Electrified Honda Motorcycles Coming to the U.S.

[Brillot2000]

Honda has announced that 3 Full-sized Electrified Motorcycle models (FUN EV) will come to the U.S. in 2024 or 2025.

1. NEO-RETRO, 2. CRUISER, 3. X-ADV, 4. YOUTH DIRTBIKE

Striving for Carbon Neutrality of Motorcycles as a Responsibility of the World’s Largest Motorcycle Manufacturer

I have been waiting for this announcement since I returned my 2015 Zero Motorcycles SR. It seems time is going to be shorter than I expected. I have been saying that I would go back to an Electric Motorcycle when Honda or Yamaha came out with one. Based on the silhouettes, I would choose the one on the right in the above image. This model might be based on the Honda X-ADV. Since I would use it as a commuter, it is my most logical choice.

I cannot wait to see what these will look like once they have reached Production.

My desired setup...

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

 

[NewTo700V]

I wouldn't consider these anything more than around town wheels. Which is fine, if that's all you need from a bike. Passenger cars are still the sweet spot for range and battery pack size. The energy density in batteries just isn't there for touring a motorcycle replacement. I want to be able to commute and put in a 1,000 mile day if I have to. Two weeks ago I did a 1,100 mile day riding back across country on a Honda that will be eligible for Antique plates next year. When an EV bike is able to do that, I'll consider them an equal replacement for ICE motorcycles.

 

[Brillot2000]

I wouldn't consider these anything more than around town wheels, which is fine if that's all you need from a bike. Passenger cars are still the sweet spot for range and battery pack size. The energy density in batteries just isn't there for touring a motorcycle replacement. I want to be able to commute and put in a 1,000 mile day if I have to. Two weeks ago I did a 1,100 mile day riding back across country on a Honda that will be eligible for Antique plates next year. When an EV bike is able to do that, I'll consider them an equal replacement for ICE motorcycles.

As mentioned, I owned a 2015 Zero SR. For the two years, I owned it. I would commute to work on it daily, a 60-mile roundtrip. I could charge it at work, and it would be fully charged by lunchtime. I saved over $800 in not needing to buy gas for to and fro. Plus, the company gave $90/year for driving an EV to work.

I was receiving $90/yr for doing something you had to do. The combined gas savings and EV credit are nearly equal to 4 monthly loan payments on that bike. Not a terrible arrangement. I am just saying...

 

[mikesim]

If an EV works for you, go for it! For my riding needs I will stick to dino juice..

Mike

 

[Brillot2000]

If an EV works for you, go for it! For my riding needs, I will stick to dino juice..

Mike

It did and will again. Too bad that the Zero was JUNK!!!





Like many boat owners used to say to me, the first happiest day is when you get it. The second is when you get rid of it. I tend to agree with that statement in the case of the Zero. In about two weeks, it will be five years ago I turned it back to the dealer I bought it from.

 

[Coyote Chris]

It did and will again. Too bad that the Zero was JUNK!!!





Like many boat owners used to say to me, the first happiest day is when you get it. The second is when you get rid of it. I tend to agree with that statement in the case of the Zero. In about two weeks, it will be five years ago I turned it back to the dealer I bought it from.

Well said! I too think in a commute situation, EVs can work for the owner. Maybe in 70 percent of the states, they are coal fired, or there are other environmental issues, but I use an electric scooter at Oshkosh for a week out of the year. I ride it the one mile from my camp spot on the airport property to a shower house near the show line and plug it in....then I ride it back to the camp once or twice a day. Its a POS but it works and its not as much of a POS as my gas Chinese skooter was. And maintenance is basically the chain.

 

[Brillot2000]

Well said! I too think in a commute situation, EVs can work for the owner. Maybe in 70 percent of the states, they are coal fired, or there are other environmental issues, but I use an electric scooter at Oshkosh for a week out of the year. I ride it the one mile from my camp spot on the airport property to a shower house near the show line and plug it in....then I ride it back to the camp once or twice a day. Its a POS but it works and its not as much of a POS as my gas Chinese skooter was. And maintenance is basically the chain.

I have high hopes for the Honda model. Honda tends to do testing for a decade before releasing anything to the market. Also, Honda tends to pride itself on quality and reliability.

Versus Zero did zero reliability testing, built it, and their owners are their test engineers or provide them with valuable feedback. I visited the factory up near Santa Cruz twice. I told them numerous times that I was their test engineer because I supplied them with valuable data by downloading the bike's diagnostic logs and sending them to them.

In the end, I sent a letter to the company's CEO. I was providing all the issues that I've had with that bike. The last item was when the battery packs replacement by their top and recommended local dealer a month before the bike went dead while going down the freeway at 70 miles an hour in traffic. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[ARKNT]

With Honda bringing electric bikes here this electric craze may get interesting.
Not sure yet if interesting enough for me to get one but might be fun for my short trips to town and such.

Arknt

 

[NewTo700V]

I would love an EV motorcycle that would fully charge in 5 minutes and get me 150 miles to the next station. Sure I would sorely miss the sound of 180-270-180-90 , but if the EV could cover the same amount of miles in given time I would go for it.

 

[Brillot2000]

I would love an EV motorcycle that would fully charge in 5 minutes and get me 150 miles to the next station. Sure I would sorely miss the sound of 180-270-180-90 , but if the EV could cover the same amount of miles in given time I would go for it.

