There’s a drive towards sustainability and environmental responsibility throughout all big businesses these days, and no motorcycle brand appears to be doing more than Honda when it comes to cleaning up its act.
As well as introducing a range of electrically powered cars, scooters and motorbikes, Honda is reviewing its manufacturing processes as it looks to hit net zero emissions by 2050. The company has three pillars to its strategy: addressing carbon neutrality, clean energy and resource circulation.
Manufacturing is hugely resource intensive and there’s an impressive amount of detail and new thinking going into the way the company makes things. For example, the company is using semi-transparent unpainted panels on the fairings of its latest SH125i scooter, with the production process producing 9.5% fewer CO2 emissions at their Italian factory than they would using traditional painting processes.
In addition, they’re using corn-based materials in six models, including the Africa Twin, NT1100, CB1000GT and NC750X. Called DUROBIO, it was first used on the Africa Twin windscreen two years ago and now features on more bodywork components. The plant-derived material is made from inedible corns and wheats. The natural starches are refined into glucose, before being turned into sorbitol and isosorbide, a versatile compound which can replace traditional petroleum-based chemicals in a wide range of uses.
Honda says the resultant ‘DUROBIO’, which is a bio-based plastic developed by the Mitsubishi Chemical Group, creates a glossy finish that doesn’t need painting. That in itself a massive environmental benefit, as it removes a step from the production process, but according to the manufacturer, it’s not simply a case of being better for the environment – Honda says the resultant material has excellent scratch resistance, high impact strength and good long-term ultra violet stability, meaning the colours shouldn’t fade when exposed to sunlight.
As well as working with this new material, Honda says it’s also using material derived from recycled car bumpers for non-structural parts like grilles and hard luggage, and recycled polypropylene for components like rear huggers and underseat trays.
Traditionally around 90% of materials used in new vehicles are fresh resources, and Honda is trying to reduce that. They’re also trying to reduce the carbon footprint throughout the logistics and supply chain process, and even won an award at last year’s EICMA show in Milan – as recognition of a stand made up mainly of recycled materials.
Whatever you think of Honda’s commitment to net zero, there can be no denying that there is a huge amount of research and development going on in the background that’s not just about making our bikes faster and more usable. If ‘sustainable’ can also lead to better products, it’s certainly a hard one to argue against!
