Last fall, Honda presented a concept model called the EV Outlier, showing a vision of what electric motorcycles could look like if they were designed from the ground up, and not simply swapping out an ICE powertrain for an electric motor.
As a design study, the EV Outlier let its designers — headed by Large Project Leader Yuya Tsutsumi — to really push the envelop. That’s something Honda didn’t really do with its first production electric motorcycle, the WN7, which somehow keeps winning design awards despite looking, like many early electric bikes, like a motorcycle built around a toaster.
Free from the legacy of ICE motorcycles, Tsutsumi et al. designed the EV Outlier Concept around three core concepts: Gliding, Ecstasy, and Low.
“Gliding represents the smooth, silent ride unique to EVs,” Tsutsumi explains. “Acceleration, deceleration, turning — all flow seamlessly, creating a sensation like gliding over the ground.” Ecstasy is represented by the instantaneous torque response from an EV. Low defines the Outlier’s short seat height which is possible due to use of hub motors (front and rear) and a low-slung battery pack.
