Honda Project

Photo

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:32:43 -0500

These are my final renders for the Honda 125 Project. To...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:30:57 -0500

These are my final renders for the Honda 125 Project.

To explain briefly, my final deign is the embodiment of my three words on a modern and unique frame.

My three words are:

SIMPLE

APPROACHABLE

SAFE

I really wanted to design something that would not only be simple, but also as un-intimidating as possible. I feel like that is the main thing stopping young people of today from jumping on a bike and riding it.

For this reason, I designed the bike with as much mechanical details as possible completely hidden. Out of sight, out of mind, or so they say!

Sticking to the simple and approachable theme, I decided to make the transmission of the bike fully automatic. The transmission on current bikes and slightly unintuitive controls really intimidate new riders and it showed in the research I did.

The bike I have created has no foot pedals and I guess in a way it is a lot like a scooter in the way it works, but the style and power are not of a scooter. They are of a new 125cc motorcycle. I feel that an automatic transmission will help attract even teenage girls to motorcycles.

Other features designed for approachability are the easy access oil and water caps. They are bright and they’re right there making maintenance of the bike as simple as possible. Riders need to know nothing about the mechanicals, they just need to know where to put the liquids and this makes it easy. This is much like the Audi A2 which has an entirely sealed front bonnet. I don’t know why that idea was not continued with.

Another feature that I am quite proud of is the removable fuel tank. This is designed for three reasons:

1. It is a simple anti-theft device. You can take the fuel tank with you and this means nobody can steal your bike. When you return to your bike, simply put the tank back in and off you go.

2. If you run out of fuel, you can easily take the tank to the petrol station instead of wheeling the whole bike there.

3. You can keep a spare tank handy in case you ever need more than a tank full. The tank is not so large that one would not fit in a backpack.

I think the removable tank is a huge idea and could be extremely useful on a motorbike.

Another feature of my bike are the large indicator lights. These are primarily for safety. When not on, they are practically invisible, but when they are on, they are super bright so that everyone can see you coming. This reduces the chance of a crash with another vehicle and I think parents would love to know their child is safe.

Design-wise, my bike is meant to be really unique. I tried to give it a really lightweight feeling and a look that is entirely unique to the bike world. The bike is made from durable metal and unpainted plastic parts which are both cheap to replace and difficult to damage. I think this suits a generation who are more likely to be a bit careless with their bike.

The front of the bike has minimal fairings around the handle bars for a reason. This is to give maximum vision of the road ahead and what the bike is doing. This was a major complaint about the fully faired CBR 125 that I wanted to really combat.

I think that about describes my design. I am really quite pleased with it, and the fact that it looks a lot different to everyone else’s. I hope that Honda will at least take some of my ideas into consideration.

For my newest concept, I aimed to combine my two most successful...

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:30:13 -0500

For my newest concept, I aimed to combine my two most successful ideas into one.

I took the good ideas and some visual style from my first rendered concept, such as the removable fuel tank, easily maintainable aspects, and full yet simple fairings. I didn’t want to lose these ideas to a more daring design, so I felt I should incorporate them back in.

I then took visual aspects from my later, slightly more unique concept which everybody seemed to like in our meeting a week or two back.

I am really happy with the result and I don’t think I will change it much from here on. Next up is a side view to hopefully explain the mechanics of it, and also showing a mannequin on the bike.

Yamaha showed this at the Tokyo Motor Show only a day or two...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:30:16 -0500

Yamaha showed this at the Tokyo Motor Show only a day or two ago. The Yamaha Moegi. Seriously cool and it’s a 125 too!

…and this was my Critique from Wednesday night.

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:35:57 -0500

…and this was my Critique from Wednesday night.

This is my presentation from Wednesday night.

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:55:21 -0500

This is my presentation from Wednesday night.

A slightly more angular version of my most recent concept. I...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:23:45 -0500

A slightly more angular version of my most recent concept. I probably won’t continue with this at all. It doesn’t quite work as well.

lewisjohndesign: Does anybody no if we are allowed to make our bike electric ? Yeah man go...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:01:00 -0500

lewisjohndesign:

Does anybody no if we are allowed to make our bike electric ?

Yeah man go for it.

EDIT: Actually the guys tonight were saying hybrid is all good, but Paolo apparently doesn’t want full electric. Sorry man.

