Honda's New Air-Bagger!
HONDA'S NEW AIR-BAGGER!
ROUNDUP
WHAT DO YOU DO AS you waft along the Interstates on your whisper-quiet Honda Gold Wing? You dream up new features to make this soothing six-cylinder experience even plusher, and to further defeat and frustrate the evil NVH gremlins: noise, vibration and harshness. You also have time to contemplate the possible consequences of accidents.
Say hello to the world’s first production motorcycle airbag, as fitted to the top-ofthe-line Wing for 2006. According to Honda-cited data from Europe, Japan and the U.S., frontal collisions account for half to twothirds of motorcycle accidents-enough in its view to make an airbag system valuable.
To make such a system work, a means had to be devised of detecting the kind of collision in which the airbag could be useful. To that end, four deceleration sensors are mounted on the fork (the first part of the machine to decelerate rapidly in frontal collisions), two on the right, two on the left. A logic system ponders "V the data and öLl' makes the decision to deploy or not. The airbag is contained in a canister under a black plastic cover ahead of the rider and is inflated by nitrogen gas in about 0.15 of a second. The inflated bag is V-shaped to centralize the rider, and is restrained by tethers. The obvious aim of the system is to dissipate as much as possible of the rider’s kinetic energy. To this end, the bag is vented to act as a damper, converting energy into a controlled rush of gas from the vent.
Sounds like about as plush an end to a frontal collision as one could imagine. Of course, in hopes that the rider need never take advantage of this safety feature, there are many other new amenities available this year.
The Air Force B-58 Hustler supersonic bomber introduced voice prompting (“Hey, big fella, don’t look now but your bomb bay is open.”) and now the Gold Wing has it, too. Selected models carry color-screen GPS satellite navigation, featuring not only map position but also points of interest such as emergency services, Honda dealers and fuel locationsand yes, it talks to you. A fab sound system is implemented with six speakers, auto bass and auto volume. Likewise on selected models, chills and discomfort are banished by five-setting heat coming through grips, seat and backrest. Power for new features flows endlessly from a 1300watt alternator, spun in viscous harmony by a dual fluid-damped drive.
Irked by the rise and fall of your headlight beam with changing load?
Calm yourself-retuming is the motorized headlight aiming system controlled by a dial switch that puts the light where you want it.
I’m filled with envy here-these features aren’t even on my car, which has only a measly four speakers, a chilly steering wheel and seats, and screwdriver-actuated headlight aiming.
Rider safety schemes will continue to evolve. This is passive, in the sense that the rider need take no action such as wearing additional protective gear. Such passiverestraint systems are required by DOT as standard fitment in automobiles, and so all new cars have airbags. What is next? Honda has worked on this system for more than 10 years, and other manufacturers no doubt have undertaken similar projects. There will be more.
-Kevin Cameron
