A huge chunk of the innovation we’ve seen around motorcycles in recent years involves safety. From electronic rider aids to adaptive cruise control, all these systems aim to add another layer of safety above that of sheer human control.
It’s clear that more innovations and outlandish ideas will come our way in the near future, too, and CFMoto is looking to introduce one that’s sure to raise a lot of eyebrows: motorcycle seatbelts.
You see, motorcycles are inherently more dangerous than cars. And so, any additional layer of safety could be seen as a benefit in rider protection. But in the event of an accident, it’s actually in your best interest to get as far away from your bike as possible. As such, the idea of seatbelts on a motorcycle is actually the opposite of improving safety, as it pretty much guarantees that you’ll be crushed beneath your bike, dragged across the pavement, or slam hard enough to render you unconscious and keep you with the motorcycle as it slides across the pavement.
That's why CFMoto's recent patents are so confusing.
Now, the Chinese company has come up with multiple motorcycle seatbelt designs that are meant to keep the rider in place when dealing with frontal forces, such as heavy braking from automated braking systems which are all the rage these days. In theory, the seatbelt should prevent the rider from going over the bars.
That's not a bad idea, but what happens when sideways forces are thrown in the mix, as they so often are? Well, CFMoto’s seatbelt is designed to release the rider even with the slightest sideways force.
In one design iteration, it does this with a clever design that makes use of a spring-loaded mechanism. Two bars are mounted onto the fuel tank—sort of like the stuff we see in amusement park rides. The bars don’t allow for any upward movement, but move freely from side to side, allowing the rider to theoretically slide off the side of the bike in the event of a crash.
In another design iteration, a fabric belt is wrapped around the rider’s waist. This belt has a latch at the front making it easy for the rider to wear and is secured onto a short post at the back of the rider’s seat. The post is spring-loaded from side to side allowing the belt to slide off from any sideward forces, but keeps the belt in place under heavy braking and frontal impacts.
In theory, CFMoto’s seatbelt designs do make sense. But in practice, there seem to be far too many variables in play to guarantee that they won’t cause more harm than good.
All it takes is one small piece of your riding gear to snag onto the safety bars for a small tumble to turn into a devastating injury. Something as simple as a loose boot lace, a flappy strap on your jacket or backpack, or heck, even just friction from your riding pants can cause you to get stuck to the seatbelt mechanism.
On top of all that, what if a piece of debris gets stuck in the spring-loaded mechanism? Or if a car slams into you and bends those bars or mechanisms, now, you’re stuck to your bike whether you like it or not.
To that end, if we look at things from the bigger picture, we’ll find something that’s even more disturbing. Sure, the intention behind all these safety features is good—minimize injury and prevent accidents—but the way they work could give riders, especially beginners, a false sense of security, and ultimately, nurture bad and unsafe riding habits.
We were all trained to use our bodies—shift our weight to the rear and grip the tank with our knees—when doing emergency braking maneuvers. And the idea of motorcycle seat belts absorbing these forces seems lazy, and quite frankly, pretty dumb to me.
It seems that CFMoto is trying to design a motorcycle like a car, but the truth is simply that motorcycles are vastly different from cars. Any bike requires your undivided attention—both mentally and physically—no matter how many safety features and intelligent rider aids it has.
The moment we allow the bike’s rider aids to take control away from us is the moment we let safety take the back seat. And obviously, that’s no way to be riding a motorcycle.
