Upright Riding Position Option For Empulse?

[GeorgeS]

I wanted to bounce an idea off you guys. It's probably dumb but I'll post it anyway since I'm kinda dumb anyway. If you look at the picture of my ebike you will notice the clip on riser bars. These work in conjunction w/ the reqular bars that they clip onto. I can choose which bars I want to use. When my arms and wrists get tired from using the lower bars, I switch to the high bars. This takes the load off my arms and wrists but it puts the load on my butt. So after a while I switch back to the lower position. Of course the lower position is better for aero drag.

Anyway, what about doing this on the empulse? The lower bars would be clip-ons and the upper bars would be what  comes stock on the bike stock, or maybe a little higher.

I've never seen it done before (probably for good reason hah-hah).

What do you guys think about this??

[Gavin]

How do you brake from the upper hand position?

I have bars like that (smaller though) on my mountain bike. Great for when climbing and out of the saddle....

But bikes go slower than motorcycles...and I usually use the upper bars when climbing, so the brake isn't needed at the time.

For a motorcycle, going 60 mph or more, or in town going slower but having idiots trying to turn left on me and such, well I sure wouldn't want my hands that far from the brakes.

Gavin

[HighlanderMWC]

You would need a second throttle and brake lever right?

[GeorgeS]

How do you brake from the upper hand position?
Gavin

I don't. I need to move to the lower position. I only use the upper bars if I'm in a situation where I won't need the brakes for a while.

For a motorcycle, going 60 mph or more, or in town going slower but having idiots trying to turn left on me and such, well I sure wouldn't want my hands that far from the brakes.
Gavin

Agreed. This would be for highway use.

You would need a second throttle and brake lever right?

The riser bars work good on the ebike because the bike has a pedal sensor that reads what your pedalling rpm is. It adjusts the electric motor assist based on that--ie the faster you pedal the more assist you have.

That of course would not work on the Empulse. I was thinking a true cruise control (as opposed to a throttle lock) would work as most of my miles will be highway miles. The other way would be to do what Highlander suggested----2 throttles.

So that leads me to ask you guys: Do you know of any aftermarket cruise controls exist?? I would think they would. The more complicated mod would be a "Y" split on the throttle cable or maybe 2 separate cables. soooo: you guys ever heard of that. I have not.

[Brammofan]

What do you guys think about this??

I think you're very brave.
Note to everyone else but George: Click and drag to see the secret message, below:
What the heck is he thinking?!  Is he insane?

[HighlanderMWC]

If you really want to be able to ride in 2 positions then maybe find a way to have the bar height change. I don't think there's any fundamental difference (at the bars) between ICE and electric, so perhaps see what people have come with for their ICE?

I think the solution for ICE riders seeking 2 riding positions is 2 different bikes.

[GeorgeS]

Yeh, you guys are right. One set of bars at the best position is best. but, it is fun to think in variable geometry mode--like an F14 tomcat or the B1B!!

[Phantom]

I am glad you came to that conclusion.

I think it is good to think "outside-the-box", but your idea might have been unsafe. I had a ten speed bicycle where I flipped up the handlebars, but the brakes were easily accessible.

[GeorgeS]

I think it is good to think "outside-the-box", but your idea might have been unsafe.

What about some bars that go up and down electronically?? That's variable geometry.
Pretty impractical on the Empulse. Maybe on a Goldwing.

[Phantom]

What about some bars that go up and down electronically??

If you throw enough money at it, it could be done. You might be better off buying two different style bikes to use depending on what kind of ride you want to do.

If you are talking about robotics, it gets very expensive, very fast.

[Richard230]

Just a comment or two: I like to think outside the box as much as anyone, but the history of the motorcycle business is that doing something innovative just won't sell - although BMW has had some success with different technologies, such as ABS (which took 20 years to become almost mainstream), different types of front suspension (which didn't sell for Yamaha) and fuel injection (which no one wanted on Kawasakis in 1979). Vincent tried to fully enclose one of their motorcycle models in the early 1950's and no one would touch it. There are all sorts of examples of manufacturers trying different things on motorcycles without much sales success. For whatever reason, most motorcycle (vs most any other vehicle type, including scooters) buyers hate innovation and anything that looks different from what they are used to.

This might not apply to the type of people attracted to the currently limited electric motorcycle market, but when EVs hit the mainstream, manufacturers will have more success selling them the more they look like current IC motorcycle models. At least that is my opinion based upon my 48 year motorcycle buying experience.

[protomech]

That of course would not work on the Empulse. I was thinking a true cruise control (as opposed to a throttle lock) would work as most of my miles will be highway miles. The other way would be to do what Highlander suggested----2 throttles.

So that leads me to ask you guys: Do you know of any aftermarket cruise controls exist?? I would think they would. The more complicated mod would be a "Y" split on the throttle cable or maybe 2 separate cables. soooo: you guys ever heard of that. I have not.

Yes, you could add in a second set of throttle / brake controls. That's within the range of a hobbyist type project, certainly -- but obviously something you'd need to take care with.

[GeorgeS]

That of course would not work on the Empulse. I was thinking a true cruise control (as opposed to a throttle lock) would work as most of my miles will be highway miles. The other way would be to do what Highlander suggested----2 throttles.

So that leads me to ask you guys: Do you know of any aftermarket cruise controls exist?? I would think they would. The more complicated mod would be a "Y" split on the throttle cable or maybe 2 separate cables. soooo: you guys ever heard of that. I have not.

Yes, you could add in a second set of throttle / brake controls. That's within the range of a hobbyist type project, certainly -- but obviously something you'd need to take care with.

Proto,
I was thinking about this. When I posted the thing about doing a "Y" in the throttle cable I was thinking (DAH) that the bike had a conventional throttle "cable", which of course it does not. It of course has a bunch of wires instead. Just wondering how one would make 2 fly by wire motor controls work in parallel.

[HighlanderMWC]

It of course has a bunch of wires instead. Just wondering how one would make 2 fly by wire motor controls work in parallel.

My understanding is that the throttle signals aren't particularly sophisticated and I'd hazard a guess that you could simply splice the wires. If there's an issue you'd likely need either some resistors and worst case some electronics to add to actually switch.

[Brammofan]

Requests answered:
[smg id=235 width=500]
This fuzzy photo was posted yesterday and shows the Empulse with the upright handlebars.  Hopefully, newer, clearer, and BIGGER pics will be posted soon.  Also, check out the video posted by Brian as well:
http://twitvid.com/XULOK

Clearly, the rider (is that Brian in his new red jacket?) is more upright than the better known videos of this bike. Also note that the bike and rider are extremely fuzzy in the video, as well.  Perhaps this represents a step forward in fur-covered motorcycle technology.  Or a step backward in image capture technology.  Yeah... probably the latter.