Two-wheel-drive hybrid Yamaha MT-07 comes with hub-mounted front motor
About 10 years ago[1], a certain French company called Furion paired a twin-rotor, 654cc Wankel rotary engine with a 40-kilowatt electric motor to produce a massive 180 hp and 151 lb-ft (205 Nm) of instant torque on a motorcycle. It was called the M1 and was already pretty sick for its time. Now, a little less than a decade later, the company has turned up with its successor, the M2 prototype.
It is based on the Yamaha[2] MT-07 and its much-loved CP2-powered platform. And this time, it's an all-wheel-drive model, thanks to an additional electric motor on the front wheel. You get an axial flux design, with coils, a magnet, and two discs.
The end result? Close to 221 lb-ft (300 Nm) and over 20 electric hp available on the front wheel.
The M2 is based on the Yamaha MT-07
Furion
The rear wheel is powered by the 689cc parallel twin CP2 motor that generates around 73 hp. Both front and rear are electronically controlled, resulting in around 93 horsepower of peak hybrid[3] power from its all-wheel-drive system.
The motorcycle world hasn't seen many hybrid models. The likes of Kawasaki's Z7 Hybrid and Ninja 7 Hybrid[4] are a couple of the rare few torchbearers. But Furion's approach is completely different than what we've seen before.
[embedded content] Furion final brand At the center of all the engineering is the electronic control system, which Furion calls the Eversor.
It controls the torque on hand and manages real-time drive power distribution between the front and rear wheels. Its goal is simple: to offer the best traction possible in every driving scenario. Compared with the usual single-motor setup, the front motor can recover up to five times more energy under braking - converting as much as 27% of the bike's kinetic energy into electricity.
Under braking, weight transfers forward, increasing load and traction to the front tire, making regen from the hub motor close to ideal. As an aside, I can see the debates it might cause for those that trail-brake into corners and those who don't.
The electronic control systemis in charge of offering the best traction possible in every driving scenario
Furion
As for the battery, it looks like it's placed at the rear end of the bike. But one may wonder: "If the engine already makes electricity via the stator, why bother adding a battery at all?"
On paper, using the stator through the regulator/rectifier to power auxiliary electronics seems simpler. Bikes have done that forever. The likes of headlights, gauges, heated grips, and USB outlets are all powered directly or indirectly from the engine's alternator without a battery once you're rolling.
The M2 produces close to 221 lb-ft and over 20 electric hp at the front wheel
Furion
So why does Furion bother with an additional lithium-ion pack?
The answer comes down to what the battery enables. First, the battery stores electrical energy so the system can deliver bursts of assist torque even when the engine isn't spinning fast enough to supply that current directly. Without a battery, the hybrid assist would be weak at low RPM, feel jerky, and likely cause electrical strain or instability.
The battery will also help with capturing energy under braking, storing it, and re-deploying it for assistance later. It also smooths voltage, ensures a constant supply, and protects microprocessors from glitches. Take hybrid cars, for instance.
Most of the time, the engine drives a generator while the battery absorbs and delivers power. You never see a hybrid without a high-voltage battery pack because the assist functions can't function without it. A motorcycle hybrid is the same concept - just scaled down, much lighter, and all the more challenging in packaging.
And it's not like the M2 is just a lab prototype. The bike was actually tested at the Pole M?canique d'Al?s C?vennes. Four-time Supermoto world champion Adrien Chareyre rode the M2 and had positive feedback on the M2's rideability and grip.
"We have designed Eversor to bring back real riding sensations while solving the range equation. Our technology is now completed, track-tested, and protected by international patents. It is intended to become a standard for the global industry through licensing agreements," said the company.
Furion intends to launch its own series production motorcycle to put the Eversor on an actual, running model - the F1. Designed by Takumi Yamamoto, it'll be a premium motorcycle that will be manufactured in a limited quantity of about 100 units annually. We don't know much about the F1 yet, but it's said to have around 186 miles (300 km) of range.
As far as we can tell, this is a self-charging hybrid, with the battery replenished by regen rather than a wall outlet - so a stop at your favorite gas station should get you back on the road again. According to Furion, by 2029 the Eversor tech will also be made accessible to other manufacturers through licensing models, with the end goal of standardizing the technology and turning your favorite bike into a 2WD hybrid.
There's talk of a proper series production motorcycle with this tech in the works, called the F1
Furion
Combining a traditional combustion engine with a hybrid front-wheel electric drive all but eliminates EV range anxiety. It also means reducing the potential drawbacks of a very heavy, pure-electric motorcycle.
At the same time, it keeps the traditional riding experience of shifting through gears and an internal combustion engine soundtrack.
More importantly, adding front-wheel-drive opens up new possibilities for traction, stability, and acceleration, especially while riding on wet or slick surfaces - not to mention potential race use!
Source: Furion via Instagram[5][6]