Modern Vespa

With a hat tip to Attila.

This Hybrid Scooter by WMC is based on the Yamaha Tricity 300 and looks interesting.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/656720/britain-northhamptonshire-police-wmc300f-scooter/

With a claimed Co2 reduction of 50%, there's a chance some of this technology might find it's way into more scooters. Granted the batteries might be heavy and we likely won't see them used in two wheelers in the near future. The aero dynamic part of the bikes is totally fascinating though.

The motorcycle in this video is different, the principle of the aero dynamic gains the same.

Piaggio made a Hybrid MP3 in 2010
https://www.piaggiogroup.com/en/archive/press/piaggio-mp3-hybrid-300ie

and Honda PCX Hybrid

https://global.honda/innovation/technology/motorcycle/ecology/item-pcx-hev.html

and Yamaha

https://global.yamaha-motor.com/news/2018/1207/nozza-grande.html

I'd say no. Electric for scooters. The marketing and market for scooters is local travel vs touring/highway. Something electric can do or can do better soon.

And none of the 2-wheel or 3-wheel hybrids which made it to the market have appeared to be commercial successes. It seems most likely that new developments in battery technology will continue to increase the performance and capabilities of 2 and 3 wheel EVs.

And Vespa, 17 years ago.

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/04/piaggio_launche.html

Of course this is not the first hybrid anything as several of you diligently pointed out. It's like saying what's the big deal about the Nissan Leaf, since electric vehicles have been around in one form or another since the (mid)1800s. But then none were like the Nissan Leaf and did not break that same ground.

The implementation here, especially with the groundbreaking aerodynamic component, is something new altogether.

I would think younger generations will be more accepting to hybrids (and electric) than the older crowd this forum is mostly made of. Probably not just accepting, but demanding alternatives to ice vehicles.

I have owned 2 Nissan Leafs (and also a Toyota Prius) so I feel like I can comment here with some perspective. First, the LEAF is a true EV, not a hybrid. Second, the LEAF was a big deal when it was introduced 12 years ago and became a worldwide best seller. Fast forward to today, it no longer holds a major position in the market and is being phased out by Nissan. New EVs are taking its place - and the same will be true of scooters.

Hybrid motorcycles?

All the complexity of both ICE and Battery/electric drivetrains, in a package small enough to scoot around on, with enough power to drive? No.

Too heavy, complex, and costly to ever be a marketable product.

Pure electric or pure ICE, no middle ground I can see.

Of course the Leaf is an EV, just as I stated above. It was ground breaking at it's inception what I also state and you repeat.

The point I was making is, that in response to my original post it's rather irrelevant to say that there have been other two or three wheeled hybrids before the one being talked about, just as it doesn't make much sense to have been saying "I don't think the Leaf is important, this technology has been around in one form or the other since the 1850s."

If one is inclined to watch the video and indeed look closely at the hybrid in question, it is obvious that if this is a commercial success, new ground will have been broken. The aero dynamics of these motorcycles is nothing but astonishing. And that's with them using stock Yamahas as a starting point.

One reason why there could be a chance that hybrids may be an interim solution for some forms of motorcycles: battery space and therefore range is limited due to the small weight and footprint of two wheelers and trikes. As of now there isn't much developed technology to cheaply produce a powerful and long range electric motorcycle or scooter. This is much easier with cars. This is where swappable batteries might come in, otherwise electric PTWs won't have much use for medium to long distance travel at more than urban speeds in the near future, not until batteries and charging technology will develop much further.

For micro transport electric scooters are quickly becoming the norm, will I be able to take an electric one on the highway for several hours in the near future? Maybe, but likely that is not going to be cheap.

when a product keeps entering the market and failing it's often because the tech ain't ready for market yet. That's been the case here, it ain't because riders are anti it just that it doesn't suit our needs yet. So those that keep saying ev and hybrid are brilliant, please chill out have patience as you'll find when the tech improves many (most?) of us will switch

I think you nailed this on its head.

We need NDB battery technology to be perfected.
Will produce safe power for up to 100 years.
That's one reason I'm against the push for electric vehicles now, which will wasting massive amounts of lithium that has to be dug out of the ground. Instead of using waste material that we already have; safely. We need to wait.

Incredibly, one of the greatest advancements of the scooters mentioned at the top isn't just their battery anything, but their patented way of reducing aerodynamic drag. But to see that, one would have to actually read it watch a video and not just look at the headline.

There are also countless other battery technologies in development. Here is an example of a lithium alternative being studied at the very moment: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220531161314.htm

Of course we can also stay nay sayers and insist on merrily using fossil fuels until it's the "right time" - which seems totally fine as ICE technology evidently causes no problems whatsoever, right?

It's all good until you stuff a curry into that hole. Or a slab of beer.

If a bike can't carry a slab of beer then it's useless to me

I'd recommend reading Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara.

I would be interested in knowing how these Police trikes work out in the long term. Fleet vehicles rack up serious mileage.