Honda Motocompacto: Held Together by Screws and Velcro!

[@RejectedManiac]

Looks like the wheel motor PCB is covered in conformal coating to prevent moisture issues. A little difficult to work with when repairing, but a good touch that was left out from this video.

[@JasonB808]

This is basically an electric scooter that was converted to little electric bike that folds away into a suit case. The battery pack was limited for price and weight. It would make it a lot heavier if they doubled the size of the battery pack for 24 miles of range. The thing is that, in the Moto Compacto’s home country of Japan. 12 miles range is more than enough. As the whole point of this scooter is to get the rider from to a mass transit station, from mass transit station to work. Then at the end of the day they do the trip in reverse to get home. It saves a lot of time walking if your home or office is 1 mile or farther away from transit station. Americans or Canadians will never understand the Appeal of the Moto Compacto because we live in a Car centric society. If you don’t have a car, everything is just out of reach. The only exception is Americans that live in NYC, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, and maybe certain areas in Florida.

[@ryanmcfarland1900]

The thing was entirely designed in the USA and it is not being sold in Japan.

[@sonickrnd]

@@ryanmcfarland1900yep, totally not related to the 1981 Japanese Honda's Motocompo. :D

[@Sepulchrave88]

In Florida we use the golf cart.

[@ThePrimaFacie]

This is awesome Im glad to see that Honda did something for users. I hope that if this sells well the v2 will be even better. I wonder if you could ask other Scooter manufactures for samples. BMW CE-04 would be great also that Swed one if you can find it the Sondors Metacycle. Yes these are both very expensive and have pretty powerful batteries and may not be able to be fixed by the average user (via lack of tools, warranties, etc.) But if these are the future of transportation. Is it fair that the avgerage consumer wont be able to do common repairs or fix common breakages in their home/garage? Thanks

[@monsieurlee]

It almost looks like they intentionally made the battery hard to remove. I wonder how long before someone comes out with an 3d printed adapter and a wiring harness that lets you slap on a 40V+ power tool battery like the Ryobi 40V or similar to add range to it. I've been wanting one of these since announcement but that would make it an instant buy.

[@oplkfdhgk]

Aren't there already adapter's like that? I think I have seen something like that but it was more like universal adapter than specifically made for this.

[@w00dreau]

The storage bin above the battery would be an easy location for that.

[@jnharton]

Could be just be an oversight, at least as far as the bin placement being an obstacle to battery removal. The screws on both sides is a minor nuisance that they could have alleviated with longer screws and a couple plug covered holes in the side panels The orientation of the battery may have been intentionally chosen to maintain balance and limit the exposure of the battery to water.

[@scottvogel8477]

I'm glad to see that your branching out to other electronics besides phones and computers. I totally agree the battery could have easily been made easier to replace with only minor changes.

[@caydongravens5825]

After seeing the breakdown I think Im going to get one of these, having access to a channel like this makes me confident I could fix any future issues that might arise.

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

The battery is easy to remove. They did it the hard way.

[@68pishta68]

How close is it really? It looks like you could wiggle it out with minimal force, ie maybe hit the screw terminals with a file for 1mm more room? I like the thick power rails on that motor controller, big solder blobs dont scare me.

[@Threeuselesscars]

I'd be asking if it really needed to be retained on both sides, and just remove the tabs on one side. Maybe add a little more velcro around the battery :)

[@jameswilson8907]

As someone who spends all day working on cars I can guarantee you with a little bit of effort that battery would come right out without taking all those extra screws off. He was lacking maybe a 1-2 mm of clearance on that battery

[@cadenchurchill4296]

This thing is cool! If possible I would love to see a video covering replacing a battery in an electric car. From what I've heard it's not easy, and like all batteries those wear out too.

[@hunktubes]

Take a LPF battery, used in most EV's these days. It has cycle life of 5000 times from 0-100%. Say the range is 400km then the battery life will be 5000 x 400 = 2 million km. So these batteries don't 'wear out'. Not before every other component of the car does. But yes, like any tech, a few will break beforehand.

[@cadenchurchill4296]

@@hunktubes Interesting, thanks!