From what I was reading regarding Honda's approach, they are looking at replaceable battery packs and battery charging kiosks in Japan and Europe. Where you pull up, swipe a card, or use a phone App, then you pull out a set of charged batteries and insert your depleted ones to be charged. It might not be as easy to pull off here in the US. You might have to detour to the nearest Honda Dealers to use such a system. I am sure that "In-Bike" charging will also be supported using the existing EV charging network.

I paraphrased this arrangement at a High-Level. This Honda webpage will go into greater detail. Efforts to Promote the Use of Electric Motorcycles

So, if the infrastructure is in place, explained in the shared webpage. Then you can have your bike ready in five minutes after a pit or snack stop.

 

[Coyote Chris]

Lets hope Honda learns from the mistakes of car manufacturers. Cars are catching fire 3 weeks after hurricane. Note 10K gallons of water to put out.

 

[Brillot2000]

Lets hope Honda learns from the mistakes of car manufacturers. Cars are catching fire 3 weeks after hurricane. Note 10K gallons of water to put out.

No worries on my end. It does not rain much in SoCal anymore. That plus, I keep my bike all in the garage and under a motorcycle cover when at work.

 

[Coyote Chris]

No worries on my end. It does not rain much in SoCal anymore. That plus, I keep my bike all in the garage and under a motorcycle cover when at work.

It wasnt the rain...its the salt water that was whipping about.....I have never been in a hurricane but I wonder how much airborne salt water is whipping about? Besides the people driving through salt water floods......I know regular cars dont like salt water spray...for instance, cars and bikes parked at the head of a ferry in stormy seas.

 

[Brillot2000]

It wasnt the rain...its the salt water that was whipping about.....I have never been in a hurricane but I wonder how much airborne salt water is whipping about? Besides the people driving through salt water floods......I know regular cars dont like salt water spray...for instance, cars and bikes parked at the head of a ferry in stormy seas.

No worries regarding salted roads here, either.

Suppose someone drives off the highway into the ocean heading further west because of a faulty GPS. That's on them.

 

[ARKNT]

From what I was reading regarding Honda's approach, they are looking at replaceable battery packs

I don't think I would be a big fan of swapping battery packs. The battery is a big part of an electric bike and as they age they will get weaker. So when you swap them it is a bit a gamble on what you would get back for yours. Kind of sounds like swapping 20 lbs gas grill propane tanks.
The electric range would likely be fine for most all of my riding these days and I could charge at home.

Arknt

 

[Coyote Chris]

No worries regarding salted roads here, either.

Suppose someone drives off the highway into the ocean heading further west because of a faulty GPS. That's on them.

You bring up a good point. Evidently, driving on MN roads doesnt create this effect, although they cover their roads with salt in the winter....so I am gonna guess that you have to either drive through deep salt water on a road or get lots of sideways salt water during a hurricane

 

[NewTo700V]

I don't think I would be a big fan of swapping battery packs. The battery is a big part of an electric bike and as they age they will get weaker. So when you swap them it is a bit a gamble on what you would get back for yours. Kind of sounds like swapping 20 lbs gas grill propane tanks.
The electric range would likely be fine for most all of my riding these days and I could charge at home.

Arknt

I don't think it would be that much of a problem with some basic preventative engineering. I can imagine a smart charger rack that could run some diagnostics on a pack dropped off for charge including a load test. The battery packs could also have onboard circuitry that keep track of charge/discharge cycles and would flag a pack for reconditioning after so much use and take itself out of service.

It's not like pumping gas has ever been 100% fool proof. Everytime you grab the nozzle you're depending on an underground tank you haven't personally inspected to be in good working order. I've read plenty stories over the years of ruined engines due to ground water intrusion.

 

[Brillot2000]

You bring up a good point. Evidently, driving on MN roads doesnt create this effect, although they cover their roads with salt in the winter....so I am gonna guess that you have to either drive through deep salt water on a road or get lots of sideways salt water during a hurricane

I am a SoCal native, so there is no chance happening if stay where I am at.

 

[Brillot2000]

I don't think it would be that much of a problem with some basic preventative engineering. I can imagine a smart charger rack that could run some diagnostics on a pack dropped off for charge including a load test. The battery packs could also have onboard circuitry that keep track of charge/discharge cycles and would flag a pack for reconditioning after so much use and take itself out of service.

It's not like pumping gas has ever been 100% fool proof. Every time you grab the nozzle, you depend on an underground tank you haven't personally inspected to be in good working order. I've read plenty stories over the years of ruined engines due to ground water instruction.

I wish we could get a geographical sense of where you are in the world. It would help me understand your position on any particular subject.

Modern Lithium battery packs have a Battery Management System or BMS. This electronic device monitors each battery cell's voltage, load balances, and charging control. In a sense, the batteries do a "Self- Diagnostic" constantly and provide a status of the battery packs' health.

Honda is actively researching and developing a "Solid-State Battery" that will not require lithium. I hope the energy density is more than what is currently available in the market today. I wish them luck in this effort.

 

[mikesim]

I am a SoCal native, so there is no chance happening if stay where I am at.

Not so fast! With climate change about to overtake us, I hear that Anaheim is going to host the Winter Olympics in 2036 after Newsome gets rid of all those terrible fossil fuel cars.

Mike