Honda Patents Reveal Airbags For Bikes

Honda's latest patent filings show that the Japanese giant is working on an airbag system that could be introduced for all motorcycles. The idea isn't entirely new, because the Honda Gold Wing still has an airbag, and that safety feature made its debut on the Gold Wing almost 15 years ago, in 2006. Today, the Gold Wing remains the only production motorcycle that is offered with an airbag, and the latest Honda Gold Wing Tour that was recently launched in India also feature a single airbag.

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The 2021 Honda Gold Wing is the only production motorcycle to feature an airbag

Honda is clearly looking to expand that idea to other models as well, and Honda's latest patent applications show at least three new airbag designs, that may be used in future production motorcycles. And Honda's own research shows that at least 68 per cent of injury-causing bike crashes are frontal collisions, with majority of injuries caused by riders hitting either a car, the road or another object.

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One of the patent designs show the airbag positioned just above the instrument console on a scooter like the Honda PCX

Unlike any other type of motorcycle, where the rider tend to hang off in corners, sit up, crouch down, or lean from side to side, on the Gold Wing, the rider's position is more or less in one fixed position, with a car-like saddle position, which minimises rider movement. The other type of two-wheeler which will have limited rider movement is the scooter, and Honda's latest patents suggest that the company is looking at working on an airbag system for a scooter, rather than a motorcycle.

Another design patent shows the airbag mounted directly on the handlebar

The new patent designs are also shown in a Honda PCX-type scooter, showing a curtain-style airbag, which is different from the balloon-type airbag on the Gold Wing. The patent filings indicate that Honda's R&D department is clearly exploring more than one option to introduce airbags for a wider variety of two-wheelers. So far though, there's no clarity on when we can see new airbag technology on any new motorcycle or scooter. If at all, chances are, a final design is still sometime away.