Dr. Mike Hilgers loves to take his motorcycle out on the open road. But now he's taking to the Internet to help Honda engineers generate virtual feedback about motorcycle design from real bikers. Dr. Mike Hilgers loves to take his motorcycle out on the open road. But now he's taking to the Internet to help Honda engineers generate virtual feedback about motorcycle design from real bikers.
People can become very attached to the way their motorcycle looks in addition to the way it rides.
The site features an interactive blueprint of a Honda Shadow. Motorcycle enthusiasts can access the blueprint and make changes to various angles by clicking on the handle bars, for instance. Feedback is monitored, calculated and averaged in order to derive quantitative information about the most appealing features of a motorcycle's design. Honda will eventually be able to use the information to make decisions about future designs. In motorcycles, I suspect the triangle is most appealing aesthetically.