If you look at Honda's latest design patent without any context, it might bring about a sense of nostalgia for Vespas and Lambrettas of old, both of which used a foot pedal to operate the rear brake, like most motorcycles. But that's not what this is.
The floor-mounted pedal in this patent is actually an accelerator like you'd find in a car. I know, it's sacrilege. But, and stay with me, it might get more people on two wheels.
It almost feels criminally easy to navigate through a busy city on a scooter. It's so simple, effective, fun, and cheap that I've often caught myself looking at car drivers who are stopped at a red light, eyeballing me filtering with a mildly annoyed look, and thinking, "Why don't you just get one?"
And with inflation, the cost of gas, and increasing congestion, scooters make more sense than ever. And although I refer to scooters as "two-wheeled go-karts", I understand they still might seem too much like a foreign concept for someone who's been driving an automatic car for 20 years.
And I think that's what Honda is hoping to negate with this patent. Likewise, as Japan changes its scooter laws, effectively killing the 50cc class, this could get a lot of people onto the new 125cc class, including drivers.
On long journies, sure, you could use the foot accelerator to take some of the pressure off your hand. But it'd be much easier to just fit the scooter with cruise control. Instead, it seems more likely that Honda is hoping drivers will feel more at home hopping on a scooter that has a gas pedal. It's worth mentioning that the patent shows a regular handlebar-mounted accelerator too, so I imagine the rider will have the option of what to use.
Of course, this is just a patent and Honda hasn't released any official information relating to the design.
Do you think more drivers could be encouraged to come to the dark side with this design? Is it something you'd consider using? Let us know in the comments.
