Daily motorbike news, views & reviews
Electric motorcycles are the next big thing. The market is currently dominated by cheap scooter imports from China, but boutique electric motorcycle companies such as Zero and Brammo are making better-quality products. They are about to be challenged by the established motorcycle companies such as BMW, Harley-Davidson, Victory, Yamaha and KTM. We bring you the latest developments in battery technology, government subsidies and other news about electric motorcycles. We have also ridden several electric motorcycles and review them for performance, handling, range, comfort and styling.
British company Arc Vehicle will next month unveil the Arc Vector electric cafe racer which they claim will be the “most fulfilling, safest and cleanest bike on the road”. Those are pretty far-fetched claims and there are no details yet to substantiate their claim. However, all will be revealed at the EICMA motorcycle show on …
Motorcycle sales in Europe are finally on the rise again, up 7.2%, but it seems Europeans are more keen to plug into electric bikes with registrations up a massive 49%. Two of every three electric two wheelers sold are urban-oriented electric pedal-assisted mopeds and scooters. Electric motorcycles are still only one in four, but growing. The …
A Steve McQueen inspired Smart Desert from Californian company Fly Free is the latest in a long list of electric motorcycles about to hit the showrooms. Next year will be a pivotal year for electric bikes when Harley-Davidson make their electric LiveWire available for sale in North America and Europe with the rest of the …
An electric Cagiva could be on show when MV Agusta celebrates the 40th anniversary of the famous Italian brand on Sunday (16 September 2018) at their Varese factory. An official MV Agusta press release doesn’t mention the electric bike, but the company has been working an electric Cagiva for some time and it would be …
The Harley-Davidson electric LiveWire motorcycle will have about 250km of range says CEO Matt Levatich so it wasn’t such a brave move to ride the bike at the front of the main parade at their 115th Anniversary celebrations on Milwaukee on Sunday. Matt told me on Saturday that while he couldn’t tell me how much …
The electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire arrives next year with more sporty components than the Livewire prototype unveiled in 2014. Sporty features It features, fully-adjustable Showa suspension and massive dual discs with four-piston Brembo callipers on a 17-inch front wheel instead of a single disc on an 18-inch wheel. That sounds like a recipe for a quick …
Curtiss Motorcycles unveiled their first electric motorcycle prototype Zeus in May with the world’s first twin motors; now they say their second electric bike will have the world’s first “V8” battery. An image of the stretched-out Hera electric motorcycle was released at Pebble Beach with the company claiming the bike will be available in 2020. …
Electric motorcycles provide designers with a whole new set of possibilities such including different materials such as this Phillipines-made Banatti Green Falcon made with bamboo. The designers also took advantage of the electric bike’s quiet drive to install a JBL sound system in the bike that they call a “Rocking raptor”. The Banatti Green Falcon …
American company CSC Motorcycles is considering exporting its Chinese-made City Slicker electric motorcycle costing just $US2500. Landed here the City Slicker would cost closer to $4000, but would still be one of the cheapest full-sized electric motorcycles available. The bike will be available in the US in September. It’s built as an urban commuter and fun …
This “Ethec electric cruiser“, designed and built by Swiss university students, is the first electric motorcycle with two hub motors in the wheels. While the Ethec has hub motors in each wheel, it isn’t two-wheel-drive. Drive mainly comes from the rear wheel motor while the front wheel motor provides regenerative braking power. Several car companies …