Yamaha’s working on POWER STEERING for bikes

Yamaha has released some details about a new power steering system for motorcycles, which it’s trialling for the Japanese MX championship.

Power steering on bikes…? Who needs that? Well, Yamaha reckons there’s something in it – which is why it’s revealed its own Electronic Power Steering system.

The Japanese factory is trying it out on its motocross bikes first, and if you’ve ever done any riding off-road, you’ll probably see the benefit. It’s hard work blasting about in the dirt, and a power steering system would mean a little less wrestling of the bars, which will mean you can ride harder for longer. But how does it actually work? Basically, there’re some magnetostrictive torque sensors which work to detect the torque a rider creates through the handlebars. At higher speeds the EPS system works a bit like an electronic steering damper, reducing some of the turbulence you feel off-road – or at lower speeds it’s capable of aiding a rider’s input through the bars. Clever stuff.

Whether we’ll see the technology making the transition across to road-going bikes remains to be seen, but considering some of the other tech that’s been introduced recently, we wouldn’t be surprised.

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