TECH: The bike of the future?

Chinese firm CFMoto has filed a patent for some clever technology which links a camera with an electronic suspension system…

With each new model year, we’re seeing ever more technology-advanced motorcycles making it to market. The biggest names in the game continue to push the boundaries and come up with clever solutions to make riding safer, easier and more comfortable.

Alongside cornering ABS, heated seats, electronic screen and radar-assisted cruise control, we’re seeing ever more firms rolling out electronic suspension systems. They’re clever bits of kit which allow riders to fine-tune their bikes more easily – and get the springs set up just so. And some of the IMU-assisted systems are even capable of reading your riding and the road conditions to firm things up when the pace picks up and soften again when the going gets bumpy. Clever.

But CFMoto has just filed design drawings for another solution, which uses a camera to scan the road in real time to feed information to the electronic suspension, allowing it automatically to adjust compression and damping for what it can see ahead. The technology actually already exists. Mercedes has something similar fitted to some of its cars, so it’s not such a stretch to imagine it making its way on to bikes in the near future.

That said, it’s a bit of a surprise it’s coming from CFMoto rather than one of the big-name, future-focused firms in the bike industry. Credit to them.