Just when you thought you’d seen it all you stumble upon Honda Goldwings used as tow truck. This story has been around for a while, but in today’s environment of recycling, it’s good to recycle a good story, especially when it involves motorcycle with a 5,000 lb towing capacity and consumes 80% less fuel than a comparable standard tow truck, while meeting 2012 emissions standards; saving thousands of dollars on maintenance in a tow truck fleet each year.

Swedish firm Coming Through has employed specially modified Honda GL 1800Goldwing motorcycles to quickly travel through traffic and rescue stranded vehicles, which are being called the Retriever. This video provide a demonstration of how the motorcycle manages to tow a car. It’s ‘efficient and sophisticated manner’ of the patented brake and steering system work together to ‘eliminate the transfer of forces’. As the rider turns or brakes the system ensures that the steering and/or brake forces are, in largest possible extent, managed by the towing unit. The systems are operated fully with hydraulic and mechanical components and are independent of the motorcycle allowing the Retriever to be ridden like any other motorcycle even though it is actually recovering a car.

This Swedish company is poised to redefine the recovery vehicle market. The Retriever can certainly get to disabled cars much faster than a big tow truck can. When it’s not in recovery mode, the Retriever looks and functions just like a traditional motorcycle. The specially designed motorcycle takes little over a minute to convert to its towing vehicle, powerful enough to haul most passenger cars, or those weighing 5,000 pounds or less. The foldable bracket stowed away behind the bike’s back seat is hitched onto the front of the car and towed away.

The real practical use occurs in places where there is high traffic such as in urban areas. Usually when there are accidents, the traffic around the area makes it difficult for normal tow trucks to enter. The towing device is effortlessly unfolded by the rider. The towing unit, mounted on the motorcycle, is designed to minimize heavy lifting. Deployed and secured in less than 90 seconds.

The Retriever is designed to be operated easily by a single operator. By a simple operation the Retriever is transformed from a motorcycle to a recovery vehicle. This is done in just above one minute. The low weight and the ingenious design allows for all operation to be made by hand by the operator. The handheld remote control makes it possible for the operator to keep an eye on the traffic whilst operating the towing unit.

Compared to a traditional tow trucks, the Retriever emits far lessCO2 and other. However, the major benefit would be that the Retriever will reduce congestion faster than any other vehicle, resulting in reduced emissions from thousands of vehicles. When a biker tows his motorcycle instead of riding it, they earn the title of ‘trailer queen’. But what would a motorist be called who is towed by a motorcycle? Much less tows the car that may have earned the cyclist the name trailer queen.

I’d be interested in other viewers perspective on this towing unit.