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Emission free one-wheeled wonder
Nov
28
Emission free one-wheeled wonder
Motorcycles don’t come any weirder than this. Frankly, we’re not even sure you can call this a motorcycle at all. But there is something about it that has 'never-mind-I-still-want-one' written all over it.
The Uno might just be the face of things to come. Instead of having its wheels one in front of the other like sensible motorcycles, the Uno has them paired up next to each other. Much like an upright Oreo biscuit.
To keep it standing, the Uno relies on a couple of gyros and clever electrical sensors. And, similar to a Segway, you lean forward to get it rolling. The further you lean forward the faster it goes. Leaning back again brings it to a halt. In a turn the inside wheel lifts slightly so that both wheels stay on the road all the time.
The Uno is powered by two electrical motors (that were lifted from an electrical wheelchair), one for each wheel. And as it is electrical, all operation happens amid an eerily silence and without any CO2 emissions.
The most surprising part about the Uno is that it was dreamed up by an 19 year old MIT student from Canada, Ben Gulak, who got his inspiration for an electric motorcycle on a trip to China two years ago.
Ben was so disgusted by Beijing's smog and never seeing the sun during his entire trip, that he set about having a positive impact by creating an alternative form of transport for city riding. And with the Uno's wheels set only an inch apart, this bike should make easy work of weaving through clogged up city roads.
Ben built the Uno from scratch (with a little help from a robotics specialist, customised motorcycle expert and some other friends to make it all happen). The adapted frame comes from a Yamaha R1 and bodywork, Ben’s own design, has been constructed from fibreglass.
At the moment the Uno is still in prototype stage and although it is technically capable of a 64km/h top speed, young Ben has never pushed it beyond the 24km/h mark for safety reasons.
After appearing on a Canadian TV Program, Ben received a development grant of close on R20m. Enough to employ full-time developers who will help push the Uno towards an anticipated production in 2009.
The Uno might just be the face of things to come. Instead of having its wheels one in front of the other like sensible motorcycles, the Uno has them paired up next to each other. Much like an upright Oreo biscuit.
To keep it standing, the Uno relies on a couple of gyros and clever electrical sensors. And, similar to a Segway, you lean forward to get it rolling. The further you lean forward the faster it goes. Leaning back again brings it to a halt. In a turn the inside wheel lifts slightly so that both wheels stay on the road all the time.
The Uno is powered by two electrical motors (that were lifted from an electrical wheelchair), one for each wheel. And as it is electrical, all operation happens amid an eerily silence and without any CO2 emissions.
The most surprising part about the Uno is that it was dreamed up by an 19 year old MIT student from Canada, Ben Gulak, who got his inspiration for an electric motorcycle on a trip to China two years ago.
Ben was so disgusted by Beijing's smog and never seeing the sun during his entire trip, that he set about having a positive impact by creating an alternative form of transport for city riding. And with the Uno's wheels set only an inch apart, this bike should make easy work of weaving through clogged up city roads.
Ben built the Uno from scratch (with a little help from a robotics specialist, customised motorcycle expert and some other friends to make it all happen). The adapted frame comes from a Yamaha R1 and bodywork, Ben’s own design, has been constructed from fibreglass.
At the moment the Uno is still in prototype stage and although it is technically capable of a 64km/h top speed, young Ben has never pushed it beyond the 24km/h mark for safety reasons.
After appearing on a Canadian TV Program, Ben received a development grant of close on R20m. Enough to employ full-time developers who will help push the Uno towards an anticipated production in 2009.
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