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60 Comments
- WordsnCollision, on 09/30/2008, -1/+26Will they call it the Green Wing?
- StigNordas, on 09/30/2008, -1/+17I'm glad that the MC industry is considering hybrids. Electric motors would make much more sense riding around the city.
- MoneyShot, on 10/02/2008, -0/+9I own an '83 Magna V65. It's a 600 lb., V4, 1100cc cruiser. It was the fastest production bike ever made for a few years, capable of doing the 1/4 mile in the 10's. Water cooled, shaft drive, five speeds + overdrive, and all that fun stuff... and it still gets 40 MPG.
I also own a 1973 CB350G. It's 35 years old and still runs great. Dead simple to wrench on even for a beginner. Parts are still widely available and cheap. Even the bike itself can be bought for under $1000. It get's 55 MPG! Great little commuter bike.
Sorry, but I think a hybrid bike is just a gimmick. You can get an old, reliable bike for MUCH cheaper and still save a fortune on gas. Plus, I like being able to work on it myself. Not to mention the cost for insurance is much less on a 25-35 year old bike. - Hooger158, on 10/01/2008, -1/+10You do understand the point of a hybrid right? It also runs on gasoline and recharges the battery. 18 miles is how long it goes without using any gas. If you keep filling it (albeit less frequently) you can keep riding it all day.
- avengingturnip, on 10/01/2008, -0/+9That is a lot of extra weight for a motorcycle. How many batteries and are they really going to put both an electric motor and a gasoline engine on one tiny frame?
- inactive, on 10/01/2008, -0/+8Hayes Diversified Technologies produced a diesel engine for the Kawasaki KLR 650 that they claim gets 105 mpg @ 45 mph (Tested) and has a range of 630 miles @ 45 mph with a 6.1 gallon tank. The ***** thing: they are expected to retail for around $19,000.
Hybrid technology ain't all that, yet. Popular Mechanics tested the '09 VW Jetta TDI against the Toyota Prius and the Jetta TDI won with 45.5mpg. The Prius achieved 44.5mpg. - eeemart, on 10/01/2008, -3/+10needs some flames painted on the sides.
- hughtopia, on 10/01/2008, -1/+6I live 6 miles from work...sounds PERFECT for me.
- digggggggggg, on 10/01/2008, -0/+5I'm pretty sure that they'll engineer it in such a way that the weight will be manageable. However, I doubt that any of these first generation hybrid motorcycles will have the scalpel-like handling of a sport bike.
- jonr, on 10/02/2008, -0/+4What's with this hybrid crap? Just go 100% EV...
- MrCoke, on 10/02/2008, -1/+5ok put a speaker on it if your too afraid.
- MrCoke, on 10/02/2008, -1/+4how about an all electric motorbike, and release it now.
- johnpaul191, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3My motorcycle is pretty simple, and therefore easy to fix.
I don't want ABS on my motorcycle. It still is weird to me on my car (i have only had ABS for 2 years). I don't feel it is always the best thing. The way it paddles the brakes could be scary as hell for a motorcycle. I would be curious to see how BMX, for example, has implemented it.
If you look at something like Harley Davidson, they offer the same bike with EFI and without. Same bike otherwise. The EFI does not give significant mileage improvements. It does make the bike significantly more expensive to maintain. I realize that retuning the bike is done with a laptop as opposed to swapping out your jets (i've deal with carbs), but still. I like that there is not really anything computer controlled on my bike. I like that i can kickstart it. I like that the technology is basically mechanical refinements to the same way a bike was built 20 years before it.
I applaud the technology of cutting edge bikes if it's for high performance or fuel economy, but there is something to be said for keeping it simple. Motorcycles have not evolved as much because they just have not had to. same goes for the bicycle. - StacyWebb, on 10/02/2008, -0/+3Currently my Honda CMX450 gets an average of 62 MPG. I have seen the diesel conversions that get more. If the weight displacement isn't very great then I would consider one. My only question is why are they limiting it to 1000cc? Currently older bikes do create more toxic emissions (mine included) will this reduce that significantly also?
