the Advanced Super Cub, Honda EV-Cub

This here is what Honda hopes is the future of motorcycles. Small, electric and two-wheel drive, the EV-Cub could be ferrying riders around on its retro-styled frame as early as next year.

Like an all-wheel drive car, the 2WD motorcycle offers more stability and traction than its rear-wheel cousins, and may even be easier to learn for the beginner rider. Honda's not alone in the 2WD space, nor is the space really that new—at least for concept vehicles. Big names like Yamaha have also been working on 2WD bikes for the better part of the last decade.

But it's Honda that appears ready to commercialize a 2WD motorcycle, or at the very least an all electric one. The company expects to have an electric bike on the market by the end of 2010, which may or may not be the EV-Cub seen here.

[Gizmodo via Gizmag]