Video: crashing a Peraves Monotracer

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Peraves_Monotracer_Crash.jpgWonder what it’s like to ride the fully-enclosed, BMW-powered Peraves Monotracer? We can’t help you there, but we can show you what it’s like to crash one. This video comes from England’s EVO magazine; they took one on a track and promptly found what happens when you lean past 52-degrees.  >

EVO

  • Matthew

    That’s pretty safe then. I thought he was going to be trapped inside it and engulfed in flames.

  • http://www.motomorini.co.uk/brochures/bim%20news.htm Tom

    Looks safe. I don’t see this as a bad thing that happened.

  • http://doesntexist.org AUSTIN

    Still would have liked to see a helmet though?

    • Steve F

      Looks the same marketing geniuses who decided to sell Brammo at Best Buy.

      “Hey buy this two wheeled vehicle that’s as safe as a car!”

      I like to see what happens if he highsides or goes for a slow speed drag into a bench or a mailbox. I bet the test rider will be wearing leathers, a leatt brace, and a full face.

  • http://www.buyshitdostuff.com/ Eric H.

    Looks like a slight problem that requires little attention to correct…

    Just program the onboard computer to sense and automatically drop those kick-ass training wheels – just to be on the safe side – whenever the “bike” hits 45 degrees and retract them once it’s been uprighted to at least 20 degrees…

    This is the perfect bike for those geriatric Hardly-Dangerous riders (like M.P.) who can no longer support the weight of their FXHDLIMPDICK Ultra Super-Duper Phallic-Narcissistic Glides and yet still want to ride a “bike” instead of a – lol – “cage”…

    I think if I had to, I’d choose a good old C1 instead of the Monotracer, though…

    Best Regards,

    Eric H.

  • generic1776

    Sweet!

    Full streamlining made practical. Price is a bit out of reach, but something like this seems like a better eBike for efficiency reasons.

  • Hangar4

    Reminds me of an Audi R8. Without the badass of course.

  • vic

    nice

  • Cameron Baum

    51 degrees isn’t much IMHO. A bit more than a Harley -but not much…

    I’ll stick to a proper motorcycle that I can move around ON and lean off a little when necessary. This thing is a toy for old people who don’t want to deal with riding an actual motorcycle. Does it even countersteer or does it turn like a car with a computer flying by wire and doing the countersteering for you?

    Perhaps what this 2-wheeled car needs is the BMW technology behind the “uncrashible bike” which can gimbal the steering head and rear axle geometry using an onboard crash-avoidance algorithm to over-ride any rider commands which could cause the operator to lever the wheels off of the ground.

    Might as well have the computer do the countersteering and baby-sit for erronious controls and fly the 2-wheeled car by wire and the handlebar just steer like a car. That way it can’t be crashed and the computer can just do the turning for you -the operator just says “more left, more right, or steady” via the handlebar. The machine just does the rest. Perhaps just have a single throttle/brake integrated computer-controlled ABS/traction-control system that has one twist-grip control for “go faster/go slower” control. Perhaps even put a forward/reverse switch in there too. Give it a full automatic transmission.

    I can really see a vehicle that could do all this. Add outriggers and a gyro for stability like the Segway has. It might even be a pretty neat vehicle -a true 2 wheeled car.

    But it’s not a motorcycle.

    Might as well call it a VFR now too, while you are at it…

    • aarwar`

      51 degrees isn’t much? yamaha was incredibly proud of the r1 at 56 degrees not all that long ago, and (theoretically) 45 degrees equals 1g cornering (if I remember right – I believe tony foale and gaetano cocco both mentioned this in their respective motorcycle dynamics books (texts?) I’m too lazy to double check this, so don’t quote me… but I think I have a decent memory. (as far as I remember)

  • GasBreather09

    haha where were the training wheels to save him there?

  • lloydy

    So its safe then, you’d be considerably more ‘scuffed’ if that had happened whilst on a conventional bike.
    Fantastic device.

  • steaminSteven

    CG is actually too high, without being able to “Hang Off” a race byke it’d do this too at a certian speed/angle….. this thing would need a variable ballast system to counter the high CG…hmmmmm

  • steve781

    Looks as if that would have been a highside on (off) a regular motorcycle. Perhaps the driver / rider just got a little too happy with the throttle exiting that turn?

    I’ll vote that it is a motorcycle. Two wheels in line, leans into turns. Good enough to be a motorcycle, but I still don’t want one.

  • Matt

    Well.. considering he just low/highsided a 2 wheeled vehicle on asphalt without any riding gear or a helmet and he was totally fine, i’d say that thing is pretty safe. Of course do that at 150mph going into T1 and then we’ll see what happens.

  • geonerd

    so what happens when someone crashes it onto the right side and cant open the hatch?

    • http://twitter.com/greatistheworld will

      It opens on the LEFT side and he was able to open it- so same thing, I’d imagine.

      Altogether pretty uneventful- I was shocked! If it were me, I’d be saying “son of a bitch bastard” over and over again.

      Evo is the best.

  • Justin

    That guy is wearing dress shoes.

  • Scatterbrain

    back in the 50s certain companies were toying with full fairing on their gp bikes (dustbin fairings) and they were banned because of issues much like what we saw in the video. At certain speeds and lean angles the airflow around the bodywork would cause all sorts of “interesting” effects that often lead to glorious crashes coming out of corners. I could see this accident possibly being a result of those same forces.

  • Arne Larsson

    Sliding sideways is not too challenging. What would happen in a head on crash, with the driver trapped inside? (without a helmet!)

    Arne

  • Grider

    Helmet laws would still apply in the US, since it’s still a motorcycle

  • Mark D

    Seems like a very interesting car-replacement, rather than an old-foggie motorcycle. Imagine how many more lanes you could have on the super-slab with everybody riding those! I’d feel more than a little clostrophobic in that thing, though…

  • pavlos

    monotrecer is perfect,but it needs 2 weels frond like mp3 piagio