Honda 125 Project Blog Roll

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:00:00 -0500

Here is the list of blogs from people who replied by email. I don’t know how complete it is, but I thought it would be good to have a list somewhere instead of having to access email to see it.

http://honda125.wordpress.com - Liam

http://johnchenhonda125.blogspot.com - John

http://isaacslittlehonda.blogspot.com - Isaac

http://ashnel-125project.posterous.com - Ashnel

http://joe-honda.tumblr.com - Joe

http://evanthomashonda125.wordpress.com - Evan

http://calandstuff.tumblr.com - Callum

http://mynameishamish.tumblr.com - Hamish

http://hondabruce.tumblr.com - Bruce

http://smccdesign.blogspot.com - Sam

http://motorcycleoscar.tumblr.com - Oscar

http://richardheath.tumblr.com - Richard

http://hondaoliver.tumblr.com - Oliver

http://lewisjohndesign.tumblr.com - Lewis

http://nilshonda125concept.tumblr.com - Nils

http://honda125concept.tumblr.com - Leslie

http://annaharmke.tumblr.com - Anna

http://honda125concept.blogspot.com/ - Nick

Purely looking at interesting and different aesthetic forms...

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:33:32 -0500

Purely looking at interesting and different aesthetic forms here. All mechanicals are enclosed within the structure and the bike has full footwells rather than pedals on a regular motorcycle.

Photo

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:53:46 -0500

Here’s the Critique from our meeting earlier today. Cheers...

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 05:08:55 -0500

Here’s the Critique from our meeting earlier today.

Cheers to the guys that came down.

I hate that this is how I sound. But here is my presentation...

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:20:00 -0500

I hate that this is how I sound. But here is my presentation video from the meeting we had earlier this evening.

Apologies for the volume. I didn’t talk loud enough obviously.

Critique up next…

fortheloveofcopic: This is for the guys doing the Honda 125...

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:15:32 -0500

fortheloveofcopic:

This is for the guys doing the Honda 125 project, maybe of some use to you guys:

Motorbike concepts from various sources,

Oliver: would you mind re-blogging so everyone can see this?

I swear I accidentally stumbled upon the All Blacks typography...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:10:00 -0500

I swear I accidentally stumbled upon the All Blacks typography style in making this.

SIMPLE: Both in how it works and the overall appearance. If you think what kind of design people are into now, it is simple, classy design. Think Apple design and thinking. Not complicated, attractive design that is easy to use.

APPROACHABLE: Ease of use and not intimidating in appearance. Something young people will be keen to get on and use without a fear of crashing or falling off.

SAFE: Links to being approachable, but also important in parents being okay with their children riding a bike. More people will ride bikes if they feel safer on them.

A few minor words to go with these three:

MARKETING: There needs to be advertising campaigns, websites, and so on getting word around. This just doesn’t exist currently and it would definitely help sell these bikes.

NEW/DIFFERENT: New ideas will sell a bike. The bike needs to be different to what currently exists on the market.

This is my Dad on his Yamaha YL1 in the late 60s.

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:41:10 -0500

This is my Dad on his Yamaha YL1 in the late 60s.

Photo

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:35:18 -0500

My Dad and his Kawasaki. My sister is on the back. This would...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:47:46 -0500

My Dad and his Kawasaki. My sister is on the back. This would have been when I was around 2 or 3 years old.

Tonight I had a talk to my dad about his motorcycles that he had...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:39:00 -0500

Tonight I had a talk to my dad about his motorcycles that he had back in the day, and he made a few interesting points:

One was that when he was growing up, kids went from a bicycle to a motorbike to a car. Everyone did. It was the normal process as people grew up. Perhaps things need to go back to that way of life in order to get small bikes selling again.

He also said that his 100cc 1968 Yamaha YL1 could easily keep up with a 300cc bike from the same era. It shows that a light bike with a smaller engine is a capable bike. There’s not necessarily any need to upgrade.

The photo is a Yamaha YL1 like my Dad’s. When he had this bike, everyone else in his College had 50cc bikes and were extremely envious. In 1968, it costed him around $100 extra to get a 100cc bike over a 50cc bike. Dad says it was the most perfectly balanced bike he ever had due to its 2 cylinder engine.

He is going to send me pictures of his other bikes soon.

Photo

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:43:00 -0500