Motorcycles in 20 years?

[Motu]

What will bikes be in 2033 ? I dunno, I don't even know what the bikes are in 2013...new is of no interest to me. But I'm sure I'll be able to pick up an old 2013 bike real cheap from someone who has fucked it up with too much fiddling. Although I had no interest in new bikes in 2013, in 2033 I will be an anorak about them, all the makes and models, options, colour schemes, tyres of the period etc. Speed Triples will be really out of favour, and mention Speed Triple to a biker and they will give you a blank look. I'd get one cheap in 2033, because in 2043 they will be the new big nostalgia trip.

[Coolz]

The 2033 Suzuki's will all be made in China and powered by small nuclear reactors. The 2033 Harley's will still be made in U.S.A and feature the "new" overhead cam. Triumphs will be made in India and fall apart quicker than they did in the 'good old days'. BMW's wont look like motorbikes at all, and Hyosungs will be the bigest selling motorbikes in the world.

[Laava]

The Apple ibike 15 will be the biggest seller on boxing day 2033 and people will be vocally clamouring for the 16 by the end of Jan.
Me? I'll be drinking soup thru a straw.

[ducatilover]

Well, true - but I was only counting V-twins.

'13 Night Rod is improved exhaust note too.

I'll admit the 60 degree motor sounds a million times better than the potatoes do. Err, 45 degree motors sorry.
Haven't ridden one with that real motor though. Got a mate who keeps waffling about his something with that series motor, might take it for a stroll.

Gimmie a TLthou, that's my favourite cruiser

[James Deuce]

Try a Street Rod.

[Tigadee]

Sex sex sex it's all e ever thinks about.

And about as long as he lasts....

In 1980 I had an XS1100 with adjustable handlebars - in two directions.

THAT I would like to see!

Triumphs will be made in India and fall apart quicker than they did in the 'good old days'.

Only if you run them on vindaloo...

[Paul in NZ]

How can anyone resist this….

Japanese led motorcycle innovation is largely dead. Nothing ground breaking in the CB750 / Z1 / Gold Wing / DT1 mould has come from Japan for quite some time. Even the latest models of their flagship beasts are warmed over last years ones. They have been trickling along on minor upgrades for a long time.

The bad boy bikes are selling into an aging market that thrives on nostalgia. Triumph shocked everyone with the Rocket 3 (god bless em) but it hasn’t changed the general development path of motorcycles one little bit. All these bikes will be essentially backwards looking and only see small improvements to mechanicals disguised to make them look 1960’s for some time to come. After all the hipsters tried to convince us the 70’s and 80’s were ‘cool’ but they failed. The bad boy market needs to attract younger riders (good onya HD) for it to thrive and it HAS to look ‘alternative’. In this case ‘alternative’ just might become ‘mainstream’ and like the emperors new clothes – once someone twigs to it – the whole lot will be dropped like a hot potato (potato).

The Ducati / MV et al crew will defend European biro to the last gasp. Their addiction to vastly overpriced average performing bikes has never made sense and it won’t in the future either. As long as they look nice and are horribly expensive – someone will buy them. They will ignore where they are made as long as the badge is on the tank. I don’t expect any more 916 moments from them but I do predict a great revival from Moto Guzzi in the next 10 years until the retro bubble bursts anyway. Still they have been making some great bikes lately.

Look to China. They have the hungry mad young industry that says why not…

http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/bike...-probably-fake

Once we get over the fact that the Chinese can actually build some decent kit they will become ‘mainstream’. Electric bikes will come from China.

So – in 30 years time motorcyclists will be riding in electric self driving cars made in china by apple or google. They will be able to be uploaded with a motorcycle riding emulation package or app download. Ie it will be a boring shell the same as everyone elses but once you step inside it will be what ever you want. You will sit inside and seem like you are racing to work over the Rimutakas against your mates or virtual riders or cruising to Sturgis (albeit a virtual one) on your bad ass hog complete with your 24” biceps. Others will drive to work in F1 cars of any era… My simulation will involve a latex clad dwarf, a bottle of lubricant, a nubile lingerie model and a willing goat. I expect others will feel the same and thus motorcycle use will diminish.

[James Deuce]

I've never liked Italian pens.

[Paul in NZ]

I've never liked Italian pens.

Me either - they promise great things and that I shall be able to write like Dante and draw like DaVinci but the same old shit dribbles out

[300weatherby]

Depends on a bunch of factors.

Solar panels are currently 20x more land efficient than bio-fuels, including mining the material to make the panels, so I don't see the IC as a primary motive power source for vehicles. This will probably have the effect of reducing the effective range of vehicles and people as despite some impressive improvements in battery technology, I don't see the reliance on rare earth metals and the practice of working 6 year old children to death in filthy, unsafe mines continuing forever, so battery technology may have to undergo some technological changes before it becomes palatable. Having said that, no one thinks about the human cost of an iPhone battery, so maybe we will have batteries with a 700km range at max speed with a 2 minute recharge time.

Are we serious about improving the lifestyle of more than 50% of the world's population? If not, we'll still have personal vehicles. If so, then our highly mobile society will become hugely less mobile. The capacity to change our lifestyle to a "villages within cities" model is already here. If we retain a hydrocarbon based society then bikes will look and behave more like the NC700 (only with better mileage) series than CBR1000RRs, but the people who became addicted to 180hp sportsbikes will be old men chewing their gums outside the pub, while kids on NC500RRs corner at speeds far in excess of any current 1000cc sportsbike thanks to tyre and suspension advancements. Suspension components will be constantly and infinitely self-adjustable and have their own ECU, and performance enhancements will focus on chassis and tyres rather than engine performance. If bikes do sport IC engines, they won't have clutches. Ride by wire brakes and throttle will be the norm, even for "cheap" commuters, allowing for very sophisticated Traction Control, Yaw control, attitude control and allowing the maximum potential braking force at any attitude, from full lean to utterly upright. This will be thanks to bikes like the current BMW HP4 and is a logical extension of any technology acceptance cycle. Very expensive and rarely applied to commonplace and barely thought about.

There is potential for speed limiting, curfews, maximum distance restrictions, along with requiring a reason to use your vehicle, all of which can be controlled and applied remotely. However, given the propensity for tomorrow to be much the same as today, and for even Kiwis to have a threshold for Government interference - nah - the days of weekend rides will be long gone.

If cheap mass produced bikes do get to the point you suggest they might, there will be no fun riding anymore, cause without the human control element, it will just be a two wheel car

[James Deuce]

If cheap mass produced bikes do get to the point you suggest they might, there will be no fun riding anymore, cause without the human control element, it will just be a two wheel car

Are hand gear changes, manual oil pumps for total loss lubrication systems, solid tyres, and wooden blocks for brakes fun? To some people they are good nostalgic fun, but as a commuter in a modern environment, none of those features cut it.

You make your own fun. The tools you use have nothing to do with the enjoyment you experience.

[haydes55]

Hopefully, as far away from the DN-01 as possible!

Electric motors with respectable batteries will most likely be the norm. Thinking gas stations would have a swap and go system similar to LPG gas bottles but with fully charged batteries for long hauls.

Maybe a move back to turbo/super charged engines (smaller capacity, more power).

A classic 2014 GSXR1000 will be cheap and still fast

Just a pity the roads would be straightened out more. I notice the road workers in the middle of no-where are having a habbit of getting corners taken out and new stretches of road going in straight lines =(