It’s almost unimaginable to think that a motorcycle rider will be open to the idea of being harnessed or belted on to the motorcycle when riding it. As any experienced motorcycle rider will tell you, in the event of a crash, it’s not a good idea for the rider to be belted onto the motorcycle. In any situation involving a motorcycle crash, it’s in the rider’s interests to be as far away from the motorcycle, which will be a mass of crashing metal and sharp broken plastic parts which can do more harm to the rider if he or she is hanging on to it.
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A top view shows how the system will work to protect the rider and help prevent being thrown off the bike.
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Now, thanks to the latest technological advancements, CFMoto is toying with the idea of seatbelts for motorcycles, which will be adaptive in nature. The Chinese brand has filed patents for a system which will be holding the rider onto the motorcycle only in specific circumstances. In the event of frontal impacts, the bike can absorb the energy of impacts against hard objects, and stop riders being thrown off by bumps or events involving hard braking. But the system has been designed to release the rider in situations where the motorcycle is falling over or there’s a sideways force during an accident.
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A second design shows a belt, or cloth like object being used to harness the rider to the bike.
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The patent is still an idea and shows several possibilities, including using rigid bars, one on each side of the rider, just like safety bars in an amusement park ride. The bars are hinged at the fuel tank and are designed in such a way that even a small sideways force will open them, but in case of sudden braking, or a crash that tries to push the rider up out of seat, the bars will prevent it. Another version of the system in the patent images show side bars which pivot behind the rider and come together in the front of the rider. A third variation shows a lap belt with a latch at the front. Even the belt is designed in such a way that in case of sudden forward movements, the rider will be prevented from dislodging from the bike, but in case of sideways movements, the belt will be released from its pivot behind the rider. So, the rider, with the belt attached, can come off the bike in case of a sideways crash.
The patents filed by CFMoto are still just that, a design exploring the possibilities of introducing something like a seat belt for motorcycles. Whether it will make it to a production model anytime soon is still a matter of conjecture. More than being introduced as standard safety features for motorcycles, the system is seen as something which is to be used in conjunction with advanced safety systems in motorcycles, like radar-assisted auto braking system which will likely take the rider by surprise in case of an emergency and possibly even throw the rider off the bike into a solid object ahead, like a car. So far, the patent filings reveal the beginnings of even more advanced safety systems for motorcycles, but it’s clear that more innovations, development and refinement will be needed before any such systems are introduced keep in mind rider safety.
