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.
Prices and some technical specifications have been confirmed for the Savic C-Series, Australia’s first electric motorcycle. Savic Motorcycles will make 49 C-Series cafe racer electric motorcycles available from November in three variants. Specification Alpha Delta Omega Power 60kW 40kW 25kW Torque 190Nm TBC TBC Range 200km TBC TBC Charge time 4-6 hours TBC TBC 0-100km/h 3s …
In a major advance for electric vehicles, in particular motorcycles, a Texas company has produced the Hunstable Electric Turbine (HET) motor that is quieter, cooler, cheaper, smaller yet has double the torque output. HET claims Linear Labs’ HET motor is named after founders CEO Brad Hunstable and his father and CTO Fred. The Hunstables claim their …
Electric motorcycles don’t have the design constraints of a petrol-powered bike with its bulky engine, fuel tank, driveline and exhaust pipe, so the designs are getting kookier and kookier. Premium Italian bike accessories company Rizoma recently held a Design Challenge to demonstrate the “Future of Motorcycling”. Fittingly it was won by an electric motorcycle. It’s …
Esoteric American motorcycle company Curtiss Motorcycles has unveiled a third electric motorcycle concept called Psyche to compete against Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire. The company is already taking orders for the wild Zeus electric motorcycle with radial “V8” batteries and has released plans for the even wilder Hades with a bullet-shaped battery and motor. They say these will go into …
Curtiss Motorcycles is now taking orders for the wild Zeus electric motorcycle with radial “V8” batteries and has released plans for the even wilder Hades with a bullet-shaped battery and motor. They say both will go into production next year and cost $US75,000 (about $A106,000). They are now taking “reservations of interest”. That’s much cheaper than …
Two things stand out about the Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle: it is literally electrifying and cool! That’s more than just a couple of gratuitous puns. This bike is not an electric toy! It’s a real bike that is claimed to go from 0-100km/h in three seconds and we proved it on the world media launch with …
Lithuanian start-up AKO has applied for a patent for an electric-powered vehicle somewhere between a motorcycle, trike and a car with the ability to lean in corners. Of course, there are already leaning three-wheelers such as the Piaggio MP3 scooter and Yamaha Niken. Yamaha is particularly keen on a leaning trike future and has applied …
As you read this I am flying to Portland, Oregon, for a unique media launch of the Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle. There are many things that make this launch unique. Unique bike For a start, this is the first full-size electric road motorcycle from a traditional motorcycle manufacturer. The now-axed Victory Motorcycles slapped their brand name on …
Orders for Australia’s first electric motorcycle will be taken at the Australian Motorcycle Festival in Wollongong in November. Savic Motorcycles founder, Dennis Savic, tells us they will be accepting orders for the first 50 production bikes of all three C-Series variants (Alpha, Delta, Omega). “We will be at the festival this year launching our production prototype,” he says, …
The Damon X electric motorcycle not only scans its surroundings to warn the rider of hazards, but also transforms to suit the rider’s style with handlebars and footpegs that move. Damon Motorcycles CEO and founder Jay Giraud will demonstrate their patented collision avoidance system at TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility in San Jose, California, on 10 July 2019. Their …