Production Unibike: BMW R OneT

BMW R OneT

BMW Motorrad has announced plans to fund development of their BMW R OneT and R1250GS One Wheel concepts with production aimed for early 2023.

First shown in 2019, the one-wheeled BMW concept bike utilized a 1200cc boxer engine with a single wheel, relying on a sophisticated suite of electronic sensors and controllers to monitor motion, maintain stability, and deliver traction among varying road conditions. The production R OneT will boast the following electronics suite:

  • HALL EFFECT SENSOR: This sensor measures output voltage as response to a magnetic field for determining positioning, speed, and current sensing applications.
  • PID CONTROLLER: This proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control loop feedback mechanism continuously calculates an error value as the difference between a desired setpoint and a measured process variable and applies a correction based on a proportional, integral, and derivative terms.
  • ACCELEROMETER: This sensor is primarily used for measuring long-term, low-frequency acceleration.
  • RATE GYROSCOPE: Indicates the rate of change of angle for short-term, high-frequency applications.
BMW R1250GS One Wheel
A GS version is also planned, which will include sensors tailored specifically for off-road and mixed-surface conditions.

According to the recent press release:

“It is believed the R OneT will serve as an entry-level machine for a new generation of riders, who have grown up riding one-wheeled electric skateboards.”

This statement may be in reference to the Future Motion Onewheel, a patented one-wheeled design which has engendered an entire global community of enthusiasts, as well as the various hoverboards and electronic skateboards popular with youth culture today.

Sources say the R OneT was initially developed by a small team of BMW engineers, who were inspired by the MV Agusta Monomoto 60cc Superleggera, built in 1954.

MV Augusta Monomoto

The Monomoto design showed promise, but came to a tragic end, and was nearly lost from history:

“This MV Augusta 60cc Monomoto Superleggera was the experimental machine ridden by young wealthy Italian Luiggi Bandini, during practice for the 1954 Milano-Taranto Road Race. Bandini tragically lost control in a misty mountain section, while waving to a pretty spectator. His grief stricken father, Count Enzio Bandini, ‘The Falcon,’ never again permitted anyone to ride or even view this advanced design, and knowledge of its whereabouts faded. Eventually, rumors of this fascinating machine reached the motorcycling bon vivant Todd Fell. On a trip to Naples, Italy, his quest to find it was rewarded at the Bandini country villa, where in 2004, fifty years after the tragic accident, the late Count’s family was persuaded to part with the treasure.”

 

The Bandinis with their MV Augusta Monomoto.

Today, the MV Augusta Monomoto can be viewed in the Vintage BMW Motorcycle Museum located at Bob’s BMW in Guilford, Maryland, near Baltimore.

As for the BMW OneT, sources say the primary drawback is that the stability control only works on April 1 of each year.

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5 Comments

  1. Ci mancava solo questa…

  2. Frank Falcon

    April fool’s, ba hum big!

  3. PETER TSAKONAKOS

    if you put a counter weight in the headlight equal to the rider

  4. Gerhard Stöberl

    ….it’s April First again…..

  5. Steve Knight

    Brilliant just Brilliant ????

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