• The Honda Riding Assist-e Concept is a self-balancing electric motorcycle

• Shares the same frame with the Honda Riding Assist

• The rider does not need to put a foot down at standstill

The Honda Riding Assist-e Concept at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show.

Honda had earlier previewed the Riding Assist concept (click here for our coverage) but that was powered by a gasoline engine. However, both the e-bike and petrol engine bike were built upon the Honda NC700 frame.

Riding Assist in Honda’s term means that the bike keeps itself upright when stationary at the traffic lights without needing the rider to put a foot or feet down to balance it. Also, the bike keeps itself upright at slow speeds, possibly a good feature for tackling u-turns. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fall off it.

Interestingly, the self-balancing feature was built by Honda’s robotics division. Honda have long been developing robotics and humanoid walking robots like the ASIMO in year 2000 was a prime example.

the Honda Riding Assist-e uses an electric motor mounted under the seat which sends power through a driveshaft to the rear wheel, like that on Honda’s VFR series. A radiator sits behind the electric motor. However, the self-balancing technology doesn’t use gyroscopes.

That’s as much as we know about the Honda Riding Assist-e at the moment, until it is fully unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show on 25th October 2017.

In any event, the Honda Riding Assist-e and Riding Assist look production-ready and it’ll be interesting to see if Honda can bring them to life.

In our opinion, attention should be paid to electric bikes or e-bike as more and more countries around the world and our region are pushing towards the full banning of new gasoline-powered vehicles in favour of electric vehicles, within the next decade or so. But do not fear electric vehicles as electric motors transfer immediate torque without lag, unlike gasoline engines.