Honda Gold Wing to Get Adaptive Cruise Control

[Admin]

Honda is developing a new radar safety system for use in the Gold Wing (Honda /)

If you want to experience automotive-like levels of comfort and equipment on two wheels, Honda’s Gold Wing has been the go-to bike for decades, but in 2021 it’s now starting to lag behind in the key safety areas, such as external sensing technology. That’s something the firm is clearly keen to rectify, so development work is already well underway on a radar-equipped Wing with adaptive cruise control.

It’s fast becoming clear that adaptive cruise and radar-assisted rider alert systems are going to become a new tech battleground for the world’s bike makers. The first production bikes with radars have already been revealed in the form of BMW’s 2021 R 1250 RT and Ducati’s Multistrada V4, and many more are expected to join them in the coming months and years. That’s largely thanks to the work of Bosch, which has developed the first viable motorcycle radar cruise control system and is offering it to any manufacturer that wants to use the system. Along with BMW and Ducati, Kawasaki and KTM have already revealed deals for the Bosch setup, and others are sure to follow suit, so if the Gold Wing is to reclaim its crown as the ultimate in long-distance touring, it’s vital that it gets its own adaptive cruise system.

Honda’s patents focus on how and where the new system is mounted to the bike, not necessarily how it works. (Honda /)

Whether Honda has signed up with Bosch or is developing its own radar cruise isn’t clear yet, but the firm’s latest patent filings show that an ACC system is being developed for the Gold Wing. Since the technology behind adaptive cruise control and radars themselves is already well established, Honda’s patent doesn’t focus on the electronic aspects of the radar system, but on how the radar sensor itself is bolted to the bike and hidden behind the fairing.

Hiding radar sensors has proved troublesome for the ACC-equipped bikes we’ve seen so far. Both Ducati and BMW’s setups tuck the Bosch-made radars into blacked-out surrounds to give the impression of dummy air intakes, but neither firm has put bodywork in front of the radar sensors. We know that cars using near-identical Bosch sensors are widely sold with thin, smooth plastic panels in front of them to hide them from sight, and Honda is aiming to do much the same. The radar waves themselves can travel through plastic, but the material needs to be smooth and relatively flat to make sure it doesn’t affect either the outgoing waves or the reflected ones that the sensors pick up to form a picture of the traffic in front of the bike. So far that seems to have caused problems for motorcycle firms, but Honda is working on solutions.

The drawings show Honda looking to locate the radar in front of the Wing’s fairing and between the headlights. (Honda /)

The Gold Wing radar patent specifically focuses on isolating the radar sensor and the bodywork in front of it from vibration. The radar is firmly mounted on an extension of the bike’s fairing and headlight stays, themselves bolted to the front of the frame, and Honda suggests that the gap between the radar and the body panel in front of it would be filled with a spongelike, radar-invisible damping material.

The radar doesn’t change the appearance of the bike compared to the current, non-radar version. It sits above and between the headlights, set back behind the sloping front bodywork. Honda’s patent document doesn’t specify whether the radar unit is a Bosch part, as used by its rivals, but the firm does have deals in place with Bosch; the German firm provides radars for some of Honda’s cars and makes many of the ABS systems used on its bikes, so to adopt the same technology would be the simplest way to catch up with the competition.

As pictured, the added radar unit doesn’t noticeably alter the Wing’s aesthetic; there’s no word on whether Bosch will supply the system. (Honda /)

Ducati’s Multistrada V4 radar system also includes a rear-facing radar to monitor blind spots, with mirror-mounted lights to alert riders if there’s anything lurking over their shoulder, but Honda’s Gold Wing patent makes no mention of a rear-facing sensor. It’s possible the firm isn’t interested in the rear-sensing part of the system—BMW’s R 1250 RT doesn’t use it, so it’s not a vital component—but another patent suggests the firm is working on its own alternative.

We’re not entirely sure if rear-facing radar will also be in the mix; a second patent shows the use of an ultrasonic sensor out back. (Honda /)

The second Honda design uses an Africa Twin as its guinea pig rather than the Gold Wing, but shows the fitment of rear-facing ultrasonic sensor rather than a radar unit to provide warnings of vehicles behind. It’s a cheaper, simpler arrangement than radar, and one that’s already been seen on at least one two-wheeler; BMW’s C650 scooter has been offered with ultrasonic blind-spot monitoring since 2015. It’s basically the same technology that’s been used in cars’ parking sensors for decades, measuring the distance to objects using ultrasonic frequencies instead of radio waves.

Between them the two patents show that Honda won’t be left behind for long when it comes to the latest trend of bikes that are aware of their surroundings.

View the full article