Yamaha has officially unveiled its electric power steering system for motorcycles - promising to use the system throughout the year on its works machines in the All-Japan Motocross Championship before spreading it across more machines in the future . You might initially wonder whether power steering is really something that bikes or riders are asking for , but its development is potentially a huge step forward for motorcycle safety systems . Modern electronics can already intervene in braking via ABS , acceleration via traction control and deceleration via electronic engine

" The final piece in the rider-aid jigsaw falls into place "

braking control systems - preventing lock ups or wheelspin , even during cornering with the latest designs assisted by inertial measurement units ( IMUs ). Although less widespread , we ' ve also seen electronically controlled clutches

and gearchanges , which leaves steering as the only remaining element of purely human-operated control on some bikes . Yamaha ' s electric power steering ( EPS ) means that now there ' s a way for computers to intervene there , too . Traditionalists might rail at the idea of a computer stepping in , but when it comes to ABS and TC systems , there ' s no shortage of evidence that such rider aids can be lifesavers without being obtrusive - and EPS is likely to be the same . That ' s why its proving ground is motocross , throwing the system directly against the toughest possible challenge . Mechanically , Yamaha ' s EPS is quite

simple . There ' s a powerful electric motor attached to the front of the headstock , geared to the steering stem to work as an actuator . A ' magnetostrictive ' torque sensor measures how much effort the rider is putting into moving the bars , while a computer measures that force and decides whether to use the actuator to help . It ' s basically the same as the technology used on e-bicycles , which measure the pedaling effort being put in by riders to decide how much electric assistance to add . In its simplest form , the system - which was first run covertly during races in last year ' s All-Japan Motocross Championship before being publicly adopted by the works team this year - acts as the ultimate steering damper . Because it can tell the difference between the rider ' s inputs at the bars and external influences like bumps that are trying to change the course of the front wheel , it can assist with the former while counteracting the latter . Yamaha says that the power steering side of the system is most significant at low speeds - when large movements at the bars are more common - while at high speeds the

steering damper effect is more pronounced . Even in this , relatively simple form , the system is hugely promising . It should be able to eliminate tankslappers , potentially enabling bike designers to adopt more aggressive steering geometry for sharper responses . As it