Honda: Electric cycle in Japanese market by 2010

[The CyberPoet]

Honda is saying they will deliver an electric cycle into the Japanese market by the 2010 model year, with Yuasa supplying the Lithium-Ion battery for it, according to Tatsuhiro Ohyama, head of Honda’s motorcycle operations.

However, Oyama goes on to say that this particular project will focus solely on corporate customers, targeting organizations like the postal office, fast food outlets, and seemingly other business that need vehicles that make short, but speedy trips.

The real news to the rest of us coming out of this is that Honda and Yuasa are setting up an R&D center specific for the development of two-wheel electric motorcycles as a combined venture, and the data acquired from this initial model (and it's field use) should fuel additional models & development that will equate into their public line-ups as regular units later. The R&D center (already funded to the tune of $18.5 MIL) is being set up in Kyoto, is funded 49% by Honda and 51% by Yuasa.

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On a separate note, KTM has already stated that they will have an electric bike in their 2010 line up for sale to the public. Patents filed by KTM show the unit with (among other configurations) an electric motor driving gears turning a chain or belt to the rear wheel, an electric motor integrated in the rear wheel, and both of those combinations tied to a front wheel with a regenerative brake assembly integrated into the hub (recapturing power from slowing down). There's some back-channel rumors that the small capture device in the front wheel could also be used backwards (feeding power into it) to provide true two-wheel drive under low-traction conditions.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Dom]

That's cool.
I just want the see the performance data of those bikes.
I know it isn't necessary the goal of those machines right now to be fast.
But after seeing a group of student at university trying to convert a ZX-14 to an electric motor and announcing that it would do the 0-60 in 11 seconds, I kinda got discouraged in the concept.

http://www.voltthor.com/en/index.html

[The CyberPoet]

That's cool.
I just want the see the performance data of those bikes.
I know it isn't necessary the goal of those machines right now to be fast.
But after seeing a group of student at university trying to convert a ZX-14 to an electric motor and announcing that it would do the 0-60 in 11 seconds, I kinda got discouraged in the concept.
http://www.voltthor.com/en/index.html

You might want to look at this:

http://www.brammo.com/racing/

and find the recent article in either VisorDown or Bike (both are UK Magazines -- one of the two had the article) about Brammo's Isle of Mann TT electric-bike entry and it's engineering in quite a bit of detail.

Personally, I think that the ZX-14 would make a poor platform for conversion, in large part due to the design of the frame (something with twin-spars that would let you nestle the batteries between them would make better sense) and the curb-weight (too heavy).

As for 0-60 times: you could always trade off battery life for faster acceleration

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[electriKAT]

I hear the Katana makes a good candidate too, hehehe....

http://electriKAT.info

[IndyGunner]

My comment on the brammo bike... YUCK. Just listen to that thing... how is that in any way attractive or fun. Id put a speaker on it with exhaust sounds to compensate lol.

[Astro4x4]

I hear the Katana makes a good candidate too, hehehe....

http://electriKAT.info

Wow, that is cool. Have ya weighed it yet? Do you know what kind of range you get out of it?

[electriKAT]

Thanks. I have not weighed it yet, but I think it will be about 100lbs over the original weight. Lead is heavy. I just took the first test ride, so I have not verified the range. But based on what others have done, I expect range of 30-35 miles and top speed in the low 50's. But higher speed reduces range, so you can't have 50mph AND 30 miles at the same time. It should make a decent commuter.