This Electric Honda Sports Bike Concept Had A Bright Future (Until It Didn't)

 As the automobile market undergoes a paradigm shift closer to electric powered propulsion, a informal observer would possibly word that bikes appear to be lagging at the back of. While there are numerous fantastic electric powered bikes to be had for purchase, the marketplace remains a step at the back of electric powered motors, with technical demanding situations and a skeptical patron base complicating numerous producers` tries at Tesla-stage buy-in for battery-powered bikes.

All this drama might have been prevented if now no longer for one specific quirk of history. One of the arena's biggest and maximum a hit bike producers went electric powered over a decade ago. By all appearances, Honda had each purpose of placing its complete advertising muscle at the back of its RC-E electric powered sports activities bike. Had it succeeded, the arena would possibly have visible a repeat of the continent-spanning fulfillment of Honda's Super Cub, with the marketplace for scooters and mild bikes, that may run to masses of hundreds of thousands of vehicles, moving to electric powered propulsion. What went wrong?

The idea lived on, type of

Honda debuted its RC-E on the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show as one automobile amongst many it was hoping might shift the complete shipping market closer to electric powered power. Other showpieces blanketed an electric powered remix of Honda's famously transportable Motocompo "trunk bike" and stripped-lower back battery-powered metropolis motors intended for dense city commutes.

The muted reaction to the ones principles appears to have willing Honda to stay with the fossil gas formulation that had already supplied it with global fulfillment. When Honda did attempt to innovate withinside the electric powered propulsion space, it hit critical stumbling blocks, as with 2017's Clarity electric powered sedan, that can control a measly 89 miles earlier than wanting a recharge. Still, the RC-E controlled a type of survival. The Mugen Shinden Hachi, a a hit all-electric powered racer, borrowed notably from the RC-E design. The Shinden Hachi has considering excelled on the Isle of Man TT Zero (as in 0 emissions) and the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The RC-E additionally endures as the foundation for ongoing innovation on the agency. Honda has massive worldwide desires for engineering, currently laying out a plan to be carbon impartial with the aid of using 2050 and for 0 visitors fatalities throughout its range. Toward that end, the agency introduced in September 2022 that it'll launch at the least 10 electric powered bikes with the aid of using 2025. They all owe a debt to the engineering and marketplace training Honda found out from the RC-E.