Honda's Efforts

[Smaug]

Here are some details on what Honda has done, is doing and plans to do in the future. There's a lot of good info here, and I like that Honda shares their visions.

I like the look of the Benly e. It appears to have a nice luggage rack built-in and an optional front basket. Would be good for a local commute, but there's no pretending it's an eBike. The range, speed and price are all absent though...

Back in my scootering days, I had a Honda PCX. It was 149cc and would do 55 mph. I have not seen an electric one; it hasn't come stateside yet. not sure they made it stateside:

As an afterthought at the end, they say they're going to do a Class 1 eBike:

...in addition to EV models equivalent to a motorized bicycle type 1 for personal use.

Edited to add screen shot pix, as Honda broke the linked pix.

 

[JerryB]

Scooter is definitely the right name......looks cool.....looks like my daughters Vespa.

 

[ETrike]

I would pay up for a Honda for the simple fact that they have engineered more reliable modes of transportation in the past which have spanked traditionally arrogant players in the marketplace. The seats finally look like something that you would want to sit on and effectively use to control the machine; much like performance jet ski manufacturers have managed to figure out for decades now.
Specs. a pic and where to buy one would be about all that I would need.

 

[Anton]

I would pay up for a Honda for the simple fact that they have engineered more reliable modes of transportation in the past which have spanked traditionally arrogant players in the marketplace. The seats finally look like something that you would want to sit on and effectively use to control the machine; much like performance jet ski manufacturers have managed to figure out for decades now.
Specs. a pic and where to buy one would be about all that I would need.

I agree, Honda made the bulletproof CT110 Postie Bike for delivering the mail down here in Australia. I used to own one and it was great. It had a top speed of around 80km/hr (50mph) with a semi automatic clutch. The gear shifter doubled up as a clutch lever so it would activate the clutch when changing gears. They even used the CT110 engines for junior speedway bikes because the engines revved so high and were so reliable.

 

[Smaug]

I agree, Honda made the bulletproof CT110 Postie Bike for delivering the mail down here in Australia. I used to own one and it was great. It had a top speed of around 80km/hr (50mph) with a semi automatic clutch. The gear shifter doubled up as a clutch lever so it would activate the clutch when changing gears. They even used the CT110 engines for junior speedway bikes because the engines revved so high and were so reliable.

The Benly e seems to be the modern electric replacement to the CT110. It'll go 60 mph. More specs here toward the bottom:

Honda Benly E-Scooter: Range and top speed explained

Electric scooters are becoming more and more popular in the Indian market, and Honda is ready to capitalise on this trend with its Benly model. After Honda was discovered testing a brand-new electric scooter termed the Benly e with a test registration number last year, this is the first instance...

www.newsheads.in

 

["A"]

I still ride my old Hondas.

Performance wide there is no comparison between IC engine vs electric motors.
Even though the Vintage Hondas require minimal maintenance, still need to stay on top of the carbs for winter/summer jetting, fuel stabilizer for long term storage & battery maintenance.
E-mopeds are still less maintenance in comparison.
I'm pretty sure the Honda e-mopeds are going to be offered exclusively outside of US market.

 

[Smaug]

I still ride my old Hondas.

Very cool. You must have a BARN full of bikes!

I'm pretty sure the Honda e-mopeds are going to be offered exclusively outside of US market.

Unless I've missed it, Honda is not planning on an eMoped; just Yamaha. They seem to be planning on a couple eScooters and eBikes. Apparently there is a High-speed Pedelec category in Europe that Yamaha is targeting first, for the western world. I think it's 28 mph max.

 

[Hoggdoc]

Here are some details on what Honda has done, is doing and plans to do in the future. There's a lot of good info here, and I like that Honda shares their visions.

I like the look of the Benly e. It appears to have a nice luggage rack built-in and an optional front basket. Would be good for a local commute, but there's no pretending it's an eBike. The range, speed and price are all absent though...

Back in my scootering days, I had a Honda PCX. It was 149cc and would do 55 mph. I have not seen an electric one; not sure they made it stateside:

As an afterthought at the end, they say they're going to do a Class 1 eBike:

All these are scooters not ebikes. I'm sure they will require licensing and insurance.

 

["A"]

Very cool. You must have a BARN full of bikes!

Some people drink beer, some smoke, some have children.. I have bikes.
Wife knows it well before we got involved.

 

[JerryB]

Some people drink beer, some smoke, some have children.. I have bikes.
Wife knows it well before we got involved.

Also.....some people drink beer....have children......have bikes and old horse drawn carriages....wagons....buggies and sleighs.......whatever makes you happy!

 

[Smaug]

All these are scooters not ebikes. I'm sure they will require licensing and insurance.

You're right, but it's the closest thing Honda makes or plans to make to an eMoped.

If you think it's more appropriate, you can move the thread to the General forum.

 

[ETrike]

I still ride my old Hondas.

Performance wide there is no comparison between IC engine vs electric motors.
Even though the Vintage Hondas require minimal maintenance, still need to stay on top of the carbs for winter/summer jetting, fuel stabilizer for long term storage & battery maintenance.
E-mopeds are still less maintenance in comparison.
I'm pretty sure the Honda e-mopeds are going to be offered exclusively outside of US market.

Beautiful early models. I would be proud to own either one or both. All were bulletproof and dependable until the very end.

 

[Smaug]

Here's a little trivia on Honda:

Mr. Honda used to work for Toyota. When he quit, he started making piston rings and selling them to Toyota.
Next, it was a retrofit engine to put on bicycles.
Then, small motorcycles.
Then bigger motorcycles.
Then cars.

