Honda’s SWAPPABLE motorcycle batteries

Whilst there’s no doubt of the value of electric motorcycles and scooters in towns and cities, there’s been a lot of debate about the plausibility of going electric for serious riders who like to cover big miles.

The thing that’s always highlighted as the main problem is the limited range and the limited availability of suitable charging facilities. You can’t really argue with that.

If you wanted to travel from London to Scotland on an electric bike in a single day, you’re going to be covering hundreds of miles. That means you’re going to have to stop multiple times and charge your bike. That charge might only take half-an-hour, but if you’re travelling at motorway speeds, you’re going be running the battery down incredibly quickly. And then you’re going to need to stop again and repeat the process and wait for another half-an-hour. But there might be another option in the not-toodistant future.

A group of the biggest names in motorcycling has signed an agreement to standardise motorcycle batteries for electric motorcycles, because they reckon that swapping the battery for another one is going to be the best way to help people keep moving.

The first to come from the collaboration is Honda’s eMaaS swappable battery system.

Of course, it’s only the first step in a very complicated process. The big problem is that you’re going to need some serious infrastructure in place to make swapping your battery the easiest option.

Honda also wants its batteries and charging system to be powered by renewable energy, with it being plugged back into the grid if needed (during a power cut).

At this stage it’s just a concept and we’re still yet to see designs from the other manufacturers in the consortium, but it’s an interesting first step from the Japanese manufacturer. We’re looking forward to seeing who comes up with what next.

Honda Mobile Power Pack e specs

External dimensions (mm): Approx. 298×177.3×156.3

Battery type: Lithium-ion

Rated voltage: Approx. 50.26V

Rated capacity: 26.1Ah/ 1314Wh

Weight: 10.3kg

Charging time: Approx. 5 hours