Motorcycles
State of the Art 2020: Electric Motorcycle Racing
The inaugural season of MotoE just wrapped up a few weeks ago in Valencia, Spain, with the aptly-named Italian Matteo Ferrari taking the widely celebrated first-ever championship in the history of this all-electric racing series. It so very nearly wasn’t so, however– and as such, in this week of Thanksgiving, it seemed like a good time to look back at the state of electric motorcycling in 2019, and take some time, too, to look ahead to 2020 and see what might be looking forward to next year. So with that, here it is: the state of the art of electric motorcycle racing in 2019. 2019 MotoE Season Recap Remember that? The very first season of big-time electric motorcycle racing almost didn’t happen at all due to a massive fire that broke out the series’ pre-season test ...
Rwanda Pushing for 3 Million Electric Motorcycle Taxis
Three million. It’s a big number, but it seems even bigger when we’re talking about three million motorcycles with unregulated emissions crammed together in a tight, hot, densely populated urban space. That’s the reality faced by regulators in Kigali, Rwanda, where the majority of that nation’s three million motorcycle taxi drivers live and work. But the people of Kigali may be breathing easier soon– literally!– thanks to a massive, nationwide shift away from traditional, petroleum-powered ICE motorcycles towards “e-mobility” and electric motorcycle taxis that hopes to see every one of those drivers move towards electrics in the coming years. “This may be the world’s first truly mass-market electric vehicle that’s cheaper and bett...
Fonzarelli NKD – Electric Motorcycle from Down Under
The hottest segment in motorcycling right now isn’t big-bore adventure tourers or over-the-road sofas, it’s mini motos. Small, fun, agile, and lightweight motorcycles like the Honda Grom that don’t require too much investment and don’t themselves too seriously but still deliver in terms of fuel economy and practicality. Following close behind the growing popularity of these bikes, however, is the coming onslaught of electrics– but Australian EV builder Fonzarelli has beaten the big four to the punch with a new, fun, bite-sized electric motorcycle called the NKD. They’re billing it as, “Australia’s first locally designed, manufactured, and retail-ready emission-free motorbike,” and it perfectly captures a sort-of chunky, go-anywhere, urb...
Brandon Nozaki Miller to Attempt Electric Iron Butt
Longtime friend of (and sometimes contributor to) Gas2, Brandon “the Electric Cowboy” Nozaki Miller is attempting to ride his motorcycle 1,000 miles in less than twenty four hours. It’s often called “the Iron Butt challenge” in the motorcycling world, and it’s a daunting challenge– even on a road sofa. Brandon likes to make things even harder than they need to be, apparently, which he’s going to attempt a 100% ELECTRIC Iron Butt challenge. (Kinda.) It’s important to note here that, unlike Brandon’s 2012 world-record run where he topped 100MPH at Bonneville, this one won’t be a “world’s first”. That honor goes to Terry Hershner, who successfully did an Iron Butt run on a Zero S in 2014 that was fitted with s...
Untitled UMC-063 ZERO XP One-off Electric Motorcycle
Motorcyclists have been customizing their rides since GIs started coming home from WWII. OK, maybe even before that– but it was those returning GIs who “chopped off” all of their heavy motorcycles’ excess bodywork that created the chopper aesthetic and launched the custom motorcycle art form. As we look forward towards a more inclusive electric future, then, it is heartening to see that a few shops are already out there building the future of custom motorcycles. Shops like Untitled, who are behind the UMC-063 ZERO XP you see here. Built around the bones of one of Zero Motorcycles’ new-for-2019 SR/F, the UMC-063 features slick, hand-formed custom bodywork, CNC-machined controls, and super science-fiction-y lighting. The result is a stunning piece of two-wheeled...
Harley-Davidson LiveWire Buyers to Get Free Charging
Harley-Davidson is betting big on a future beyond the Baby Boomers, and its new LiveWire electric motorcycle is leading the charge (see what I did there?). Whether or not the bike will be a commercial success is something that remains to be seen, of course– but it just got a big boost in the form of a partnership with Electrify America that will give electric Harley buyers something pretty cool: free charging. “At Harley-Davidson, we are taking significant steps to lead in the electrification of motorcycling, including supporting the development of global charging infrastructure … including having access to complimentary charging on Electrify America’s growing network.” says Luke Mansfield, vice president and chief strategy officer for Harley-Davidson. That “g...