Now? Honda is a legit competitor to Toyota. (though STILL not quite as big)

 

[JerryB]

My buzz around car is a 85 Honda Civic.....with 94,000 original miles.....belonged to my mother in law who really was the old lady from Pasadena......a few years ago......the car had some carb issues.....just couldn't get it fixed.....ended up removing it......pinched off a dozen or so vaccum lines and installed a Weber carb......she runs likes a top......gets 30+ MPG......I call her the "Blue Bomb!" .

 

[Smaug]

My buzz around car is a 85 Honda Civic.....with 94,000 original miles.....belonged to my mother in law who really was the old lady from Pasadena......a few years ago......the car had some carb issues.....just couldn't get it fixed.....ended up removing it......pitched off a dozen or so vaccum lines and installed a Weber carb......she runs likes a top......gets 30+ MPG......I call her the "Blue Bomb!" .

My first car was an '85 Civic CRX HF. (the fuel economy champ) I bought it used with 124k on the odometer with money I had saved from Basic Training. I paid $2400.

I drove it until it had 180,000 miles, at which point it was rusty enough I considered it unsafe. It has those plastic panels on the lower area that hid the amount of rust it had. I went to rotate the tires one time and the jack just crunched right into the unibody at the "reinforced" jacking point. Another victim of The Iron Worm.

I traded it in and got $1200 toward a '98 Civic CX hatchback, (base model) which I happily drove for 175k miles before selling it to my sister. She needed a cheap, reliable used car and suffered with no A/C and a stickshift in LA for a year or so, when she had some money to buy herself a new fancy Civic with an auto trans and A/C.

Later, I bought a 2012 Accord EX, with the 5-speed stick. Great car, but the rev hang took a lot away from the fun stickshift experience.

Now, I'm in a 2022 Subaru WRX, which is a lot of fun to drive (even in the snow!) but is rather thirsty for premium fuel, compared to the Hondas. All the Hondas were completely trouble-free. The WRX is in for a new fan controller now under warranty.

 

["A"]

Talking about Honda cars now?
1990 Honda Accord, mine since 1998.

 

[Smaug]

Talking about Honda cars now?
1990 Honda Accord, mine since 1998.

Wow, 511k miles is impressive. Original engine?

Perhaps even more surprising is that it hasn't rusted out yet, as you live in the snow belt. Mine seemed to rust out to the point of being unsafe at about the 12-13 year range...

 

[Smaug]

I Googled "when is Honda bringing electric scooters to America" and came up with this.

Excerpt:

Expect to see three street-legal models in the United States. Based on the silhouettes provided by Honda, they look to be a semi-cruiser along the lines of a CTX700, an upright sport bike, and a scooter/motorcycle crossbreed. The fourth is a Kids Fun EV model—not the Honda CRF-E2 electric dirt bike for kids currently available.

From elsewhere in the article:

Outside of the United States, Honda is focusing on Commuter EVs (business-use electric motorcycles) and Commuter EMs and EBs (Electric Mopeds and Electric Bicycles, which does not include pedal-assist e-bikes). These vehicles will take advantage of the swappable battery form that all four Japanese manufacturers have agreed to, as well as working with a European battery consortium and a partner in India.

I think it bogus that they're not planning to bring their eMoped here, but very cool that the Japanese business culture can be cooperative when it needs to be. In America everyone is doing their own thing and trying to dominate the market; no cooperation at all. We would rather fight and go out of business than cooperate and share some success.

Anyway, I guess the bottom line for this forum is to not look for an eMoped from Honda any time soon. I think it's uncharacteristically short-sighted of them to focus all on powersports and ignore the practical market. Current management has forgotten how popular Honda Cubs and SuperCubs were, back in the 60s. (yes, even in America)

 

[kmccune]

Clean the deicing chemicals off your ride soon as possible, among other things its rough on exhaust manifolds and brake lines , the DOT requires things that can kill us( face bombs,AKA airbags) but do not require corrosion resistant brake tubing, hmmm.On the subject of Honda motorcycles havent seen a 70 for 30 yrs or so. one of my acquaintances had either a 70 or trail 90 in the sixties not sure which, He doubled His friend all over the the place on that motorbike.

 

[Smaug]

I updated the 1st post in this thread; Honda broke the links since I originally posted it, so I screen-grabbed a few instead.

---

Honda has made 3 eMopeds for the China market, but they are neutered 25 kph (15.5 mph) models built to be under $1k and built to satisfy China's eBikelaws for young 'uns. Note that they have a full twist throttle (like) and vestigal pedals just to satisfy the law. The mechanical pedal system seems to just have one low gear and will be "bail-out options" in case someone plans poorly and runs out of juice.

When I was last in a big Chinese city maybe 7 years ago, lead-acid-powered eBikes with vestigal pedals and low speed were everywhere. They don't care if it's slow going, they just want another alternative to public transit or getting to work sweaty on an mBike.

They won't likely make it to the USA, or if they do, they'll have to be de-neutered to at least go 20 mph and preferably 28 mph. I like the cast wheels, large diameter hub motor and floorboard. I like how the mechanical gearing is for bail-out purposes only, and they don't try to hide it by skimping on the floorboard.

They ALSO won't likely make it to Europe, since they don't fit well into Europe's laws:

• They have the option to not pedal, so they won't satisfy Europe/UK's neutered version of US Class 1
• They're not fast enough (yet?) to be desirable as a small motorcycle or Speed Pedelec

Maybe they will make a faster version that can be sold either in Europe/UK (as a Speed Pedelec) or USA. (as Class 3)

Here's the eCub:

Here's the eDax, trying to look like an old CT70 trail bike?:

...and finally, the Zoomer e:

For now though, they are still leaving the US market to the Americans and Chinese.

Source article: https://electrek.co/2023/01/12/honda-cub-electric-moped-china/