On top of being on the board for a swappable electric battery system, playing a key role in the cutting-edge hydrogen consortium “HySE,” and contributing to the integration of 30,000 electric fast-chargers to America starting in 2024, Big Red’s also trying to put the world of ICE bikes and electric bikes into one machine for the masses.
Does it have a name yet?
No, but based on the convoluted blueprints, “High-Maintenance” should be somewhere in the model designation.
Ben Purvis (CycleWorld) sums up the general vibe beautifully:
“Honda has a reputation for taking the difficult route when it comes to developing new ideas. This is, after all, the same company that developed oval pistons with twin con-rods and eight valves per cylinder when race regulations said it couldn’t use a V-8.”
“So while it’s “relatively” straightforward to simply bolt an electric motor to an existing combustion engine and transmission to create a hybrid bike – as Piaggio did back in 2008 to create the MP3 plug-in hybrid – Honda is taking a very different path.”
The “path” in question: Two electric motors align to work with a gas tank via a “planetary” gear system that allows full fuel, full electric, or a blend of the two. For this build, one of the electric motors works with the fuel to provide power to the rear wheel, while the second acts as a generator.
The whole setup looks rather chonky, so Honda’s use of the X-ADV 750 as an example would not, in this case, be realistic; Purvis’s suggestion to lean closer to a tourer for this hybrid rings true, per usual.
What do you think of Honda’s new hybrid concept?