I read the article, and the direction Honda is going worries me, scares me even.

I wish all the best for electric-powered motorcycles. I can’t wait to see them become cost-competitive with gas motorcycles. I think Honda would do quite well with an e-grom.

But, Honda doesn’t seem to just focus on switching the powertrain to electric. They emphasize connectivity and tech. Don’t get me wrong, I like high-tech motorcycles, look at the Yamaha R1. But there is one clear line I draw where the tech becomes detrimental: The point where the addition of new tech gives the manufacturer more control over the bike.

With the Yamaha R1, all the tech is either to make the motorcycle safer to ride (cornering ABS), or make the ride more customizable (power modes). These settings don’t frequently change unless you tell it to and it can all be turned off.

But I’m seeing that Honda wants to copy Zero’s “make the customer pay to unlock the feature that the hardware already supports,” plus adding features enabling the collection and selling of user data. This is especially scary if insurance companies buy the data. It takes away the freedom of motorcycling, as you are metaphorically being ruled by greedy companies.