Patent: Electric Front Wheel Drive For Conventional Motorcycles 17 May 2012   Author: Mike Werner   Location: Paris, France Via: Google Interesting patent that got filed October last year. The idea is nifty, but the application a bit iffy. The patent is for an electric front wheel drive for a conventional, gas guzzling, motorcycle. We've seen several 2 wheel drive motorcycles, but all use hydraulics to power the front wheel. Making the front wheel electrically powered can be interesting, since it should save in cost and weight. The electric front wheel drive would be coupled to a controller that works in sync with the rear drive and engine. The controller would regulate the speeds of both wheels, making sure one does not run faster, or slower, than the other. The engine itself could charge the battery required to operate the front wheel, so in essence we've got some type of a hybrid out there. Applications of such a motorcycle system are numerous; normal street motorcycles, but also off-road bikes could benefit from such a system. You can already imagine riding in the city using just the front wheel drive, and once you're out of the city, turn on the engine, and off you go on the rear drive. No manufacturer is listed, so I don't think you'll see a Honda or Ducati coming out with one of these shortly. Click here to read the Electric Front Wheel Patent . blog comments powered by Disqus