Source: Cycle World
Could a gas-powered Motocompo return as a range extender on a future electric car? (Honda/)We’ve recently seen that Honda has a renewed interest in the idea of the foldable, portable motorcycle with the launch of the Motocompacto electric scooter, but a new patent shows how the original Motocompo of the 1980s could be reimagined into a modern trunk-mounted motorcycle specifically intended to be used with Honda’s own cars.The original Motocompo of the ’80s was designed as the ultimate commuter combination. Use the car to get to the outskirts of town and then pull the two-wheeler out for the final run into the city. (Creative Commons/Attribution: ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License: Hideya/)The original Motocompo needs little introduction as it’s become an iconic bike in the years since its launch, but back in the early ‘80s it wasn’t a huge sales success. The idea was to have a folding motorcycle that could fit in the trunk of a car (Honda’s City subcompact was the target for the original version) and be used as “last mile” transport for commuters, letting them park on the outskirts of cities and ride the final leg of their journey. In reality, few people wanted to do that, and the Motocompo was too awkward to fold, slow and heavy to be as appealing as the initial idea makes it sound.The Motocompo snugly fit into the trunk of the Honda City compact car (Honda/)Honda has since shown several concept bikes that draw on the Motocompo’s thinking, usually electric-powered, and the recently launched Motocompacto is a production version of that idea, but a new patent shows Honda has ideas for a new gas-powered Motocompo much more like the original, but with one significant twist. A gas engine might not seem ideal for a last-mile machine, particularly as the world turns increasingly to EVs, but it’s key to the new idea, as Honda wants to make the future Motocompo double as a range extender for an electric car.Range extenders are already a known technology, using combustion engines and a small gas tank to act as generators, charging an EV as it travels to let it go further without needing a bigger battery pack. BMW’s i3 Range Extender model is a good example, and notably it uses a motorcycle engine, borrowed from BMW’s own C 650 GT scooter, as its range extender. Honda’s idea is to do the same, but to incorporate the engine and gas tank into a stand-alone, foldable motorcycle that slots into the back of an electric car. It creates a multipurpose set of vehicles that can be used as a motorcycle alone, an all-electric car, or as a range-extender hybrid by combining the two.New illustrations show that Honda is working on a 40-year-old idea again, but this time with a modern twist. (Honda/)The illustrations with Honda’s patent very clearly acknowledge the idea’s 40-year-old roots, showing the old Motocompo and the tailsection of a 1980s Honda City to explain how the bike can fold into the back of a car. If Honda pursues the idea, both the car and bike will be much more modern. Of course, the original Motocompo wasn’t intended to run when packed into the car’s trunk, so Honda’s patent adds two vital elements to allow that to happen; a cooling system to bring cold air to the bike, and an exhaust ventilation system to get the fumes out of the car.This illustration shows how the Motocompo would be cooled and then how the exhaust fumes would be extracted from the rear of the car. (Honda/)This isn’t one of those patents that shows a near-production machine shortly before it’s launched. If Honda takes this idea further, it’s likely to require several years’ worth of work. But it shows that the idea of integrating cars and bikes to maximize the potential of both is still alive at Honda.New illustrations of an old concept. (Honda/)
Full Text:
Could a gas-powered Motocompo return as a range extender on a future electric car? (Honda/)
We’ve recently seen that Honda has a renewed interest in the idea of the foldable, portable motorcycle with the launch of the Motocompacto electric scooter, but a new patent shows how the original Motocompo of the 1980s could be reimagined into a modern trunk-mounted motorcycle specifically intended to be used with Honda’s own cars.
The original Motocompo of the ’80s was designed as the ultimate commuter combination. Use the car to get to the outskirts of town and then pull the two-wheeler out for the final run into the city. (Creative Commons/Attribution: ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License: Hideya/)
The original Motocompo needs little introduction as it’s become an iconic bike in the years since its launch, but back in the early ‘80s it wasn’t a huge sales success. The idea was to have a folding motorcycle that could fit in the trunk of a car (Honda’s City subcompact was the target for the original version) and be used as “last mile” transport for commuters, letting them park on the outskirts of cities and ride the final leg of their journey. In reality, few people wanted to do that, and the Motocompo was too awkward to fold, slow and heavy to be as appealing as the initial idea makes it sound.
The Motocompo snugly fit into the trunk of the Honda City compact car (Honda/)
Honda has since shown several concept bikes that draw on the Motocompo’s thinking, usually electric-powered, and the recently launched Motocompacto is a production version of that idea, but a new patent shows Honda has ideas for a new gas-powered Motocompo much more like the original, but with one significant twist. A gas engine might not seem ideal for a last-mile machine, particularly as the world turns increasingly to EVs, but it’s key to the new idea, as Honda wants to make the future Motocompo double as a range extender for an electric car.
Range extenders are already a known technology, using combustion engines and a small gas tank to act as generators, charging an EV as it travels to let it go further without needing a bigger battery pack. BMW’s i3 Range Extender model is a good example, and notably it uses a motorcycle engine, borrowed from BMW’s own C 650 GT scooter, as its range extender. Honda’s idea is to do the same, but to incorporate the engine and gas tank into a stand-alone, foldable motorcycle that slots into the back of an electric car. It creates a multipurpose set of vehicles that can be used as a motorcycle alone, an all-electric car, or as a range-extender hybrid by combining the two.
New illustrations show that Honda is working on a 40-year-old idea again, but this time with a modern twist. (Honda/)
The illustrations with Honda’s patent very clearly acknowledge the idea’s 40-year-old roots, showing the old Motocompo and the tailsection of a 1980s Honda City to explain how the bike can fold into the back of a car. If Honda pursues the idea, both the car and bike will be much more modern. Of course, the original Motocompo wasn’t intended to run when packed into the car’s trunk, so Honda’s patent adds two vital elements to allow that to happen; a cooling system to bring cold air to the bike, and an exhaust ventilation system to get the fumes out of the car.
This illustration shows how the Motocompo would be cooled and then how the exhaust fumes would be extracted from the rear of the car. (Honda/)
This isn’t one of those patents that shows a near-production machine shortly before it’s launched. If Honda takes this idea further, it’s likely to require several years’ worth of work. But it shows that the idea of integrating cars and bikes to maximize the potential of both is still alive at Honda.
New illustrations of an old concept. (Honda/)
