One of my high school friends recently started at MIT, this of course was after he created what is reportedly, the world’s first unicycle motorbike. 19-year-old, Ben Gulak’s 120 lb machine is an all-electric unicycle that emits no fumes. The inspiration for this machine came after a trip to Beijing, China where Ben reports that after not seeing the sky for two weeks, he thought something need to be done. His machine could have a direct impact on the pollution in China and would be an ideal mode of transportation that would allow citizens to weave through the crowded streets easier than with a traditional motorbike.

In high school Ben had a history of making well-designed and unique science projects. He entered a science fair in grade nine with a simple magnetic car that drove around a track of accelerator coils. He went on to represent Team Canada at the International Science Fair with this design. It was a couple years later when he submitted his first design of The Uno at another science fair. The project being much larger than the scope of the science fair, lead him to seek investors and a renowned bike shop in Oakville, Ontario for further design advice.

The Uno is like a Segway but to give the rider more stability the wheels are side-by-side and only an inch apart. The motorbike is powered by a single switch, on or off. Driving The Uno involves regulating your body weight. To move forward you push your body weight forward to tilt the machine, to move backward you lean back on the seat. Depending on how far you lean, determines how fast you go.

Apparently, Ben has been pitching his idea to investors in California and just opened up a factory to start producing the machine in Cambridge, MA. He reports that he hasn’t been the best student so far with all this on his plate, but is enjoying and getting into the swing of things at MIT. Ben isn’t all work though, recent photos of him at the Playboy mansion show that the key to connecting with Hugh might just be through the development of an environmentally friendly and flashy motorbike.
 

Photo courtesy of Motorcycle Mojo Magazine