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.
Israel company StoreDot has produced a lithium-ion battery that charges an electric scooter in five minutes. It is one of the latest developments, along with battery swap technology, that could accelerate the acceptance of electric motorcycles and scooters in coming years. The StoreDot batteries do not contain graphite, a form of carbon. Instead, they use tin, …
Battery swap technology has received a boost with Yamaha unveiling their EC-05 electric scooter with Gogoro lithium-ion battery packs you can easily swap at a convenient roadside vending machine. The Yamaha scooter is a partnership with Taiwanese scooter company Gogoro Global. Taiwan seems to be the epicentre of swappable battery tech with Kymco last year …
Some bright spark at Yamaha has filed patent designs that seem to indicate they are planning an electric sports bike that looks a lot like the R1. So far Yamaha has only released the PES1 (Passion Electric Street) road bike and PED1 (Passion Electric Dirt) off-roader for limited sale, mainly in Europe. However, the new design …
KTM has been in no hurry to get into electric motorbikes with only the Freeride E (pictured above) in production since 2015. However, that could soon change with the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer combining with Indian vehicle manufacturer Bajaj Auto to develop a common 48-volt platform for electric two-wheelers. They won’t be big road motorcycles, but scooters and …
A Ducati-branded Chinese-made electric scooter will be imported by Perth-based company Vmoto through Urban Moto Imports, arriving in July for under $5000. When we announced the Italian manufacturer had signed the unusual deal to allow Chinese Super Soco electric scooters to carry their brand, Ducati Australia said they would not be sold here. They also …
British car company Jaguar appears to be returning to its motorcycle roots with patents for an electric motorcycle, a hi-tech motorcycle jacket and head-up display helmet linked to the company. The Arc Vector electric motorcycle, jacket and helmet were unveiled last year by Arc Vehicles. However, the patent filings for some of the innovations have …
India looks set to move most of its motorcycle and scooter production and sales to electric with government incentives over the next six to eight years. The proposal was chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has been re-elected with more than 63% of the vote. Election promises Similarly, the recent Australian election campaign …
The only thing Ducati about these Chinese-made Super SOCO CUx electric scooters is the name and logo. Perth-based Vmoto who manufacturers in China has somehow obtained a licence agreement with the Italian manufacturer to make the luxury electric scooters under the Ducati brand. The agreement was signed a couple of weeks ago, but it us …
Triumph Motorcycles and British F1 team Williams have received millions in government funding to produce electric motorcycles over the next two years. The iconic British motorcycle manufacturer has been surveying its customers since 2012 to see if they are interested in them producing electric bikes and sent out an email survey as recently as February. …
The prices of electric motorcycles will eventually come down like the prices of flat-screen TVs did, but right now they are very expensive. We’ve charted the top 10 world’s most expensive motorcycles and were surprised to find they even include two pedal-assisted bikes, the $US80,000 (about $A114,500) Black Trail electric mountain bike and the eROCKIT …