Adjustable footrests are far from a new idea, but even on bikes that have them, the adjustment process typically involves wrenches and screws. That’s why a new patent application from BMW, which features footrests that can be adjusted in seconds without tools, is interesting on its own. But the idea specifically arose thanks to the development of electric motorcycles by the company – adding to a growing body of evidence that an electric BMW motorcycle is close to arriving.
The system illustrated in the new patent is incredibly simple – the kind of system that makes us wonder why it hasn’t been done before. It shows the rider’s footrests being mounted on a slotted bracket that allows them to slide, but there’s no need to loosen screws to move them. Instead, there’s a set of serrated teeth-shaped slots on the aluminum bracket beneath the adjustment slot and a pin that extends inward, directly opposite the tab itself, to engage with it. The tab itself is hinged like those on most motorcycles. When the tab is extended to its normal position, the opposing pin engages with one of the slots, preventing it from sliding along the bracket’s slot. To adjust the tab, you simply fold it up, releasing the pin from the slots so that the entire unit can slide along its adjustment slot.
What the illustrations show is a set of pins mounted on a section of the aluminum rear frame, with the pivot of the swing arm clearly visible and two screw holes for mounting on the main section of the motorcycle frame. It is a fairly common arrangement, but it does not correspond to any of BMW’s current range of motorcycles. What it does correspond quite well to is the patent for a large electric motorcycle that we wrote about earlier this year, which had practically the same pivot area of the bolted swing arm, connected to a large and structural battery box.
It is undeniable evidence that an electric motorcycle from BMW will soon join the company’s range, along with its current range of electric scooters CE? Not exactly. But when combined with other suggestions, ranging from the company’s 2019 Vision DC electric motorcycle concept to a series of trademark applications for electric motorcycles with the name “DC” and patent applications for various electric motorcycle designs, it becomes increasingly clear that we can expect a BMW motorcycle equipped with a battery sooner or later.
