We actually covered this Uno unicycle waaaay back in the early days of LIAS, when spring was in the air and our hearts were filled with childish glee (Motorized Unicycle Helps Nerds Look Cool…Somewhat…). Now that we’ve become jaded adults with souls cold and coal-crusted with resentment, the Ontario-born inventor Ben Gulak has managed to move his 12th grade project through investment, research and development and into actual production. What was once the Uno has now evolved into the Uno III, and BPG Motors is apparently taking $250 deposits to advance the transforming vehicle into actual production. The way the Uno III works is that at low speeds the U3 drives on two self-balancing parallel wheels, using gyroscopic technology much like a Segway except the rider sits on the unicycle-like seat, he doesn’t stand. This allows for nimble urban commuting when speeds aren’t needed — you can move forward, backward, stop and spin around without ever putting your feet down. When higher speeds are called for, with a push of a button the rider can transition in-flight from Uno mode to a full “motorcycle” mode. The two wheels that the Uno-mode rides on squish together and move back to become what appears to be one singular back tire, while the unused front tire moves up from its center position. Since it’s only licensed as a scooter at this time, the top speed in “motorcycle” mode is only 30 mph (15 mph in Uno mode). Fully electric, the U3 can travel 30-35 miles on a single charge, which takes 3 – 4 hours to charge fully. Although it’s called a “motorcycle” mode it actually has 3 wheels: the rear two wheels are placed very close together but have independent tire patches, independent suspensions and are independently driven. Kudos to Gulak for taking a high school project and seeing it through to development — I hope he sees this thing through to full electric production…

One more shot of BPG Motors’ Uno III in full motorcycle mode after the Jump…