Is Honda Working On A Hybrid Motorcycle?

Honda seems to be working on its first hybrid motorcycle, combining a petrol-powered engine with electric motors. Several patent applications show the hybrid concept, which isn’t as simple as adding just one electric motor to boost a conventional petrol engine and transmission. Honda’s system is slightly more complicated, and the hybrid design uses two electric motors combined with a conventional petrol engine. 

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Patent images show the outline of a Honda X-ADV to illustrate the hybrid design. One of the patent images show a smaller single-cylinder engine. The final production model could be a different bike to use the technology.

This design offers two transmissions, allowing Honda to leverage the design and operate the hybrid bike in a variety of modes including as a pure electric, with an automatic CVT and as a conventional motorcycle with multiple fixed gear ratios. The patent designs show the outlines of two possible combustion engines, with one which appears to be similar to the 750 cc twin used in the Honda X-ADV, but there’s also another engine being shown, possibly a single-cylinder engine.

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Honda has filed as many as 9 different patent images to describe the hybrid system. In one image, a bigger engine is used, possibly a parallel-twin engine, along with electric motors.

As per the design concept, Honda connects the two electric motors and the combustion engine together via an epicyclic or “planetary” gear train. In simple words, the advantage of the planetary gears is that it allows the bike to be ridden either in pure electric form, or in pure internal combustion form, with a variety of combinations, including with automatic gears, as well as completely manual transmission.

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So far, there’s no word on when Honda’s hybrid tech will reach production. And even though Honda’s patents show the silhouette of a X-ADV, it’s likely to be used in a sport tourer or an adventure tourer in future, providing long range and plenty of power. At this stage, the designs indicate that it’s still a project, so an actual bike with a hybrid powertrain could still be a few years away from production. 

(Source)