Honda plans climate-controlled seat

If you get sweaty in the crotch riding your motorcycle, you may be interested in Honda’s plans to develop a climate-controlled seat that heats and cools your backside.

It’s like many luxury cars that have venting in the seats to pump in warm or cool air.

In these drawings it seems to be pumped via a duct under the perforated seat.

The plan is revealed in a patent application image that shows a control button on the handlebar switchgear.

It appears the drawing is of a previous-generation Fireblade, but we suspect it will also be used on their Goldwing and perhaps their sports and adventure tourers.

Honda has apparently conducted wind-tunnel tests for the climate-controlled seat.

While it appears the system uses hot air from around the radiator for heating and fresh air from the ram air intake for cooling, there is no air-conditioning to reduce the air temperature.

Controlling the climate

However, there are several air-conditioning patents and inventions that hope to control the climate for the rider.

Another Honda patent is for a stand-alone, tank-mounted air-conditioning unit.

It draws hot air through mesh openings in the sides of a tank bag and passes it over an ice pack stored underneath and a blower powered by rechargeable batteries to blow cool at the rider.

The latest motorcycle AC unit comes from Bruce Hammond of Hammond Brothers Motorsports, Colorado, who has invented a turbofan that blows cold air at the rider from the handlebars.

His airconditioning unit features thermoelectric cooling that uses electricity to release cold air. It is similar to those used in wine coolers and mini fridges.

Riding in a hot climate is not only uncomfortable but can be unsafe.

It makes riders fatigued and can lead to dangerous dehydration. Click here to find out how to beat dehydration.

These days there are plenty of passive-cooling solutions including flow-through gear, Ventz that send cooling air up your sleeve and wet vests that cool your torso.

Arizona company MiClimate also unveiled a MiCli 1 personal AC unit in April 2016.

It was expected to ship in December 2018 at $US399 (about $A540) plus shipping.

However, they tell us they have changed their business model and now we are working with a manufacturer who will take the product to market. We will keep you updated on progress.

Because AC units are usually bulky, some of the “solutions” feature units that are mounted on the bike.

For example, the bulky 4.5kg BikeAir unit sits on the back seat of the bike and plugs into a special jacket that allows the cool air to flow through.