Honda's Building a Hybrid Motorcycle
September 30, 2008 | 5:41:38 PM
Honda Motor Co., the world's leading motorcycle manufacturer, is developing a gas-electric motorcycle that would use a hybrid drivetrain much like the one in the forthcoming Honda Insight, and it could be in showrooms within two years.
Startups like Zero Motorycles and Brammo already offer electric motorcycles, but the major manufacturers have been slow to join the party because they've considered the engineering challenges too great for mass-market bikes. But according to Japan's Mainichi Times, Honda says it's figured out how to make the drivetrains work without breaking the bank.
Not only does the company think it can make an electric engine small enough to fit in the narrow confines of a motorcycle frame, but it plans to offer full electric bikes as early as 2011.
The Times didn't offer a lot of detail but says Honda will offer the hybrids in displacements ranging from 50 cc to 1,000 cc, and the gas-electric drivetrain will offer a 50 percent improvement in fuel economy. Sharing components with Honda's hybrid cars will cut down on production costs.
The idea isn't as crazy as it might sound. Both Honda and Yamaha are working on electric motorcycles. Honda plans to use lithium-ion batteries that will provide a range of about 60 miles. Although that's not nearly enough for a day of touring or canyon carving, it's more than enough for commuting around town. Yanking the gasoline engine out of something like the Cub -- the best-selling vehicle ever -- and replacing it with an electric motor seems like a no-brainer. Yamaha plans to have its e-bikes on the market by 2010.
It'll be interesting to see what direction Honda takes with hybrid motorcycles. Will it go for maximum efficiency like the Insight, or will it use the torque provided by an electric motor to boost acceleration like Mercedes-Benz and BMW are doing with the S 400 BlueHybrid and 7-Series Active Hybrid luxo-barges? And will we see a gas-electric version of the venerable Interceptor (pictured)?
Photo by Honda.
Your article's link to "Zero Motorcycles" is invalid.
Motorcycles are often horribly inefficient in comparison to normal petrol cars as it is, as the regulation is less strict.
"Motorcycles are often horribly inefficient in comparison to normal petrol cars as it is, as the regulation is less strict."
Umm, no.
im yes, actually my 1995 Honda civic vx hatchback with a 1.5 Liter Vtech economy gets 53 mpg...its EPA est. at 55. motorcycles are unaerodynamic as heck. a machine powered by a 1000cc motor should theoretically get 3 times the gas mileage as a 3000cc (3 liter) motor right? it doesn't happen. motorcycles' many crevices and flat surfaces scatter the air as opposed to a car's profile which runs it smoothly off the windshield. also carburetors are less efficient than EFI.
So that's just strange. The title indicates that the building that Honda owns is a Hybrid Motorcycle.
Caleb, you're maths are not valid. The fuel economy of bikes has more to do with power:weight and tuning of the engine than aerodynamics. They all factor in, yes, but a 1 liter engine trying to push a 3 ton truck is not going to be 3 times as efficient as a 3 liter engine in that application, if at all. And for the record, my last 2 motorcycles had EFI.
I suspect the engine it would take to get motorcycle-level acceleration out of your Civic would actually be less fuel-efficient than the motorcycle engine. (Just a guess)
I don't think you could pay me to ride a electric motorcycle. I think these thinks will be bouncing off cars left and right. People have a hard enough time not hitting motorcycles they can hear.
Depends on what kind of efficiency and how you compare it. Are they more fuel efficient than most vehicles over a given distance transporting a single occupant - generally yes.
Are they better for the environment. Probably not. They spew out far more dangerous emissions than a lot of modern cars - but that said, given even a quarter the investment that cars have had then we would see some very efficient and clean bikes.
Two stroke motorcycles (dirt bikes ATVs...) pollute more not the normal four stroke motorcycles (Hogs, Beemers, sportbikes...). Yes four stroke bikes are more fuel efficient that cars. Perhaps in Europe they are more fuel inefficient to "petrol powered" cars due to less regulation. Over here bikes need mufflers and catalytic converters and two strokes have spark arresters.
It's great that it can be done, but I won't own one this lifetime...I'm sure it would be a blast to work on...
Let's face it... if some company can make the next, energy efficient and non-polluting vehicle (motorcycle in this case) it probably would HAVE be some Asian or European company!!