- digggggggggg, on 10/01/2008, -1/+3The MC industry, in general, seems to be very hesitant to introduce new technologies. This is partly because of technological barriers, but also because there's just not a lot of demand.
Take for example, ABS and electronic fuel injection. Both of these things have been fairly standard on cars for nearly two decades. However, only in the past 5 years or so have these technologies become more than just novelties on motorcycles. Even then, EFI is still not offered on some motorcycle models, and ABS is still fairly unpopular with most riders, save for the sport touring segment of the market.
Taking into consideration how long it took the MC industry to introduce two useful improvements, I'd imagine that due to the limited production and demand for hybrid motorcycles, the prices for the first generation will be prohibitively high. - WeedCollege, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3then it would look like my go-kart.
- KnutTheBear, on 10/02/2008, -1/+3Small AND Silent? Insurance, please.
- Hooger158, on 10/01/2008, -0/+2But the Prius won in the city by a solid margin.
- AwsmGy, on 10/02/2008, -0/+2I've gotten 60 MPG on the highway with my 05 R6, what people really need are better driving habits.
- musntSurfatWork, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Makes me wonder what it would feel like to ride on a silent motocross in the midst of a sandpit, surreal... would save me some gunshot wounds from the locals
- krahzee, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1But the benefit of owning a hybrid is argued assuming that most drivers spend the majority of their commute time in stop and go traffic. Often the saving vs.a good fuel efficient conventional engine is very low for those of us not driving through major city traffic for their whole commute.
For example, I once had a 40min commute. Only the last 5min or so after getting off the highway was driven below 50-60mph. In my civic, the mileage on the highway is in the high 30's, unlike an suv hybrid, for example, which actually show a lower mpg highway than road. On local streets it "drops" to around 30-32mpg.
To me the added cost of a hybrid is financially not as practical as it would appear at first glance. Add it the more expensive maintenance down the road, and I feel hesitant to embrace it just yet.
What will end up being proven more cost effective is the plug in electric car with a small engine for charging the batteries on the go. - inactive, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1My BMW F650GS gets nearly 70MPG with all the mods I've done to it.
I won't sacrifice performance to go higher on my MPG, It's good enough already. - lysdexic, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_car ...
- jcharak58, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1meaning that the diesel won on the highway by a large margin? Or was it almost all highway driving which would skew the results?
- feliks2, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Seriously gas/diesel, or electric, make up your ***** minds. Two motors is so ***** redundant and inefficient.
- feliks2, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1No, that would make it really ugly, although it would probably be ugly anyways.
- inactive, on 10/02/2008, -2/+3Honda may be gaining market share in the casual motorcyclist market, but the hardcore/dedicated riders believe that Honda has lost much of it's mojo. This is just another indication.
- FearisFailure, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Dig that. Well put.
- FeloniusMonkey, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1I seriously doubt this will be marketed towards "hardcore riders". I think it's a bit presumptuous to assume a new line of Honda hybrid motorcycles would take anything away from that year's more traditional line of VT/VTX cruisers.
- Lanceruch, on 10/17/2008, -0/+1Wow i am excited in this hybrid motorcycles.
Pretty sure i will have one.
http://usedcarsale.wordpress.com - trev0006, on 10/28/2008, -0/+1Hybrid would be awesome, they just need to make artificial sound so when the bike is in electric mode people can hear you.
http://www.dpccars.com/motorcycle/motorcycle-video ... - jbond, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Take one of the MegaScooters like the Reflex, Burgman, Silver Wing. Put a pancake electric motor in one of the wheels or in the clutch mechanism. Fill the luggage space with Li-On batteries. Make it plugin as well as hybrid. It could work well at the expense of extra weight and the loss of luggage capacity.
Go back and watch Halloween again. Remember when you met the nicest people on a Honda. And it was ok for a teenage girl to ride a scooter from the suburbs down to a shop and back to get a quart of milk instead of taking dad's SUV. Those days should come back and its exactly the market in which a hybrid would work. - spritom, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1Considering that Honda extended the current VFR800 with new features of "New Black Color" (last year was BNG...Bold New Graphics)...maybe they're holding out for the hybrid to be the next VFR.
http://www.hondanews.com/categories/51/releases/47 ... - edebolt, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1Many Chinese cities have outlawed IC motorbikes and only legal way it to use electric. It helps the air quality but they are so quiet its dangerous to walk around because they come out of nowhere.
