Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India has just announced at an international conference on Biofuels in Delhi that they’re going to make a flex-fuel motorcycle – and the CEO, Atsushi Ogata, has even given us when the thing will be debuted.
“The first model of the flexi-fuel motorcycle will be launched by the end of 2024,” states Ogata, keeping his cards close on which model will be chosen for the project.
The decision has been made with the knowledge that ethanol – an organic compound currently experiencing a second Renaissance and part of the cocktail of a flex-fuel motorcycle – can be had for less than pure gasoline.
This move is one of many geared toward a cleaner, more sustainable future – and it will mirror the successes of TVS’s flex fuel engine Apache RTR 200 Fi E100, which was the first ethanol-run machine to debut in the country.
Here’s the big question, though; will ethanol become a viable option for motorcycle markets in the Central and Western Hemispheres?
With ethanol currently known as the compound that eats away at rubber and creates a shorter-lived machine, time will tell – we will have to see what Honda decides before a true opinion can be had on the subject.
Stay tuned for updates as they come down the pipeline, drop a comment below letting us know what you think, and as always – stay safe on the twisties.