World's First Production Hybrid Motorcycle To Hit Market In India

bluemanlines writes "The Indian company Eko Vehicles has announced the development of the world's first production hybrid motorcycle, called the ET-120. In a short time this motorcycle will run on the Indian streets, offering about 280 miles per gallon with a top speed of 40 miles per hour."

Comments

Other venues...

[srothroc]

I think it would sell well here in Japan, where it's not uncommon to see people on scooters and small motorcycles in smaller cities and rural areas. I've seen uglier ones around here too, though fashion-conscious people might balk at buying it. It could also be a popular bike if it had a spring-loaded rack on the back for deliveries...

Japan Post uses tons of motorcycles for its mailmen -- perhaps they would be a good market as well.

Re:Other venues...

[sznupi]

I don't really see how it's ugly, it's simply function over form; very similar to underbone motorcycles which are widely popular in Asia, just with battery pack in place of cargo rack (btw, that's where it is in such motorcycles more often, not at the back; and it surely will be like that in this hybrid one, even if there's somewhat less space there)

Re:Other venues...

[ThePhilips]

I don't really see how it's ugly, it's simply function over form; ...

I presume because most commenters here are from U.S. where cars long time ago stopped being a transportation media and have become a way to boost your ego. But I guess that is the case all over the G7 countries.

Moped, not Motorcycle

[darthflo]

Wired has slightly better coverage.

This is at best a moped, a far cry even from 2-stroke 125cc motorcycles. The ET-120 has some 70 ccs of displacement, producing (that's according to TFA) enough power to reach a top speed of 40 mph, no actual numbers on power or torque given. A modern 125cc 2-stroke motorcycle will produce some 33 bhp of power, 20 Nm of torque and reach top speeds in excess of 100 mph. At 280 mpg, its fuel consumption is quite nice, though, especially when compared to some 45 mpg one would get out of a standard 125cc motorcycle.

Re:Moped, not Motorcycle

[lokedhs]

Having spent much time in urban India, I don't see the need for a motorcycle to be able to reach speeds in excess of 64 km/h. Most of your time is spent weaving through gridlocked cars.

Even going on the freeway in a car is not a high-speed endeavour. There are just too many vehicles and people.

I can see this vehicle to be a perfect option for a lot of people.

Re:Moped, not Motorcycle

[darthflo]

I don't know from where you got these figures

From an Aprilia RS125, for example. There are quite a few similar models around.

Re:Side benefit

[Keruo]

looks like they copied their design from old tunturi mopeds

Mopeds have pedals...

[sznupi]

This thing is closest in form to underbone motorcycles (contrary to what you might think, engine power doesn't define "motorcycle")

Re:Mopeds have pedals...

[sznupi]

It looks closest to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underbone - "An underbone, or underbone motorcycle, is a small motorcycle"

Speed and displacement don't play much of a role in those definitions. Besides you wrote yourself that it surpasses what is sometimes the legal definition of a "moped"

Why Hybrid but not full electrical?

[sam0737]

In China where electrical scooter is so common that could be bought in USD $100 to USD $300 depends on the performance.
Supermarket carries a large selections that looks like anything look like a bike, to something in between, to something that looks exactly like a gas scooter. 30mph is norm but I think they have model going up to 40.

Most model has detachable battery, so you could take it out and just bring the battery box indoor for plugin charging. A single charge should give you 20+ miles range (Sorry I don't own one so it's a bit guessing for this number). Some models include traditional bike padels for backup.

I don't exactly see the point of hybrid if full electrical scooter is just so mature. Do you really want to maintain two set of systems? Or unless you really need 200 miles driving range, I guess.

Re:Why Hybrid but not full electrical?

[tuxicle]

There's also the issue of frequent power cuts, particularly in Bangalore where it's become almost a way of life. In many rural parts of India, power is only available for a few hours a day, just enough to run agricultural water pumps. With a hybrid, you just find the nearest petrol pump and you're good.

Re:Side benefit

[sznupi]

Way too far.

More like stylistic cues from, say, older MZ motorcycles ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MZ_ETZ250.JPG - which are quite universal of course, being mostly about practical factors) and following overall design of very popular there underbone motorcycles.

Motorcycle Fuel Consumption

[RotateLeftByte]

As a Bike rider since 1969 I can attest to the worsening fuel consumption figures in modern bikes. My 1969 650cc Triumph TR6 in touring trim gets over 80mpg. My 2004 780cc Triumph Bonnieville gets 50mpg My 1963 650cc Bonnievile gets 60mpg with 10.5:1 Compression pistons and race tuning. Many high performance bike these days have worse consumption than many cars. This is a crazy situation. I'd probably plump for a leccy bike rather than a hybrid for my commute to work (Some 30miles each way) Seeing them racing round the "Island" in june was really great.

