• Honda submitted a patent for a variable riding position system.

• It turns a sportbike into a sport-tourer and vice-versa.

• Such an innovation ought to a good welcome.

Honda has submitted a whole slew of patents recently, but this one is probably the best of the lot. These pictures show a bike with variable riding position – a two-in-one motorcycle in essence.

While riding a sport-tourer, we wished for a sportbike when the road turns into a beautiful ribbon of asphalt or the track beckons. Conversely, we wished for a sport-tourer when we ride a sportbike to a faraway destination or into the neighbouring countries. Sure, a sport-tourer caters to both extremely well but there are times when the knees develop an itch that can only be scratched through sliders on the track.

Among the diagrams is one for the height-adjustable clip-on handlebars. They ought to be raised via a button.

Apart from the handlebars, there are also diagrams for an electrically-adjustable windscreen. The technology is not new, of course, but it adjusts to provide wind protection in sportbike and sport-touring guise. The scissor-type pivots push the windscreen into more upright positions, rather than just up or down.

Cars drivers have the luxury of adjustable seats and steering wheel for decades. We will have such amenity too, if Honda puts this patent into production.