PhilipMSPT

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Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Honda is coming one ride closer to a consumer version of the all-electric bike as it releases its EV-neo scooter today.

The zero-emission EV-neo was shown at Honda Motor Co.'s research facility in this Tokyo suburb, quietly riding around the grounds, devoid of the usual mechanical sounds and smells. It’s this perceived cleanliness that officials at Honda hope will sell its electric scooter to users who wouldn't normally consider riding.

Honda developed the EV-neo, an electric scooter designed to provide the durability necessary for business use, envisioning a wide range of uses by businesses such as delivery services. Equipped with a lithium-ion battery and a brushless motor, EV-neo realizes excellent environmental performance with zero CO2 emissions in use. The battery is rechargeable using a household power source with attention given to the range per charge. Moreover, EV-neo provides performance equivalent to that of mass-market under-50cc gasoline engine motorcycles realizing a powerful ride even with cargo by leveraging the characteristics of a high-torque motor even at a low speed ride.

Targeting delivery businesses such as newspapers and pizza parlors, Honda is promoting the scooter which has about the same power output as a 50cc bike and a range of 19 miles as a cleaner and quieter alternative.

The company also hopes the quick charge time; twenty minutes using a special device will make this electric alternative rival its gas guzzling competition.

With the scooters expected to arrive on the streets in December, Yamaha is expected to release its own electric motorcycle this summer.

Habious

I know these electric vehicles are the "wave of the future" and all but, I honestly think that, until they do something about the range of these things, they're just not all that viable.

This particular one goes 19 miles on a charge. Now, it's all well and good that someone, somewhere, did a study and concluded that the average scooter-rider rides 15 miles a day (or whatever).

But, there's a world of difference between "I drive an average of 15 miles per day" and "I will NEVER, EVER have a need to drive more than 19 miles total."

Even if an electric vehicle solves my transportation needs for 85% of the time, what am I supposed to do for the other 15% of the time?

Should I buy one commuter vehicle...and a second for longer trips? How is having 2 vehicles better than having one? Paying for insurance on two vehicles...paying for maintenance on two vehicles...and, a BIG factor in large cities...finding a place to park two vehicles.

My current gas-guzzling vehicle will do 19-mile roundtrip commutes...it'll also go 300 miles on a tank. If I need to go even FURTHER than that, there's an existing infrastructure in this country that allows me virtually unlimited range.

I8ABMR

That will sell like hot cakes in Asia. Here not so much. Thats really cool that it charges that fast. You could stop for lunch and have your bike charged by the time you get the entree

Habious

But charge it where? You need the infrastructure set up to have public power outlets (and obviously a way to meter/pay for the power used).

I've asked to borrow a power outlet in a restaurant before when I had a dying cell phone...but there's a big difference between "borrowing" a little juice to recharge a cell phone and rapid-charging a heavy-duty Li-Ion battery!

jaseman

See that's just the thing. There is, in fact, a very large infrastructure already set up. It just needs to be made publicly available for charging vehicles.

While you can't just plug in your electric vehicle anywhere you want at the moment, electricity is being run to almost every single structure in our society today. So you can plug in at home, your motel room, or office quickly and easily. It's not a far jump for someone to invest and set-up recharging stations, as electric vehicles become more popular.

The only thing missing from the infrastructure is the guy charging for us to use it.

mmarshall

Looks like a great idea. You can probably also store one inside, without having to deal with gas fumes or fluid leaks. That will make it even easier to charge it up, too.

If I wasn't so damn heavy (270-280 lbs.) and would probably overload the small motor, I'd look at one myself for short trips in good weather.

IS350jet

Exactly! I agree with your entire post but this point, in particular, stands out. This has been my argument all along. Until we can get 300+ miles on one charge and can recharge at a charging station in less than ten minutes, we will still need primary transportation other than EV.