The Yamaha Passol is an electric scooter manufactured by Yamaha Motor Company beginning in 2002,[1] and sold only in Japan.[2] Weight is 44 kilograms (97 lb) and claimed range 32 kilometres (20 mi).[1] It was described as the first mass-produced electric motorcycle in Japan[3][4] (the Peugeot Scoot'Elec was produced earlier). It has a lithium-ion battery. A Passol-L model with the same motor and bigger battery was released in 2005,[5][6] and a related electric, the EC-02, featuring a built-in iPod dock, also was released in 2005.[7]

Yamaha Passol/Passol-L

Passol-L at its 2005 Tokyo Motor Show introduction
Manufacturer	Yamaha Motor Company
Production	2002–2007
Class	Electric scooter
Engine	Brushless DC electric wheel hub motor
Power	0.58 kW (0.78 hp)
Frame type	Aluminum pipe backbone
Suspension	Telescopic fork
Brakes	Drum front and rear
Tires	60/100-12
Wheelbase	1,040 mm
Dimensions	L: 1,530 mm W: 600 mm H: 995 mm
Seat height	745 mm
Weight	44 kg (97 lb) (dry)
Fuel capacity	14 Ah battery (Passol)
Turning radius	1.6 m
Related	Yamaha EC-02

A recall for battery problems in the Passol and EC-02 was issued in late 2006,[8] followed by the halting of production of all Yamaha electric motorcycles in 2007 due to the recall coupled with weak sales.[3][9]

Records and awards

In 2003, the Passol won the Good Design Gold Award (MITI Prize) from Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry.[10]

In 2004, Japanese long-distance motorcyclist Kanichi Fujiwara set off to circumnavigate the world on a Passol.[11] It may have been the first global circumnavigation by electric two-wheeler.[12]

In 2004, Yamaha won the Hong Kong Design Centre's Design for Asia Award for Product Design for the Passol.[4]

In exhibitions

A Passol was exhibited in an international show on Japanese design at Metropolitan State College of Denver's Center for Visual Art in 2005.[13]

Specifications

Specifications in infobox from Ono n.d.:6.

Notes and references

Notes

References

• Yamaha unveils its first no-emission electric scooter, Agence France-Presse (AFP), October 9, 2002 – via Space Daily
• 2003 Good Design Gold Award: Electric Commuter Yamaha Passol EA06/5UY2, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 2003
• DFA Award 2004: PASSOL electric scooter (PDF), Hong Kong Design Centre
• Hedge, Trevor (November 29, 2004), Battery powered world adventurers visit Perth, mcnews.com.au, archived from the original on August 31, 2011, retrieved 2013-11-14
• MacMillan, Kyle (Jul 4, 2005), "A Japanese design exhibition at Metro State is a little bit art, a little bit pop culture and a lot of kitschy fun", Denver Post, p. F.01
• Hanlon, Mike (October 27, 2005), Yamaha's radical adjustable electric motorcycle, Gizmag
• Photos: These bikes hum and fold: Yamaha Passol-L, CNET News, November 9, 2005
• "EC-02、Passol-Lに関するリコール情報", Recall bulletin (in Japanese), Yamaha Motor Company, 2006-10-05
• Moodie, Alison (June 25, 2007), "Green Wheels", Newsweek, via HighBeam (subscription required), archived from the original on September 24, 2015
• Yamaha EC-02, A Glowing-In-The-Dark IPod Scooter, Topspeed.com, August 22, 2007
• Yamaha unveils zero-emission electric motor scooter, AFP, July 14, 2010 – via Google News
• Kume, Hideyoshi (July 15, 2010), "Yamaha Motor to Reenter Electric Two-wheeled Vehicle Market", Tech-On!, Nikkei Business Publications
• Ono, Tomohiro (n.d.), "Specifications", Yamaha electric scooter 'Passol' (Yamaha technical paper)
• Tesch, Bernd (September 11, 2013), Around-The-World by motorcycle, 2001–2004, retrieved 2013-11-14

External links

• Passol-L electronic brochure from Yamaha Museum's 2003 Tokyo Motor Show display