Soon, riding with your group on the highway will be made even more convenient with BMW Motorrad’s Active Cruise Control (ACC). Already a standard feature in many BMW cars, ACC will soon make its way into BMW motorcycles.
ACC is a rider assistance system that automatically adjusts the speed and distance to the vehicle in front to the rider’s desire. The system automatically slows down or speeds up, to maintain a set speed and distance from the vehicle in front. If the car or motorcycle in front slows down, with ACC on, the BMW motorcycle will slow down as well. If it speeds up, so too will your motorcycle. The system was designed to recognize both cars and motorcycles. It works whether the motorcycle is directly in front or diagonal from the rider (in staggered riding groups).
When cornering, ACC automatically reduces the speed if needed to let the rider attain a comfortable lean angle. On sharper lean angles, the system adjusts its response, making acceleration and braking smoother to help the rider handle the corner and maintain stability.
The set distance from the vehicle in front can be varied in three stages, and adjusted with just the press of a button. These settings are displayed on the TFT instrument cluster. The ACC also has two ride modes: comfortable or dynamic, in which the acceleration and deceleration behaviour is changed accordingly. The distance control can also be deactivated in order to be able to use the Dynamic Cruise Control (DCC).
The ACC system was developed in cooperation with partner, Bosch. It takes advantage of the many years of experience developing ACC for passenger cars.
While it’s an incredibly intelligent system, it does come with some caveats. The ACC is not an autopilot feature nor should it be treated as a full auto brake system. The new ACC only responds to moving vehicles. It will not recognize stationary vehicles. The rider assistance system was only designed to be used on highways, with gentle curves and where all the vehicles are traveling at the same speed. It will not bring the bike to a full stop nor balance itself. These tasks must still be done by the rider.
Nonetheless, it’s a welcome new feature and stands to make the long highway legs of road trips much more convenient and comfortable. Plus, the components required to make this feature work are the same ones used in other novel features like Full Emergency Braking (FEB), Lane Tracing Assist (LTA), and Lane Keeping Assist (LKA).
BMW has yet to say when the ACC will be fitted and to what models. Judging by the graphics provided, It could start with touring models like the K 1600 GT, C 400 GT, and R 1250 GS. The technology appears close to the final stages and we could see it implemented in 2021 models.
