It’s been a while since we heard that motorcycle manufacturers were tinkering with the concept of radars for bikes – and motorcycle safety, in general, has been harder now that technology is ramping up to the point where we’ve got autonomous vehicles ready to share the road.
To that effect, CycleWorld tells us that Kawasaki has outfitted their next hypersport Ninja H2 SX with a blind spot radar – provided by none other than Bosch (we covered their ‘Help Connect’ software that served to automatically send emergency aid to a crash site here).
“Back in 2019 Kawasaki announced a deal with Bosch to use the German company’s front and rear radar system on future bikes, giving the firm access to adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring ahead of its Japanese rivals,” states the report.
“All the bikes we’ve seen using Bosch’s radar system so far, including the Ducati Multistrada V4 S – which is the only model to use the rear sensor as well as the front one – the BMW R1250 RT, and the latest KTM 1290 Adventure S, have left the radar units fully exposed.”
We should clarify – the 2019 deal with Bosch is different from this new patent which explains how Kawasaki is hiding the rear radar on the same bike. It’s clever, it’s now embedded into the bike – and it’ll be ready in time for the newest H2 SX.
Want to know how they did it?
“The license plate hanger is made of three sections: a structural core that carries the weight of the plate, the rear turn signals, and the radar sensor, plus upper and lower covers.”
“The core is made of resin that includes metal and glass fibers to give it rigidity and strength, allowing it to be a stable mount for the radar sensor. Meanwhile, the upper cover (which hides the structural part and the electronics) is made of a much thinner resin without any glass fibers or metal.”
“The cover has little strength, and even needs to be molded in a specific shape with a horizontal ledge across its upper section to maintain its shape, but it’s radar-invisible, allowing the electromagnetic waves to travel straight through.”
Among the other details of the patent was a diagram of the same embedded system in another bike – and it was unmistakably the tail section of Kawasaki’s Z900RS, so expect that little surprise to surface in the next year or so.
Let us know what you think and drop a comment below, we love to hear from you; in the meantime, be sure to brush up on the latest news from Kawasaki and as always – stay safe on the twisties.