[@Rturbo_]

Great video on how to take the battery out. Thanks man going to make ship one and the battery needs to come out

[@foemre]

Bro is nitpicking on how easy the battery replacement is as if FINDING a honda motocompacto replacement battery is the easiest thing on earth

[@asandax6]

It's just a pack of 18650 cells

[@Alt_Aly]

I would 100% have that if I lived in a city!

[@RainTheUpriser]

This is kinda goofy for a 12 mile range ngl

[@moorepower13]

It's designed for the last mile. So that's 6 days of your commute.

[@plainlybasic2300]

It's meant for "the last mile". Meaning you don't have a choice but you have to park a block away or similar. Then you hop on a ride to where you need. This will be awesome for everyone with an EV, when you can only charge it a little way from where you need to be. Plug your car in, and ride to where you need, then do it again to go home

[@MattLitkeRacing]

If I drive mine for about an hour the battery still has charge. And after an hour you’re sick of that small seat anyway

[@donaldducko6580]

@@plainlybasic2300seriously? Why not buy a gas car then. Nobody does this with regular cars. They don’t park somewhere then pull out a bike for the “final mile.” Why are you ruining your life??? For what? Because someone who lies over and over and over told you the planet is in trouble and you must mine 500 tons of nonsense and drive an EV to save it? It’s lunacy. And they got you spending a fortune for the EV then another grand for your “final mile.” Think about what you said. Seriously.

[@nynone4]

Great video! Just picked up my own Motocompacto. Definitely super fun. Hoping the release that both locks the seat down when unfolded and locks the folded handlebars in place is adjustable. The latch gives way and won’t allow the carrying handle use when the weight of the scooter pulls against it when trying to lift in the folded state. Haven’t looked closely.

[@recklessjunkie]

I’m actually hyped on this

[@Jorge.ALXNDR]

If it hadn't the name Honda on ti I would instantly assume that this was a product from some unknown chinese brand

[@salmiakki5638]

This is one application were the power density of fuel made all the sense. A battery run electric version of the motocompo it's just too heavy and it has a lackluster range goven the dimensions of it

[@santastabber]

So, you separate the case from the top? I made an attempt and got scared of all the tabs.

[@mustafabayzid]

I think Honda should make a 21700 battery version of it, because 21700 can deliver more power (ampere) and has more capacity with slightly more volume. I think if Honda Don't do it, some after market solution will be available soon.

[@EmmaKAlexandra]

Would love to see iFixit teardown a Gazelle bike, maybe one with the Bosch smart system. There's a lot of tech in there & they seem infinitely more repairable than most tech

[@Sm00k]

For a first gen device? Not bad.

[@Aka.Aka.]

I hope they improve the range cuz for 1k usd it has to at least have 30

[@williamlee8729]

would love to see a upgrade, move power, range and speed

[@Grant5321]

So it uses an XT60 connector? Seems like you could add some zippier batteries in and see if it reveals the magic smoke or gains a few mph.

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

I think the motor controller is going to be your limiting factor. I extended the range on mine, increasing the top speed is next.

[@Grant5321]

@@HondaFit4Adventure very true, this is getting extreme but there’s some pretty inexpensive motor controllers. You could swap out for a brushless motor and use some 12 S lipos and hit 60 lol

[@mk2mike]

You don’t have to pull all that crap off to remove the battery… Just four lower bin screws and raise it slightly to remove the battery

[@PushyPawn]

Making the battery difficult to access and not allowing limiting charge to 80% not an oversight, it's called *Intentional Planned Obsolescence* . The same goes for many other brands and devices. It's not in the manufacter's interest to have the product last far beyond its warranty period.

[@eduardoizquierdo309]

Its not dificult to acces, it probably takes like 5 minutes more, and also, why dont you give them the benefit of the doubt? If they really wanted to make this difficult to repair it would've been glued in and used less screws and more clips

[@knowthycell]

*planned obsolescence

[@inothome]

Uh, no.

[@Atmatan]

​@@eduardoizquierdo309Why would you give a multil billion dollar company known for screwing over its customers the benefit of the doubt that you are anything more than numbers on a spreadsheet to them? Is your brain nothing more than a puddle of dead cells?

