KTM says it will bring a suite of rider aids to the market on future models, including radar-based adaptive cruise control and blind-spot detection.
Starting in 2021, the firm says it will have radar both front and rear on bikes.
The front radar will be used for adaptive cruise control, which will maintain a two-second gap between the bike and the vehicle in front when engaged. It will be able to manipulate the throttle and even brake gently to keep that gap constant.
The rear radar scans blind spots for vehicles, giving a visual warning in the mirrors as well as an on-dash display and an audio signal.
“As a company, KTM is committed to improving rider safety and also to reduce accidents,” said KTM research and development vice-president Gerald Matschl.
“We have a lot more development and many thousands of kilometres to test these systems in the real world before we can implement them on series production bikes, but they are coming in the near future.”
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because Ducati announced a very similar set of technology just weeks ago, although it will appear slightly sooner, in 2020.
Both companies buy in their safety technology, such as cornering ABS and traction control, from Bosch.
Bosch clearly has its motorcycle radar components nearing production, so expect a horde of bike firms to introduce identical tech, all at around the same time.
By Ben Purvis
