As complex as the fourth-dimensional hyper cube after which it is named (ask Carl Sagan), the Yamaha Tesseract made quite a splash here in the 3rd dimension. What is it? A tall quadrunner? A 4-wheeled motorcycle? An MP4? I don’t know how to classify it other than an oddity. Is there really any more of a benefit to having 4 wheels on a motorbike than having 3? I don’t really see it… but it’s fun to look at. I’d like to see how she handles the road. Until that time, if you’d like to see more big photos you can check out motoblog.it’s Tesseract Gallery.
Thanks to Skorji for sending this over straight from the Yammy booth.
29. October 2007 at 6:32 pm
One of the things that I have always dug about two stroke scooters is their relative simplicity. Unlike most things these days I never felt intimidated by messing with them.
This thing looks orders of magnitude more complex than my old Hondas or Vespas.
29. October 2007 at 10:54 pm
See the Tesseract in 3D here! Click on Camera 2. Yeah, I’ve just saved you a round-trip ticket to Tokyo; and you can take me out to lunch next time.–Lawrence
30. October 2007 at 12:59 am
I sooooo looks like it should transform into a suit of power armor. Like a cyclone from Robotech!
30. October 2007 at 1:03 am
As long as I get the Alpha fighter, you can have the lame Beta.
30. October 2007 at 4:43 am
Yamaha: More Than Meets the Eye.
In theory, four wheels means twice the traction and a much lower chance of sliding. In reality, do we really need that much traction?
I’d be really impressed if the bike split down the middle into two two-wheelers. I think I saw something like that once on that cheesy “Knight Rider” sequel.
30. October 2007 at 6:22 am
Me no likee. UGLY!
WTF????????????
30. October 2007 at 6:36 am
Actually, it will have less “traction” than the same bike with two wheels. Traction is the ability to resist shear and the same weight on two points will resist shear better than distributing the weight on four points. What it will do is provide better “stability” in turns due to the four-point configuration. And don’t get me started on the “contact patch” myth.
30. October 2007 at 5:45 pm
Dudel said…
Actually, it will have less “traction” than the same bike with two wheels. Traction is the ability to resist shear and the same weight on two points will resist shear better than distributing the weight on four points. What it will do is provide better “stability” in turns due to the four-point configuration. And don’t get me started on the “contact patch” myth.
I couldn’t agree with Dudel more. This is the same reason the MP3′s 3rd wheel is useless.
The MP3 only makes sense to me if it could stand up securely by itself at stop lights. There is a market for people that don’t have the strength to hold up their bikes. This bike looks like it will do that, though.
30. October 2007 at 6:29 pm
hrm… I don’t know. Three wheels I can see. You’ve got a tripod effect there allowing you to keep upright when you are turning on gravel, sand, oil, etc. I wouldn’t trust even the stickiest tires on a two wheeled bike to keep me upright in a 40 mph turn on gravel.
There’s a special relationship between a 3 point contact and stability (like when you’re caving, you should always have 3 points of contact). Not sure that’s the case with 4-wheels that narrowly placed together. Again, have to see it on the road.
31. October 2007 at 12:12 am
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Piaggio X7 125/250 on Cyberscooter:
http://www.cyberscooter.it/
sx/images/news071031.jpg
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31. October 2007 at 2:59 pm
Thanks for that cool link Lawrence! How about sushi… from HEB, not Japan.
Jay, David and Gen. I like how you’re thinking here. Who knows, maybe in 2057 we’ll have a cool suit that transforms into a car… at least if Mazda has their way.
http://tinyurl.com/34n7t7
31. October 2007 at 10:00 pm
Best sushi or Japanese meal in Austin (period) is at Musashino.
What a beautiful virtual tour! I feel like I could reach out and touch the Tesseract. –Lawrence