Check out this exciting news from MotorTrend online, just another reason Honda is always on top of innovation.
“Having contributed to the start of the hybrid movement more than 10 years ago with the original Insight, Honda may now be looking into hybrid motorcycles. According to Bikes in the Fast Lane, Honda has filed a patent for a hybrid touring motorcycle, which they claim looks a lot like the Gold Wing tourer currently available. The wording used in the filing, as is the case with most patents, is heavily laden with technical jargon and legal speak. But it does clearly list an electric stator motor as one of the motorcycle’s key components.
Based on the patent drawings, we can see that the electric motor is placed between the front wheel and the engine. The fact that the Gold Wing can fit a supplemental electric motor onboard isn’t a surprise, as it’s one of the largest bikes Honda offers. If this hybrid is intended to be a touring bike like the Gold Wing available today, meant for comfortable road trips and long-distance commutes, then a two-mode system might be best-suited for it. Such a system would allow both the internal combustion engine and electric motor to transmit power at the same time. The designs in the filing could indicate a two-mode system, as they show the Gold Wing’s usual 6-cylinder boxer engine downsized to a 4-cylinder—meaning it could use the extra oomph of an electric motor on the highway.
With Honda’s experience in producing hybrid cars, developing a hybrid motorcycle would be a natural next step for the company. As this patent was filed in September of last year, a Gold Wing hybrid prototype might already be running around in Japan. While we don’t know exactly when the bike will become a reality, this patent gives us a good idea of what Honda has in store.”
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