Curtiss Zeus is a Stunning, V8 Electric Motorcycle
If you haven’t heard of Curtiss Motorcycles before, get wise– because these guys are building custom electric motorcycles that are the spiritual successors to choppers and cafe racers, but with (what I’ll call) a greater respect for technology. They are every bit the real deal, and their latest blood, sweat, and gears-based proof of that fact is the bike you see here: Zeus. Curtiss Motorcycles has been working closely with Zero motorcycles to build this stunning machine and put it into limited production, and is currently taking $1000 deposits on the Zeus. The hope is that the bike’s unique styling and high-quality materials will help the company pursue its stated mission to “create sustainable, desirable, intergenerational, mean, clean, and green future-proof...
Indian Motorcycle Company ReVolt Reveals new 150cc Class Electric Motorcycle
Rahul Sharma is a busy man. When he’s not serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Product Strategy and Channel Sales for Micromax, the tenth-largest cellphone company in the world, he is hard at work bringing the latest in electric motorcycle technology to the masses. According to Sharma, ReVolt Motorbikes aims “to make personal mobility practical, affordable, and sustainable.” ReVolt’s latest offering, the RV400, appears to do exactly that. The 150cc class electric motorcycle features a top speed of about 53 mph, making it perfect for urban travel and trips on smaller highways. This compact electric powerhouse can also achieve a distance of up to 97 miles on a single charge, and offers other exciting features such as keyless startup and GPS...
Video: Harley LiveWire and the Sound of Silence
The embattled Harley-Davidson motorcycle company has been pushing hard to reinvent itself in recent years, with sporty new products and new marketing campaigns that target a younger, more more modern, more genteel demographic. Its most publicized and expensive attempt to get people to think of Harley as a modern company, though, is undoubtedly the LiveWire electric motorcycle. It is massively important, and its success represents nothing less than the survival of an independent HD– which begs the important question: how does the LiveWire sound? Yes, I know it’s silly to talk about how important an electric motorcycle’s sound is. Still, this is Harley-Davidson we’re talking about. Remember that, “for decades, the sound of a Harley-Davidson was at least as impor...
Husqvarna Releases its First-ever Electric Motorcycle
It may not be setting the world on fire with a high-output, super go-fast electric motor like Honda Mugen or Zero, but Swedish motorcycle builder Husqvarna has just launched its first all-electric motorcycle. It’s called the Husqvarna EE 5, and it’s designed for young riders taking their first steps rides into an electrified, two-wheeled future that, Husqvarna hopes, will have them coming back to the brand for a lifetime of purchases. Husqvarna is targeting the 50cc class of bikes currently dominated by Honda’s CRF50F and Yamaha’s TTR50– but the Swedish bike is very much targeting the high end of that class with 35 mm WP XACT forks that offer 205 mm of travel up front paired to a single, fully-adjustable rear shock (also from WP) to ensure exceptional damping ...
FutureVision: BMW Reveals Vision DC Roadster Concept
“The boxer engine is the heart of BMW Motorrad,” explains Edgar Heinrich, head of design at BMW Motorrad. “But BMW Motorrad stands for visionary zero-emissions vehicle concepts, too. In view of this, one question that arises is: what would happen if we were to replace the boxer engine with an electric motor and the required battery?” The end result of that thought exercise the bike you see here. Meet the BMW Vision DC Roadster Concept. BMW has been pushing its electric “i” brand of cars with great success in recent years, and their big C electric scooter is among the best bikes in the business. It’s still a scooter-style riding position, though, and some people just have to have that “motorcycle feel”, whether that’s born of mecha...
Retrotastic: Meet the Regent Electric Motorcycle
As far as motorcycles are concerned, the 70s are definitely coming back, from Honda’s new, neo-cafe styling school to Suzuki’s reborn Katana. The future, meanwhile, remains stubbornly electric. As such, it was only a matter of time before some enterprising young minds married that classic, UJM look to a more modern electric powertrain, right? Right– and it was Regent who seems to have got there first. Based in Sweden, Regent is hoping their bike’s clean, fuss-free, and classic UJM styling will help them become a sort of retro-Zero in Europe. They seem to be doing pretty well getting at it, too. As I write this, they’ve already pre-sold 78 of the 100 bikes they hope to build on their initial run, with articles on sites like this one and Electrek doing nothing t...