Wheeeee!: Omnidirectional Motorcycle w/ Ball Wheels
Because what good is a motorcycle that can't go sideways, this is an omnidirectional bike being built by students at San Jose State University. How industrious! When I was in college I didn't build anything but a tolerance to drugs and alcohol and a healthy disdain for the system. Damn the man, you know? Oh, you know.
The end result won't rely entirely on changing its center of mass to move, but it will be able to balance itself and move from side to side without turning, making parallel parking a cinch, for those of you who parallel park your motorcycles. More extreme tricks will be possible as well, like rotating the entire bike in a complete circle while driving.
Currently, the SJSU students have finished the bike's frame and have gotten themselves a pair of huge rubber-coated carbon fiber and fiberglass balls. They've successfully tested drive systems and electronics in smaller models, and by the end of the year, they hope to have their prototype ready for low speed testing and awesomness.
Now I'm not sure what the practical applications are for a motorcycle that can do 360's down the highway, but who knows, maybe they're gonna bring this shit to the X-Games. I'm just worried about how well the brakes are gonna work. I'll tell you one thing -- I wouldn't want to be the guy testing them. New Fruit Rollup flavors? That's like my dream world.
Thanks to Max, who once jumped a motorcycle over six flaming school buses and into the heart of every girl in the audience.
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