Re:Motorcycle Fuel Consumption

[drinkypoo]

However, you are missing the fact that the new bikes are much cleaner than the old ones. The old ones put a LOT of pollution into the air, where as the newer ones put up less pollution (cleaner burn), but with more CO2 due to the higher power.

And yet, the average motorbike is about 10 times more polluting per mile than a passenger car, light truck or SUV. That's right, I'm polluting less in my 3/4 ton diesel pickup than one of these new Triumphs, or even a CBR or what have you.

Emissions controls for motorcycles now. Especially since the way they're actually driven, the average sportbike is not hitting even 40 mpg, especially not 2-up. I can haul four people and thousands of pounds of cargo (in addition to the thousands of pounds of truck) for around 15-18 mpg. And trust me, I make an effort not to drive. Who wants to go out and navigate through the masses of asses?

Re:Motorcycle Fuel Consumption

[couchslug]

When we count environmental impact we shouldn't externalize the other costs involved.

Producing a truck takes far more resources than does a motorcycle, and the truck will generate more waste oil/waste fluids/waste lubricant over its life cycle. It will require more effort to scrap and generate many pounds of plastic waste (seats, interior,some body parts, bedliner). Unlike a motorbike, trucks have air conditioning which usually means at least one full load of refrigerant either leaked or dumped into the atmosphere. (Yes, I know about recovery pumps, I'm a mechanic....) Trucks weigh more and produce more wear on roads, They have twice as many tires which are larger and require recycling as well as more resources to produce.

I'm fond of my trucks (and argue that retaining a properly tuned big block is less impactful than buying replacement trucks) but let's remember that what comes out the exhaust is not the total impact per mile travelled of any vehicle.

Great

[JohnnyBGod]

For less than $1000, it's a steal! I'd buy it even for $2000, if it had a better looking frame.

Whoa!

[hackshack]

Holy hell, that is ugly. Designers musta said, "we need to take a Honda Ruckus, slap a dirt-bike front end on it, and put an ammo box filled with batteries in the middle." Only thing missing is the duct tape!

But for the price...

[hackshack]

OK, I actually R'd the FA - you know, the text part of it - and feel like I should amend my comment. Basically they made a hybrid Honda Cub-ish-looking bike for $900. Though hideous, that's pretty sweet!
To non-moto people: in a nutshell, the Cub is sort of the VW Bug of Asia, except it's unnaturally reliable. (Skip to 5:00 for the dropping-it-off-a-building part.)

Re:But for the price...

[jrumney]

The engine may be unnaturally reliable, but the tail lights sure aren't.

ET-120

[Dr. Cody]

The Indian company Eko Vehicles has announced the development of the world's first production hybrid motorcycle, called the ET-120. In a short time this motorcycle will run on the Indian streets, offering about 280 miles per gallon with a top speed of 40 miles per hour...

...and will seat eight.

Re:Double weight

[hitmark]

well you can scale back the gasoline engine, as it will just be there to keep the batteries topped of and/or drive the electric motor thats really the one powering the whole thing.

this removes a fair bit of gearing and similar. Hell, one may even hook the electric motor straight on the back wheel if one wants to, and just run wires, rather then some chain or similar.

Re:Naturally, Not in America

[TheRaven64]

For most of the twentieth century, the USA invested a lot in R&D and, although they weren't always the first in the world to do things (e.g. first stored-program computer or supersonic passenger aircraft), they generally lead the way. The USA has a very large population compared to other first-world countries. The USSR and China were larger, but both had a massive underclass to support and couldn't devote, proportionally, as much to technological development. Countries like Brasil and India were sufficiently far behind in terms of technology that they could be effectively discounted. Much of Europe was at a similar standard, but the smaller populations meant that they couldn't compete in terms of scale.

If you go back to the '60s or even a bit later, it was quite unusual for the USA to not produce the first, first commercial, or best in any given category, and often they produced two or all three. Now, it is a lot less common, but there's still a perception in the USA that American innovation ought to be world leading.

Re:Naturally, Not in America

[couchslug]

Want a high-MPG bike in the US that has been available longer than most Slashdotters have been alive?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Super_Cub

They are simple. tough, easy to work on, and the most successful powered vehicle in history to the tune of SIXTY MILLION so far.

The US didn't build them because it didn't and doesn't need to. This guy did it so well that there was no point in trying to compete given US labor costs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soichiro_Honda

Re:Side benefit

[quarterbuck]

India had mopeds for a long time and the inspiration for this one seems to be the TVS 50
It has been in production for over 30 years and used to be most popular moped in India. This is actually smaller than the Honda cub (which was sold as Bajaj M80 in India) and is supposedly based on an indigenous design - though TVS would later collaborate with Suzuki to introduce their motorcycles in India.
. The MZ through its many evolutions actually became Rajdoot in India, which was a full motorcycle, not a moped. The tunturi and its variants became Suvega mopeds in India.