[@Atmatan]

​@@inothomeGenuine facts. Use more words to make your point or get your disgusting grimey fingers off your display.

[@jedics1]

Your average diy push bike has a bigger battery than that, what is all the other space being used for?

[@JakeobE]

That space is being used for the seat in order to fold it away inside, as well as space for the handle bar to collapse into as seen at 0:26

[@AtomicGoober]

Sell it in red and the 80's vibes are back!

[@Luzgar]

That kind of fail shows that repairability was not considered when developing this product. Why isn't the battery hot swappable lake every e-bikes ?

[@khernitzz]

This is intended for last mile commute. I'm not sure if you're gonna be hotswapping a battery for that purpose.

[@Luzgar]

@@khernitzz You might not need to, but why not give the option ?

[@ryanjohnson4565]

Can we have an American version that caps at 55mph?

[@dr.dylansgame5583]

When I saw this I wanted it so bad. But then I saw the Range all these ones I could actually easily lug down the stairs of my Apartment. They all universally have terrible Mileage and Sometimes Charge Times as well. If it had like 30 or More would be Instantly Sold.

[@sonickrnd]

Can you, please, use both systems metric and local one? Say "x pounds" and add the text "z kg" or vice versa. 12 mile is about 19km 265 lb is 120 kg 15 mph is about 25 kmh

[@DaveCollierPEng]

I mean, how often would you need to replace the battery? Once every 5 years? I think it is a misnomer to call a lithium Ion battery "consumable" if other parts of the machine break first. The whole thing is consumable with that logic. Not saying batteries don't have a lifespan before they are recycled.

[@Empty_Vima]

Hey, buddy, great job, keep it up! The content is awesome, can we have more of it? You're really doing great! Is it possible to have more of this more often?😎👍❤

[@mattca353]

Is it just me or most of the screws are directly screwed into thin plastic? Not much materials and easy to strip.

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

In some places there securing plastic to the metal frame. Other locations have a metal nut on the other side of the plastic.

[@oneillkennys]

How about Xiaomi scooter 4 ultra?

[@DaniEles-rc7ij]

VELCRO (tm) is not a low tech option. it's a space program development.

[@reddcube]

I hope a tool brand like Makita makes their own version of this.

[@prostosergik]

Someone, tell him about electric unicycles. Half a size, same weight, twice a range, no assembly needed before and after ride. .

[@borky1987]

Even more than double range 😅

[@Buy-n-large]

FPV drone people seeing an XT60 connector in a honda

[@nadiro]

omg need that tee-shirt

[@SkilllessFlorid3r]

That scooter looks really good, but some of the connectors look really cheap. Some of them look like Tamiya motor connectors. The wiring in general could be done a little bit better for a thousand dollars scooter.

[@714SNF]

Not sure why they didn't make an easier way to access the battery since it would 100% need to be replaced in the future

[@DoctorX17]

I wish it was able to carry bigger people and cargo DX

[@Luzgar]

This has already been tried and already failed (many times).

[@channelmachinebroke9638]

What do you mean by this?

[@Luzgar]

@@channelmachinebroke9638 It's not the first vehicule of this type, and none of them were a success. In fact this is a successor to the Motocampo that was the same thing with an internal combustion engine. The actual answer to the problem is good public transit.

[@wilgarcia1]

pretty nice.

[@Guuzaka]

0:17 19 kilometres of range, 120 kilogram limit, 8 Kilometres per hour? 🤔 I am not a scooter guy, but for some reason I do think that the range could be a bit better. 😅 Agreed that Honda should definitely release spare parts and manuals to the general public. 📖

[@khernitzz]

It's intended for last mile commute. More of like scooting from your place to the parking lot to throw in the back of your car. This has more than enough range.

[@konstantin.v]

They're electric *unicycles* for this already. I've even seen guys riding them in snow! 🤪

[@ProfJermZ]

I just want to know the dimensions of the body and stuff so I can start designing vinyl for it!

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

Roughly 20" by 30"

[@Drivethisnotthat]

I have one on order. Still waiting.