Also personally for almost 22 years I worked with Harley's DINOSAUR engineering and can faithfully say that they ALWAYS LAGGED BEHIND any new ideas while always chasing the competition.
A motorcycle will ALWAYS be more efficient than a car when compared like for like. A 1000cc Sports bike will accellerate to 60 as fast as a Indy car, 3 seconds. What does an Indy car get to the gallon? Compare a comuter bike with a comuter car and the bike wins hands down. Its a no-brainer. If an electriv/hybrid bike gets better MPGs and more people out of their cars and on bikes it can only be a good thing.
Chris
What's next, a hybrid lawnmower? Get outta here.
i ride a 98 harley that has performance improvements and has been dynotuned. it consistantly gets 55-57 mpg at 70-72 mph on road trips.
That's well over 200 miles on 4 gals of gas.
There are already electric cycles made in the USA.
http://vectrixusa.com/
I don't understand why go hybrid and not just straight to electric. @ the above posts, yes, motorcycles are already more efficient than cars, so they don't really need more efficiency, do they? And motorcycles already have better performance than cars, so they don't really need more performance, do they? I guess you could always have more. One of the real problems with cycles is pollution. So, why even bother with half-measures? Just go whole-hog! (Yes, pun intended)
if Honda can make a hybrid bike like my Interceptor that does 75MPG, 150mph+ and 0-60 in less than 4 seconds I'll move to Japan and queue outside the factory waiting for one... Just don't make it sound crappy - OK Big Red?
Hah-Ha!! I'll stick with the V-Twin... the H-D version. They never killed any American sailors after breakfast in '41, like Zero & Mitsubishi did.........
For those who wonder why Honda doesn't just go straight electric, it's the range! As an newbie builder of bikes, and a hybrid one at that, I can tell you that you'll get all the sound, all the performance, and much better mileage. Mine is built on a 78 CB750 frame and uses a 200cc single and a 3500watt DC traction motor. It can be seen on www.caferacer.ca
I figure if a nobody like me can figure this out, Honda or any other manufacturer should be able to make something far better than I ever could. Don't sell the idea short, it really can work!
the obvious answer is a fully electric bike with a hard hybrid design meaning there is an onboard gas convertor that takes fuel and converts it to electricity for the battery or directly for the motor as needed. plus if you wanted to get super fancy you could somehow throw an ultracapacitor into the mix for the most efficiency and lightweight regenerative breaking.
make the shock absorbers out of some sort of piezo electric material and yet again you can redirect the bounciness of the bike into recharging the batteries of thebike. crazy, but ultra effieicnt with ultra range.
Nice loooking bike, I'm thinking about adding a motorcycle section to my Honda site and would like to get some feedback. http://www.hondaexplosion.com/
If you're referring to my hybrid bike, then "thank you". I think a lot of people would respond to a bike section, but there should be some emphasis that you are trying to address. Would it be custom bikes, or modified or tuner bikes? That way it would be open to anyone who wants to contribute. Just a suggestion....
As to the post by Zeev Kirrsh on Nov. 26: I agree, what you suggesat is what I originally set out to build, but there were many obstacles encountered. Some were cost related, others were related to the size of components, and others were the space available to put said parts in the bike. It is a do-able project, and my partner and I have solved most of the hardware/software items we required for our application. But we are both married and have families, so they come first.
The bike I posted is what I could build on a VERY tight budget, but is by no means the final way I intend to go. It was my way of finding solutions to build a better bike. This new iteration is currently under construction in my garage.
If I'm not mistaken, Almost all motorcycles(Street bikes) Have Catalytic converters now, are EDI(Except for Harley Davidson) controlled and very efficient. This is going down the same road as Oh WHO as me the North Pole is melting. Their emissions are far from that of a Hummer. If you really want to increase fuel efficiency put fairings around the rider to decrease wind resistance and detune the motor. Oh wait we've already done that. It's called a CAR!!!!
Another thing is if they were serious about this they would start emissions testing again with you annual inspection. Palllleezzee...
EDITOR: Joe Brown | 
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Finally!
Honestly, what took them so long?
... and why can't you get the best of both? Efficiency/performance.
Have a switch that gives you the choice, its all electronically controlled, so why not? You want performance? Flip to the power setting, the computer then doesn't optimize electrical flow, it pushes it!
Need to see those MPG readings go up? Flip to efficiency setting.
No brainer!!!