Kawasaki Concept J: Futuristic 3-wheel transforming motorcycle is back

At the 2013

Tokyo Motor Show

,

Kawasaki

unveiled the three-wheeled, battery-powered,

transforming Concept J motorcycle

. Looking like perilous technology teleported from Canis Major, the Concept J rider has a choice of slinking over a low-down sportbike, or sitting upright on an urban cruiser. In sportbike mode, the suspension pulls the two front wheels close together. In town-touring mode, the seat rises, the footpegs drop, and the front wheels spread for easy stance.

When we didn’t hear anything about the bike after Tokyo, everyone assumed the Concept J took its neon green shark fin and red

Tron

hub to the overstuffed graveyard of

concept vehicles

. But it seems Kawasaki’s playing the long game: The Japanese bikemaker’s U.S. arm posted a promo vid that features the Concept J. The alien wonder’s appearance could be another MacGuffin, but

Honda

and Yamaha have shown

motorcycles

with features that intersect with the Concept J.

Honda

displayed its

self balancing Riding Assist-e

, with its automatically adjusting front geometry, at last year’s

Tokyo Motor Show

. Yamaha put its

three-wheeled Tri-City into production

in 2014, then followed that up with the more powerful, and weirder,

three-wheeled Niken last year

.

At the 2013 Tokyo show, Kawasaki President Shigehiko Kiyama said the Concept J “explores the attractive possibility of an adaptable transport platform that is fun, easy and convenient.” The promo video above is heavy on aspirational dialogue, including the line, “The future, to us, isn’t constrained by today’s limitations. It is set free by our imaginations.” Well, Kawasaki, if that’s true, then give us the Concept J. As is. Now-ish.

Related Video:

from Autoblog http://ift.tt/2DeIP9C
via IFTTT

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.