In 2001, Honda the celebrated manufacturer of cars, motor bikes and engines in general; designed a different type of scooter – a kind of electrically powered moped which folded down into an ultracompact space. They named their design concept the Motor Compo.
A Electrically Powered Scooter For The 21st Century
The idea for an electrically powered scooter which folded into a small space was ‘bang on’ given how crowded and polluted many cities were becoming, especially in Asia. It also fitted nicely into Honda’s broader program of an EV ‘micro commuter’ concept vehicle.
The Motor Compo concept from Honda which is front-wheel drive is less than a metre in height (about 3ft) and length. It has nice features like a docking station for a mobile phone and a removable battery, the latter making it at least harder to steal and drive away. Until you realize it is so compact (folded down) it could be delivered in a box or put in the trunk of a family-sized car. It can even be upended so it sits on its bottom.
The Motor Compo scooter from Honda as first shown to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2011.
Honda’s scooter concept not only folds up but is designed to nicely sit on its bottom. Ideal for those extra small parking spaces.
Making The Motor Compo 3D Print
As we mentioned in a previous post, Honda has now released the Motor Compo 3D design file for sharing and printing (see end of that post for the download). We rendered it up quickly on sketchfab (our favorite 3D visualization tool as it is so easy to use for making a picture) and then asked Jerry at Itchy Pig Creations to 3D print it for us.
And here are the results from his Makerbot Replicator II:
Jerry gets to work on producing supports for this 3D print. The handle bars, mirrors and cable look like they are going to be tricky to make.
A little after 3 hours later and with the supports removed, we have the first 3D print of this little Honda scooter.