[@68pishta68]

Did you get it at MSRP or did your Local Honda dealer ask ~$900? We saw a huge markup when searching for these locally So. Cal.

[@Atmatan]

🤡

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

I waited a little over a month for mine. The wait time was about 2 months the last I checked.

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

@@68pishta68 MSRP $1000 shipped to the local dealership.

[@felixmcbride5448]

This was real creative... Where's the positive ends?@@Atmatan

[@whothefoxcares]

Honda should sponsor a pro womens cycling team. Fast women love screws and velcro.

[@MorrisDugan]

In the video, the battery pack has 20 18650 cells. Each cell is 3.7v. What is the output voltage of the pack?

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

42volts

[@MorrisDugan]

​@@HondaFit4Adventure Are you sure it's that high? If you divide the pack into two sets of 10 cells, with each set wired in series, and the sets connected in parallel, that would give you 36-37 volts. How would the cells be configured for 42 volts? Or are there actually more than 20 cells?

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

The battery pack will measure 42volts at full charge and 34.5 volts when the battery meter starts to flash.@@MorrisDugan

[@MorrisDugan]

@@HondaFit4Adventure I suppose that's like a car battery that can be over 13 volts right after a full charge, but about 12.6 volts when it's "settled."

[@HondaFit4Adventure]

@@MorrisDugan Sounds about right.

[@spg3331]

Cant beat the original

[@adrian2275]

doEs iT hAVe VTEC?????

[@Dubl3R]

I wish the jackrabbit xg was 1k

[@GoingtoHecq]

I would prefer a bunker oil burning, sputtering mess thank you. I honestly think that last mile is not worth the effort of hauling a scooter for the rest of a commute.

[@mitchib1440]

I really hope it's safer than those 'hover'boards from 2016. No random fires.

[@nimoy007]

This isn't remotely similar

[@oplkfdhgk]

it's cool but i think i will wait for electric honda monkey cus i don't really use public transportation.

[@nph_ninja]

seeing the notification bell I thought it was a disassembly of a samsung galaxy s24

[@DumahBrazorf]

He nearly killed himself in the first few seconds of the video. Leave it to workers of gigafactories...

[@hal5474]

Nearly killed himself? How so?

[@MtFoxt]

Elaborate

[@ginx2666]

With the placement of the battery you HAVE TO assume that making it difficult to replace was a deliberate corporate choice.

[@Imthefake]

it's just a few screws, it seems it's done to stop it from moving inside the case with vibrations

[@CraftySasquatch]

The quality of Honda engineers has gone way down over the past few decades.

[@vandarkholme4745]

This seem over complicated. Average cheapo electric bikes in China have had detachable suitcase batteries for more than a decade. (Gotta admit they do catch on fire sometimes and some buildings ban them) They’re how electric scooter become so cheap to make in the first place.

[@ingusmant]

That battery is a joke...

[@one_step_sideways]

2:01 244Wh is not hefty at all. In order for it to be hefty, it should be at least 400Wh. (Yet) another missed opportunity to make the electric scooter more usable, especially if it ran on 48V instead of 36V to improve maximum power of the motor for going uphill and to improve the efficiency of the motor at high power. Going from 250Wh to 400Wh is only just a 1.5kg increase in total weight, not a big deal, especially since it's going to be useful weight. By the way, in order to limit the battery charge to 80%, you'd need to take apart the charger and twist the voltage knob to make it only output around 40V instead of 42V to charge it to only 80%. Not user-friendly out of the box, but that's usually how battery charge limiting is done on electric scooters. If it doesn't have a knob, something else (like using a series of diodes) may help you lower the charger's voltage to 40V.

[@lorenzomijorus]

Seriously? 🤣 This is an electric scooter with a seat! My Xiaomi scooter has the same specs and a super easy to replace battery

[@wayando]

I liked it, until now ...

[@donaldducko6580]

Chinese will have it copied and selling for 1/4 the price in a month.

[@borky1987]

Nobody will copy that piece of crap, trust me 🤣🤣🤣

[@Atmatan]

God no. I'll stick to my ebike Honda. Go tf out of business already.

[@SOLiDNiTROGENv8]

Calm down with the pronunciation