Honda RC-E Electric Concept


Honda RC-E Electric Concept Until today it seemed Honda was content to dabble in commuter electrics while smaller, more nimble companies tested the waters of electric motorcycle racing and nailed down the market for electric two wheelers.

Up to this point, most of the motorcycle OEMs (with the exception of KTM) have shown a casual disinterest for the most part in the burgeoning electric vehicle industry. The Honda RC-E may be a watershed of sorts in signaling that at least one of the major manufacturers is looking into a serious street-going electric motorcycle. Although with Honda—which has always prided itself on not only its technological prowess, but also its eco-friendly reputation among the manufacturers in both the automotive and motorcycle industries—this wasn’t an entirely surprising move.

Electricity isn't free and though standard outlets may already be plentiful, you'll need to find a friendly someone who will let you plug in, or a recharging station, and then you wait, perhaps for hours. Maybe bikes will have the ability to add some non rechargeable batteries, so you run into a hardware store to buy a few motorcycle Duracells or the like, to get you far enough down the road to where a real recharge is possible.

Last but not least would be the established dealer network that Honda already has in place. It would be difficult for the current start-up OEMs to offer similar levels of support which in turn could give Honda the benefit of jumping into the game now that the market is wide open. On the flip side, if Honda takes the RC-E concept into production it will help give legitimacy to a market segment currently dominated by young companies.

Share/Bookmark