RTL ELECTRIC’s Design Reverse Engineered from Rationality
──The RTL ELECTRIC was developed based on Honda’s RTL series of trial machines. Regarding this machine, designer Kazuhiro Kudo said that he emphasized three points: functional beauty, “rider-active,” and material texture.
──Victory at motorsports can be said to be Honda’s identity. Furthermore, even among competition machines, a trial machine is rather like an assembly of the bare minimum functional parts (parts essential for riding to be possible).
Kudo
In the development of competition machines, Honda’s baseline is to enter races and win. This means that, in design, the key point is to connect function and styling so as to be capable of contributing toward victory (riding).
──For example, the RTL ELECTRIC’s frame has a flat top. This is where the gasoline tank is located for internal combustion engine (ICE) machines. An EV machine this time, the tank section of the frame was decisively removed to create a stylish, straight-line beauty. Going further, Mr. Kudo explained that the idea of “rider-active” is also closely related to this concept.
Kudo
In trial competitions, when riding up steep slopes or attacking large rocks, the rider wants to keep the body as close to the machine as possible. If having a flat top allows the body to be kept closer to the machine by several millimeters compared to an ICE machine, this becomes an advantage for the RTL ELECTRIC when attacking obstacles.
──The cooling fins for dissipating heat during motor operation also come with a minimal cover over the wiring while preventing the knees from touching the fins when riding. As, during trial competitions, the rider needs to move their body in various ways while on the machine, a good fit with the human body is very important.
Kudo
The designs of competition machines must coexist with rationality for winning races. Refining each minute part—such as the top of the frame and the cooling fins—one by one to achieve both performance and beauty is an approach that is mandatory for competition machine design.
──For example, the rainbow color of the front suspension comes from the color of the titanium coating used for maximum enhancement of the sliding performance. Carbon materials for reducing weight are left in their original colors without being painted. Magnesium parts are painted to prevent corrosion and can thus be any color, but they are deliberately painted in colors close to the original material. This approach sought to produce charm as a works machine.
Kudo
I wanted fans to see the machine at a venue and immediately think, “That’s a Honda works machine.” I also wanted to make it feel like a special machine.
Concept Creation to Convey the Challenging Spirit of Honda
──The corporate color of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is the tricolor design, which is also an important color pattern for Honda. Red symbolizes the passionate emotion of human beings competing for victory, blue stands for a high level of technological capability based on theory, and white represents all customers who love motorsports.
The RTL ELECTRIC adopts the same approach, with a white-based tricolor being the main characteristics of its graphic design. The goal is to let visitors to a race intuitively understand that it is an EV machine. Additionally, in contrast to the red-based designs that had consistently been used for Honda’s ICE machines so far, the coloring this time was born to express this new challenge of EV machines. Another characteristic of the RTL ELECTRIC is its adoption of a relatively simple graphic design compared to the machines of rival manufacturers.
──In today’s trial competitions, colorful and sophisticated graphic designs are used for both machines and wear. Meanwhile, the RTL ELECTRIC’s design is simple, such as drawing lines along the form of the machine. Mr. Kudo’s goal was to break away from the trend of the times. Amid a sea of machines with complicated graphic designs, he thought that the simple look of the RTL ELECTRIC will deliver impact because it is different from other motorcycles.
Kudo
When I went to see 2024’s All Japan Trial Championship, in which the RTL ELECTRIC was entered, I could recognize it as our machine even from far away. I think I achieved the goal of being prominent at race venues.
──In trial competitions, riders take on several scoring sections established in a wide area without letting their feet touch the ground. Spectators can remain at a section to see how each rider attacks it or move around the area following their favorite riders. Moving around while watching the race, it is not rare for spectators to lose sight of the machines they were following. Therefore, the visibility of a machine is an extremely important element.
──Furthermore, in this project, the truck and booth were also designed with the same concept as the machine. The rider’s wear was also designed through discussions with the HRC team and Montesa Honda. Mr. Kudo said that designing not just the motorcycle but also the world around it in such a way—that is to say, creating a concept—is important for a mobility manufacturer when promoting motorsport activities.
──The CR ELECTRIC PROTO electric motocross bike was a spot entry in Round 8 of the All Japan Motocross Championship in 2023. The RTL ELECTRIC participated in the last three rounds of the All Japan Trial Championship in 2024, and it is currently participating fully in the Trial2 class of the Trial World Championships.
Kudo
Carbon neutrality (CN) is a major topic and challenge for the mobility industry today. This is the same for motorsports. Amid such a situation, this pioneering initiative of competing in ICE races with EV machines is a visualization of the challenging spirit of Honda and our corporate stance and activities toward CN to let many people know about them. This is the purpose of this project. However, in the vast field of a trial competition, there is a limit to what can be expressed by a machine alone. I therefore thought we could convey our thoughts to many people by standardizing the graphic design, including the paddock’s tents and truck, and decided to create the concept.
Race Entry Approximately One Year After Project Launch—Unusually Fast Development Supported by Sense, Experience, and Reflexes
──The RTL ELECTRIC development project started a year before it was entered in an actual race. Notably, the project had an extremely short development period.
Kudo
This is a project with a short period of development, totally different from usual, and we needed to participate in Round 6 of the All Japan Trial Championship being held in October. I felt tremendous pressure as we also needed to win.
Kudo
The development was really tough due to the tight schedule. Even so, it is very rare and interesting for a product that I worked on to be unveiled and gain a response immediately.
──Mr. Kudo also said that the spread of good public response to the winning of a machine is another appeal of race machine development. Due to the three consecutive wins at the All Japan Trial Championship, he heard comments—such as “Well done” and “Cool!”—from different places.
Kudo
Race machines look cool when they win.
──The tricolor RTL ELECTRIC was designed passionately within a short development period and entered in a championship series. It swept victory at all three races in which it was a spot entry, decorating its design with prowess and further enhancing its charm.
Lastly, Mr. Kudo said with pride that the design this time was possible because it was Honda.
Kudo
Honda still has a platform for a person to incorporate their own concepts into a product. It is truly rewarding for a designer to be able to pour their heart into a concept and deliver a product that they believe to be cool.
Currently, the RTL ELECTRIC of rider Miquel Gelabert competing in the Trial2 class of the Trial World Championship ranks third after finishing the third round held in Japan. The championship title is within reach. Victory makes a machine look more powerful—as per Mr. Kudo’s words, how will its look change through future races? Design also continues to evolve with the taking of challenges.
Profiles
Kazuhiro Kudo
Motorcycle and Power Products Operations
Product Designer