different mode levels:
- Airtime prevention (no jump)
- A level-landed jump
- A rear wheel-landed jump
Once in the air, the computer initiates throttle and rear wheel response to optimize the outcome, and voila – optimal airtime tech for the win.
“In operation, the camera ‘sees’ slopes as you approach them, using the bike’s lean sensors to work out their orientation, so even if you’re in a corner as you approach the slope it can assess its height and distance,” explains coverage from CycleWorld.
“From there, the system operates a bit like traction control, and the other rider aids we’re familiar with, using presets to decide how much it should intervene.”
The bike chosen to display such tech appears to be one of Honda’s favorite cross-country machines, the CRF450 Rally – an ideal bike to carry jump-controlling systems, and one that could also be the ideal bike on which beginner/intermediate riders can train for airtime.