We have reached a point, that Electronic Rider Aids, is always a step ahead of the actual hardware,
these rider aids are improving the experience, or the modern rider may misuse them by lack of understanding?


   Whether so called "Rider aids" are considered "Aids" is dependent on the individual rider and type of riding. For example, would you want coupled antilock brakes on a dual sport machine that you ride on dirt roads? I do not. So rider aids do not always 'improve the experience". The electronics are certainly a huge safety feature for the vast majority of road riders, but the average rider is usually in possession of limited skill. I don't think that there is a question of misuse, if the electronics are any good then their use is seamless.



   Can a production motorcycle, be an exercise in eccentric engineering, or buyer decision is shaped by the traditional form of the motorcycle?


   History has never looked favourably on eccentrically engineered motorcycles. Of course there is always a niche market but it is only a tiny percentage of the total market share. The majority of buyers want something very similar to those that their mates have and their racing heros ride.




   Can radical thinking be the next step in motorcycle design , or the shape of the motorcycle has reached its evolutionary conclusion?


   I think that small evolutionary steps will continue, which is what has happened since the nineteen fifties. Prior to then people were experimenting with everything and you could buy very different motorcycles, but since the advent of the Norton Featherbed frame in 1950 the changes have been small steps from that foundation. Even today the major manufacturers still produce bikes with frames almost identical to the featherbed.



   How the average motorcycle rider, can benefit from the implemetation of an altarnative suspention system, over the archaic design of the telescopic forks and its inherit disadvantages?


   As you must know I have experimented with alternative front suspension but I never expected that there would be a massive swing away from telescopic forks even with all of their often quoted deficiencies. We must realise that modern top of the range USD forks are far removed from their 1980s cousins. People want to buy what their heros on the track use and at the moment there are many reasons why an alternative design is unlikely to be any significant benefit. I have always said that the extra stability and other benefits from a well designed alternative would be of more benefit to the lessor skilled rider. However, the least skilled still look toward similar hardware that the pros. use. BMW had a history, now abandoned, of a willingness to experiment with alternative front suspension, but they have now bowed to market pressure and followed everyone else. Yamaha were brave enough to try with their GTS 1000 and despite a loyal following that has been abandoned also.



   A large community of enthusiasts, is pushing the envelope, of what is possible on the development of recumbent motorcycles, can the industry identify a potential in comercial use?


   As a percentage of the total market that community is very small. However, mainstream manufacturers are making steps in that direction with the so called "Super scooters". Honda also have the DN01 and NM4.