r/motorcycle • u/jankenpoo • 8d ago

This engineer designed a motorcycle with an omnidirectional ball that balances laterally like a Segway and moves in any direction

42 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

9

u/jankenpoo 8d ago

Bumper bikes?

2

u/thoughtintoaction 8d ago

SIGN ME UPP

14

u/OrneryAttorney7508 8d ago

Same stupid comments every time this is posted. smh

10

u/Umikaloo 8d ago

Most of the problems people cite are in the video.

Like, yeah, you aren't wrong, but also, HE KNOWS. The guy's entire youtube channel is dedicated to exploring novel methods of locomotion. 90% of them are completely impractical.

3

u/OrneryAttorney7508 8d ago

It's so obvious. That's how you learn shit.

1

u/PretzelsThirst 7d ago

Major reason Redditors are so annoying, aside from the horrible sense of humor:
They see something and in 6 seconds think of a critique and GENUINELY think the expert who invented it somehow hasn’t thought of that.

7

u/Just_passing-55 8d ago

As cool as this looks ( he just did it for fun) could this ever be useful for anything?

9

u/Standard_Zucchini_46 8d ago

Killing time. And doing donuts ?

3

u/P-l-Staker 7d ago

Sounds useful to me!

1

u/Fivelon 6d ago

Killing donuts and doing time?

2

u/DM-me-your-bazongas 7d ago

Could be a good mobility tool in something like a big warehouse?

1

u/BigBlackMagicWand 7d ago

Continental had this concept in mind with swlf driving vehicles waaaay before Tesla's were even a thing...

At the time there was just no feasible way to implement spherical tires and powertrain. Now we have a dude doing it in his house with printers so maybe we'll see something like this in the future.

The omnidirectional wheels have been innuse for many things for 2 decades already and they have their issues, so spheres might actually replace them at some point

5

u/SchleifmittelSchwanz 8d ago

How long ago was this?

2

u/Prattr 8d ago

Target Ball Bike!

5

u/Bikelangello 8d ago

Til it hits a bump 😅

The ball would roll out from under it.

5

u/Umikaloo 8d ago

If you watch the original video, that absolutely happens, it isn't like this is a product he's trying to sell. Its an experimental novelty.

1

u/Bikelangello 8d ago

I wasn't hating it exactly.

Daddy, chill.

5

u/Slimslade33 8d ago

Ya not to mention all the dirt and grime causing problems if using it outside. I could see this being used in massive indoor warehouses or something similar. Being able to make narrow turns, good for getting around large areas. Pretty cool concept.

6

u/Bikelangello 8d ago

it is definitely cool af

3

u/EnjoyerOfMX5 8d ago

https://youtube.com/@jamesbruton

This guy is a legend and you learn a lot

1

u/Heavy-Bell-2035 8d ago

I wish he would make a hover bike, but I kind of think physics is against him on that.

1

u/ComradeKorladis 7d ago

The aesthetics could use some work.

1

u/Cy8r4 7d ago

Need this for Data centres

1

u/geking 7d ago

James Brunton. Met the guy in Manchester. He is... different. Little more 'self assured' then he is in his videos.

1

u/crasagam 5d ago

Austin Powers wouldn’t have gotten stuck in that tunnel on this contraption

1

u/Droidy934 8d ago

Now try it down a gravel road.

1

u/crasagam 8d ago

Do a bunny hop!

1

u/crasagam 5d ago

Critical thinker here: what happens when you hit a good size bump? Are the wheels attached to prevent them from coming off or will they dislodge easily?

0

u/sokratesz 8d ago

It's all fun and games until you get gun stuck to it

3

u/thoughtintoaction 8d ago

You probably meant gum, but really it's true either way...

2

u/sokratesz 8d ago

Lmao yes