Friday, March 27, 2009

a Unicycle-Motorbike-Segway Hybrid


Sometimes a bike is just a bike... there's no photoshopping going on here, guys. This is Uno, of course, a segway/motorcycle mashup shown publicly for the first time at the recent Toronto National Motorbike show. Technically it has two wheels, but they're right next to each other and it does balance on them under its own power.


Built by Ben J. Poss Gulak, it's an electric vehicle that uses a similar sort of microgyro-motor system as the Segway, but with two gyros: one for forward and back, and one for turning. Its got just one control —a power switch— and everything else is done by leaning, which must make for one hell of an adrenaline-packed ride. It's the culmination of a number of vehicle projects by Ben, and uses electric propulsion for eco-friendliness, since Ben visited China where he found that "the smog was so thick, we never saw the sun."

Ben designed the 120-lb vehicle himself, using Google SketchUp to help with the plans as he couldn't afford professional software. How does it perform? We don't know, but we suspect it's a lot of fun. And though Ben got some advice from expert motorbike modders, and a robotics expert for the gyro programming, he deserves a round of applause— he's only 18 years old. And that's just amazing. [Motorcycle Mojo via Make —Thanks Daniel]

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