TOKYO, Japan (AFP) - Japan's Honda Motor has launched research into developing the first safety airbags that could be mounted on motorcycles, a report said Wednesday.

Japan's largest motorcycle manufacturer aims to commercialise motorcycle airbags in about three years, the mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun said without citing sources.

Nissan Motors President Carlos Ghosn kneels beside his company's latest compact vehicle 'Note', during its press preview at a Tokyo hotel, January 20. Equipped with an all-aluminium HR15DE 1.5-litre engine, the Note has been put on the Japanese market with a retail price range of 1.26 million to 1.5855 million yen (US$12,350 to US$15,550). (Photo: AFP)

Honda plans to develop an airbag that will fit under the handlebars and protect the driver from the head to lower back when it is opened in the event of an accident, it said.

No immediate comment was available from Honda.
Honda wants to commercialise the product after finding ways to minimise production costs and working out the best suitable shape of the airbags, the daily said.

The newspaper said the technology had been offered before, on BMW motorcycles, but it had proved too costly at more than US$2,000 for most buyers.

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