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"I did more research, and realized I almost would rather be a biologist than a writer, because there was incredible stuff going on!"
- Greg Bear

Smart Bike  
  A motorcycle with sophisticated systems for steering and balance.  

Some people are just never satisfied with basic physics.

Norman, as always, drove like a maniac. Norman was young. He had never ridden any motorized device that lacked onboard steering and balance systems. He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace, as if trying to do algebra with his legs.

...[they] buzzed up along the road shoulder, the smart bike and sidecar scrunching over the oyster shells with oozy cybernetic ease.

Technovelgy from Distraction, by Bruce Sterling.
Published by Bantam Spectra in 1998
Additional resources -

Once any bicycle or motorcycle gets up to speed, it will tend to stay stable thanks to the considerable angular momentum of the spinning wheels. Some people just want more.

Compare to the gyrocar from Two Boys in a Gyrocar the story of a New York to Paris motor race (1911) by Kenneth Brown, the Gyro-Hat from An Experiment in Gyro-Hats (1926) by Ellis Parker Butler, the leading machine from Paradise and Iron (1930) by Miles J. Breuer, the tumblebug from The Roads Must Roll (1940) by Robert Heinlein, the Two-Wheeled Ground Car from First Lensman (1950) by E.E. 'Doc' Smith, the Gyro Two-Wheeled Truck from The Sign of the Tiger (1958) by Alan Nourse (w/Meyer) and the Gyrocar (Gyro) from The Ring (1969) by Piers Anthony (w/R. Margroff).

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Distraction
  More Ideas and Technology by Bruce Sterling
  Tech news articles related to Distraction
  Tech news articles related to works by Bruce Sterling

Smart Bike-related news articles:
  - Ghostrider Robot: Sterling's Smart Motorcycle?
  - Terminator Salvation Motorcycle Robot Like Ghostrider
  - Google Lobbies For Autonomous Motorcycles
  - Lit Motors Self-Balancing Motorcycle
  - BMW Self-Balancing Motorcycle - Never Put Feet On Road
  - Meet Assist-e Honda's Self-Balancing Motorcycle
  - Yamaha MOTOROiD Living Motorcycle Experiment
  - Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
  - Xiaomi Self-Driving Self-Balancing Scooter

Articles related to Transportation
CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride
Futuristic Transit Elevated Bus Never Really Worked
Japan Automated Cargo Transport
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany

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