- jcharak58, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1if we didn't have fuel tax we would have more toll roads to pay for roads.
- JQP123, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1"if we didn't have fuel tax we would have more toll roads to pay for roads."
The problem is not really the fuel tax, it's the fact that diesel is dis-proportionately taxed at a much higher rate. Where it not for this tax, diesel would be significantly cheaper than gasoline. It is not as highly refined and the yields are greater, thus it is cheaper to manufacture. Also, diesel engines operate using higher compression ratios and as a result are inherently more efficient. This is why a non-hybrid Jetta TDI can compete with a hybrid Prius.
Lower cost and greater efficiency --- we should all be moving to diesel. The reason we're not --- fuel taxes are distorting the marketplace. - trunks6008, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1it'll be another 8 years before we see honda's fuel-cell motocycles.
- miketest, on 03/03/2009, -0/+1this is the real deal. http://digg.com/autos/Infiniti_reveals_592_horsepo ...
- catbeller, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1The cost is mostly batteries, and that cost will drop.
http://www.enertiabike.com/component/option,com_co ...
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_n ...
http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/?_kk=electric%20mot ... - mtxrawkus, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1My old 1982 Honda MB5 got 80+ mpg.
- digggggggggg, on 10/02/2008, -0/+1@johnpaul
Yeah, I agree with you that ABS is unnecessary, as it's just another thing to break. I also think that it enforces bad habits too. Instead of learning to brake properly, riders who are accustomed to ABS can just grab out the brakes and expect the front not to wash out. This could be dangerous should they ever try a bike without ABS.
I disagree about EFI however. I used to own a Suzuki gs500, and even though the carbs were very adjustable, ultimately they were a pain to maintain. Over the 20k miles I rode it, I had to go through the carbs twice for cleaning, and balance them countless times. I now ride a r6, with EFI, and it hasn't given me any perceivable problems yet. - catbeller, on 10/02/2008, -1/+1It's a bridge technology. We're waiting for really good, reliable, high capacity batteries. Toshiba's ScIB batteries look like a good candidate. In the meantime, we use gas to go over 40 miles or so.
- johnboycanada, on 10/02/2008, -1/+0Drive it off the lot and never refuel again... ever!
- johnpaul191, on 10/02/2008, -1/+1Lithium ion batteries weigh almost nothing (but cost a LOT).
Remember that they are talking about 50-150cc scooters. The Prius has an engine size something like 1.5 liters (1,500 ccs). the Prius has an engine with 50 times the displacement volume.
For the record, Honda is not the first company that has working prototypes of hybrid scooters. - woyk, on 10/12/2008, -0/+0I thought. First, Tahoe Hybrid, now Honda .. But do not think Honda will be more comfortable than the Chevy.
http://usedtahoeforsale.blogspot.com/ - JQP123, on 10/02/2008, -1/+1In terms of fuel cost per mile, the Prius still wins:
Using current US national average prices for gasoline and low sulfur diesel from the EIA/DOE web site:
Prius: $3.697/44.5 = $0.0831 per mile
Jetta: $3.887/45.5 = $0.0854 per mile
I like the idea of diesel and the potential for improved efficiency but politics (i.e. fuel taxes) have put sort of a damper on it in the US. - RC212V, on 10/02/2008, -0/+0Honda and Yamaha are developing all-electric motorcycles as we speak.
- StolenLamp, on 10/03/2008, -1/+1Honda needs to make a hybrid go-kart
- RC212V, on 10/02/2008, -0/+0You can't even really rely on you exhaust to keep you safe anymore anyway because plenty of people are driving luxury cars with a boatload of sound deadening. Even then, someone might hear you but not be paying attention to exactly where you are.
No matter what you're riding you need to ride like cars don't see you. If you're on a hog or whatever you need to be riding proactively anyway so it's not like an electric bike is going to be that much more dangerous unless it has really poor acceleration. -
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