Honda EV Cub

[DanYanoff]

http://world.honda.com/design/designers-talk/tms2009/ev-cub/

Excellent design and IMHO it is showroom ready for the entire world (throw winters on top of AWD, eh). What I don't understand is where the batteries, that make today's other e-cycles look silly, are located. My first guess was in place of the gas tank but now the article says otherwise. So maybe in production Cub the batts will go under the "floor" or maybe just strapped to the cargo rack. It will still be a seller if the price is reasonable.

[blur911]

Excellent design and IMHO it is showroom ready for the entire world (throw winters on top of AWD, eh). What I don't understand is where the batteries, that make today's other e-cycles look silly, are located.

I bet the engineers are cursing the designers while trying to figure it out as well.  Easy to build a concept that doesn't work.

[Wolverine]

Why does it have to look so old?

[DanYanoff]

Why does it have to look so old?

I first saw it (ICE type) in 80s - early 90s and I thinks Suzuki and Yamaha made them as well. It looked odd compared to 'modern' plasticky scooters even then. However because of larger wheel size they are stable at high speeds and so a bit safer.

What I suppose Honda will do is indeed strap the batt pack to the cargo rack but make it portable. This way the bikes won't get stolen for expensive batteries and there is no need for an alarm. You park it at work, take the battery with you to recharge it, same at home.
Using currently available tech  http://www.evcomponents.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=38120S   12s3p connection which should yield 36v 30Ah pack, it will weigh about 11kg, not too light, but manageable.
Last thing required is to clean the roads with $2 gas 

[rrocket]

Why does it have to look so old?

Because that's what a Cub looks like!  It's like the looks of the Porsche 911.  Dated for sure...but that's what a 911 looks like....