Honda on Wednesday showcased a new motorcycle that can stand unaided with or without a rider, using technology the firm learned from developing a walking humanoid. Unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda's Riding Assist-e is an all-electric concept motorbike that constantly assesses its position and moves the steering bar to ensure the heavy machine stays upright. For years, international bike manufacturers have experimented with various forms of gyroscopes to stop motorcycles falling over, said Hiroyuki Nakata, the engineer behind the idea. "But if you wanted to keep something as heavy as a motorcycle standing, you need a large and heavy gyroscopic device and you need to keep turning it," he said. Honda's device, however, is only the size of a lamp and can be rigged above the front wheel.

If you're a rider--especially if you're a novice or if your motorcycle is just a bit too tall or heavy for you--you've had those unnerving flashes of instability at low speed that can tip you over, bruising your body and your ego, not to mention your ride. Honda has a fix to keep you upright: a self-stabilizing motorcycle, which it unveiled Wednesday at CES in a spooky riderless demonstration. Unlike the Segway and BMW's Motorrad Vision concept motorcycle, Honda's "Riding Assist" tech doesn't rely on heavy gyroscopes to balance itself. It instead uses tech derived from the balancing systems in its Asimo robot and Uni-Cub electric mobility scooter, developed at its Silicon Valley R&D center. Honda uses an electronic steer-by-wire system that disengages the handlebars from the front forks at speeds below 3 mph, passing control of the front wheel to the computer.

The motorcycle of the future is so safe riders can cruise without a helmet and never fall off, giving all of the thrills with none of the danger, according to BMW. The German automaker unveiled its Motorrad Vision Next 100, a sleek, self-balancing prototype the company released as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations. The zero-emissions bike has self-balancing wheels designed to stand upright even at a complete stop, stability that the company says will allow riders to forgo riding a helmet. The self-balancing BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 concept motorcycle is unveiled on the last of four international stops of the'Iconic Impulses' event, celebrating 100 years of BMW. A'flexframe' extends from the front to the rear wheel, which means means the bike can be steered without the various joints found on today's motorcycles.