Honda Plans To Build All-Electric Motorcycle By 2010 [Motorcycles]

One positive note in Honda CEO Takeo Fukui's NSX-cancelling, F1-withdrawing year-end speech: a renewed focus on motorcycle development. First up: an all-electric production motorcycle. We'll let Fukui explain it himself, ""Honda is currently developing a battery-powered electric motorcycle which emits no CO2 during operation, because the characteristics of a battery can be better utilized in the area of motorcycles, which are often used for short distance travel. Honda is aiming to introduce this electric motorcycle to the market about two years from now." We're excited by this news. When we tested the Quantya Strada road-legal electric dual sport last year, we found it to be an ideal vehicle for urban transportation. Our only issues were the price and limited range. Hopefully, the corporate might of Honda can address these issues. But why a bike and not a Tesla or Volt-like electric car? The reason lies in Honda's determination to refocus itself on what made it great in the first place. The company was founded in 1948 as a motorcycle manufacturer. In most of the rest of the world, bikes form an important part of the transportation infrastructure, making an electric bike ideal for crowded European and Asian city centers both for commuters and commercial users. As such, we expect a practical bike or scooter, rather than a performance-focused sportsbike or lame cruiser. Fukui elaborates, "History shows that motorcycles remain strong in a difficult market environment and have always supported Honda in difficult times. People showed renewed interest in the value of motorcycles which consume less fuel for commuting purposes as well as for their easy-to-own/easy-to-use efficiency." [via Hell For Leather]