Tag Archives: honda motorcycle

Honda patents aerodynamic tail

Honda has filed an application for a patent for an aerodynamic tail that looks a little like those spoilers we see on “sully sic” fast fours and 1970s supercars.

Winglets have been added to the front of MotoGP bikes over the past couple of years to address aerodynamic issues.

Now Honda is looking to add some aerodynamic assistance to the rear of the bike.Honda aerodynamic rear end

Aerodynamic tail

Ducati’s Panigale V4 has a similar aerodynamic trail.

Corbin motorcycle seatsDucati Panigale V4

However, Honda’s patent features a removable tail-pack, where you can store small items such as your phone or wallet. That seems to indicate it’s not been designed specifically for race use.

It also appears to have movable wings which could be deployed at high speed for stability and under heavy braking to keep the rear wheel on the ground.

They could be deployed automatically or with a manual switch on the handlebar.

It would match the active aerodynamic winglets Honda has also applied to patent.

Honda patents active aero directActive winglets patent

Aerodynamic issues

Now don’t laugh. Aerodynamic issues are more prevalent in motorcycles than cars.

The most aerodynamically “slippery” motorcycle is the Suzuki Hayabusa which has a drag coefficient (cD) of about 0.55 to 0.60.

Hayabusa GSX1300Hayabusa

Drag coefficient is the ratio of drag on the body moving through the air to the product of the velocity and the surface area of the body.

Even a Mazda6 sedan has a much better cD of 0.26.

Racing engineer Jeromy Moore says it is difficult for motorcycles to match a car’s aerodynamics, because they are too short.

“With aero, it will be hard to get a bike’s cD down as it is quite short so the air has to deflect at larger angles to go around and rejoin,” he says.

Honda patents

This is one of a blitz of patent applications by Honda over the past couple of years.

Some are quite weird and impractical, but others may actually make it to market.

We suspect Honda is just trying to dominate intellectual property on motorcycle inventions, rather than planning to put them all into production.

The patents include:

Forks Goldwing patentGoldwing forks patent

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Kawasaki working on hybrid motorcycle

Kawasaki has applied for a patent for a hybrid motorcycle which is like a two-wheeled version of the hybrid Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt.

The Kawasaki patent application was originally filed with Japan’s patent office in December 2017 and again a year later in the US Patent Office.

Details have only now come to light that describe a motorcycle equipped with an electric motor and internal combustion engine.

Hybrid tech

The Japanese manufacturer is not alone with plans for hybrid technology as a step toward a full-electric future.

Honda has a hybrid PCX 125cc scooter that gets an electric boost from the ACG starter motor powered by a new 48V high-output lithium ion battery.

Honda PCX Hybrid scooter battery swap
PCX Hybrid

BMW also recently filed an application for a hybrid-drive motorcycle with a removable battery in the “fuel” tank.

Other hybrid examples are the TVS Zeppelin hybrid concept and the American Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency’s stealth off-road motorcycle powered by a petrol engine and an electric motor.

Hybrid motorcycle

Kawasaki’s hybrid system is a mixture of the Toyota and Chevrolet car hybrid systems.

The Toyota Prius uses the electric motor and internal combustion engine to drive the wheels together and separately.

Chevy’s Volt electric motor provides all the driving power while the gas engine simply acts as a range extender by charging the battery.

The Kawasaki hybrid system works both ways.Kawasaki hybrid motorcycle patent drawings

While cars can accommodate an engine and motors, it is more difficult in motorcycles because they are much smaller.

Kawasaki’s patent shows a compact single unit that houses the AC electric motor, combustion as well as the transmission.

The battery is above the engine like the fuel tank on a conventional motorcycle, while the tank can be mounted on the side of the seat or outside the frame beside the battery.

In both cases it sits on the left side of the motorcycle and is balanced by a coolant tank on the right side.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com