Back in the 60’s Honda has been focusing on more stylish lightweight bikes that could be used in rural areas, bikes that were cheaper and had better gas mileage compared to the bigger bikes. One of the bikes was the iconic S90 (Super 90). It was a truly unique looking motorcycle with its shiny chrome tank and a stamped frame, boosting a 89.6 cc SOHC 2-valve 4-stroke air-cooled engine with a top speed of 64mph.
It has been 50 years since the first S90 and I thought it would be a great to give this amazing motorcycle a second life!
This is the 50th Anniversary Honda Super 90! A lot has changed in the 50 years, let’s start with the design. I fell in love with the Hondas 60’s design that didn’t really want to change anything. The new S90 became a bit bigger, sleeker and very aerodynamic. We still have the chrome that can be seen from the gas tank to little accents around the motorcycle.
The main body construction kept the same ideology; unlike its predecessor this model has a stamped aluminum inner frame with a carbon fiber outer shell to give it superb strength and stability with a reduced weight.
Unlike the 60’s version, this 21 century bike is proud to be Eco Friendly by being all electric! The power comes from two electric hub motors, one for each wheel making it an all-wheel drive motorcycle. Each motor is rated at 50kW giving out 60hp at the wheel, that’s 100hp combined! To stop all that power we have 2 electromagnetic braking hubs at each wheel. Electromagnetic brakes require less maintenance and last longer than conventional brakes, this also eliminates any hoses.
Powering the hub motors is a 14kWh Air Cooled Lithium Sulfide Battery (Li2S). Note that Li2S batteries hold four times the energy of Lithium ion batteries. The battery is located on the bottom portion to give a lower gravity point, that makes the bike use less energy and gives it better traction.
Being all electric means the bike controls all of the safety features like ABS, Traction Control, Stability Control, and Launch Control also Regenerative Braking System that gives you 60% of that braking power back. S90 is also equipped with sensors that help you know what is going on with the bike at any moment. All of the information is displayed on the main OLED touch display that will give you any information that is gathered by the bikes on board computer.
As this motorcycle is all electric it uses fewer parts, about more than a half of an average gas powered motorcycle. That means manufacturing is fast and cheap.