Suzuki patents two-wheel-drive scooter

Suzuki is working on a two-wheel drive scooter reveals a report in Motorcycle.com citing a patent application at US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent shows sketches of a scooter which closely resembles the Suzuki Burgman 200.

The patent talks about a scooter with a hub mounted electric motor positioned on the front wheel and a traditional internal combustion powerplant in the rear. The hub motor in the front wheel is seen on the left, and the linked suspension with the braking system can be seen on the right. The rear engine may be mounted on the body or integrated into the swingarm.

While a production version may be a far off event at the moment, Suzuki will have to keep in mind the weight and power source for the electric motor up front before even building a concept model.

The Suzuki Burgman 200 at present is powered by a 200 cc liquid cooled, fuel injected, single-cylinder mill. Coupled to a CVT the engine is capable of producing 18 PS of maximum power at 8,000 rpm and 17 Nm of peak torque at 6,000 rpm.

The Suzuki Burgman 200 in the UK is priced at GBP 4,199.