Electric Motorcycles
It’s Back! MotoE Announces Revised 2019 Race Calendar
A few weeks ago, the future of MotoGP’s all electric motorcycle racing series, MotoE, was thrown into doubt after a massive fire. The blaze destroyed not only the slick electric racebikes that were set to race in the series, but a huge amount of tools, equipment, and support machinery as well. Because of the devastation caused by the fire, race organizers, Dorna, were forced to cancel the first two rounds of what was to be MotoE’s inaugural season. The causes of the fire are still being examined, and a press release with more details on the fire is promised once the investigations have been completed. Better to focus on happier things, however– so, the new 2019 MotoE calendar is as follows: Race 1 – July 5th -7th – Sachsenring, Germany Race 2 – August 9th -11th – Red Bull...
Mugen Gunning for 6th Consecutive Isle of Man TT Win
Mugen Gunning for 6th Consecutive Isle of Man TT Win
Kawasaki Could be Building the Fastest Electric Motorcycle Ever
Since the days of ZX-11 back in the 1990s, Kawasaki has been famous for building the biggest, baddest motorcycles around. Sure, Honda and Suzuki stole Kawi’s thunder with the Blackbird and Hayabusa, respectively– but line either of those up alongside the latest Kawasaki H2 and see what bikes pulls ahead. Keep that in mind, then, as I tell you the following: Kawasaki has patented a unique, oil and liquid cooled radiator system purpose-built for electric bikes. The implications for the electric motorcycle market are potentially staggering, considering that even the ultra-quick Energica Ego and big voltage Zero models can make do with “just” air cooling. Heck– Kawasaki’s EV cooling system seems more complicated than Tesla’s, and the assumption is that...
Under the Skin of the MotoE Electric Motorcycle
The start of the inaugural season of MotoE electric motorcycle may have been delayed by the massive fire that engulfed the MotoE paddock garage last week, but that doesn’t mean there’s no MotoE news to talk about. Asphalt and Rubber’s Jensen Beeler has just released some new photos of– What’s that? What fire? Sorry, gang. I took a few weeks off from writing and, as Chris Demorro and Steve Hanley have moved on to bigger and better things, things got pretty quiet around here. Here’s a quick picture of the fire I’m talking about, and you can click through it to get to the original article on MCNews. MotoE Paddock Fire Anyway, Asphalt and Rubber’s Jensen Beeler has just released some new photos of the Energica Ego MotoE electric racer with...
Zero Motorcycles Teases All-new Zero SR/F
Forget the ridiculously over-hyped Harley-Davidson Livewire with its flimsy range and robust, $30,000 price tag. The only people impressed by the Harley are people who don’t know anything about motorcycles. Zero, meanwhile, have been building the best electric motorcycles you can buy for a while– and they are seriously impressive. Now, the company is teasing what promises to be its most impressive bike to date: the 2019 Zero SR/F. 2.25.19 Backed by thirteen years of innovation and iteration, setbacks and what-ifs, our next evolution will be the first of its kind. Effortless power. Precise instinct. This is the future of motorcycling. I’ll be following this news closely (for obvious reasons), and expect to have more after the Progressive Chicago Motorcycle Show taki...
5 New VEHICLES We’re Looking Forward to in 2019
2018 has brought us a ton of great green car action, from a wild Formula 1 season that saw Ferrari– finally!– put up a legitimate challenge to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to the CEO of a multi-billion dollar EV company calling a British rescue diver a pedophile on a public forum. It’s been an awesome year, and the green car revolution keeps soldiering on, but some aspects of that march are more exciting than others. To that end, here are five of the new vehicles set to debut in the coming year that we’re most excited about here at Gas 2. Check out the list, then let us know what new cars or bikes you’re most looking forward to most in the comments section at the bottom of the page. The New Lynk & Co. 01 You’ve likely heard the phrase, “...
Rumormill: KTM Wants to Buy Ducati
Volkswagen executives have been trying to sell off their captive motorcycle brand, Ducati, since the fallout from their diesel emissions scandal started to come down. Thus far, VW’s board of directors– which includes the German company’s labor unions, who account for nearly half the board seats– has been “unenthusiastic” about selling Ducati. With KTM now showing interest, however, that may change. KTM CEO Stefan Pierer expressed interest in owning the Italian motorcycle company to German-language magazine, Speedweek. He even went as far as floating some of his ideas on how Ducati could fit into KTM’s overall vehicle strategy. Unlike some CEOs, that’s not the kind of talk Pierer would enter into lightly– and it sound, to some people, like Pie...
EICMA 2018: Kymco Launches SuperNEX Electric
Kymco has been producing solidly-built and reliable scooters, ATVs, and side x sides for years. Recently, though, the Taiwanese manufacturer has set its sights on the motorcycle industry. Specifically, the electric motorcycle industry. Its opening salvo was revealed last week at EICMA, and here it is: the Kymco SuperNEX electric motorcycle. Kymco claims the SuperNEX will sprint from 0 to 60MPH in less than 2.9 seconds and hit its 155 MPH top speed in less than eleven. The SuperNEX will make extracting these Tesla-threashing performance figures child’s play by employing Kymco’s Full Engagement Performance (FEP) traction control system and launch control. There’s more to those software settings than just ultimate performance, however. FEP will help riders control wheelies a...
MotoGP Legend Tetsuya Harada vs. MotoE Bike
The Energica Ego Corsa race bike that’s set to become the basis for MotoGP’s electric support series got put through its paces last weekend ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. It got a real test, too– in the hands of 1993 FIM 250cc World Champion rider Tetsuya Harada. We loved seeing Japanese legend Tetsuya Harada back on track at the #JapaneseGP ?? The former 250cc World Champion got a chance to ride the @EnergicaMotor Ego Corsa #MotoE bike in front of his home crowd! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/I8IJHCxVTI — MotoGP™??? (@MotoGP) October 23, 2018 In addition to being the ’93 champion, Harada raced at the highest level for over a decade– so it’s worth hearing his take on the bike. Of course, it’s incredibly positive. To be fair, t...
Alta Motorcycles has Shut Down Operations
Despite having signed on more than 40 dealerships and pulled off a national level race win, Alta Motors shut down its business operations earlier this week. The shuttering of the company means the company’s staff is looking for work as the electric motorcycle manufacturer looks for future funding. This isn’t how it was supposed to go for Alta. The bikes were fast, seemed well-built, and– critically– were set to be the basis for the next generation of electric Harley Davidson motorcycles. It’s that last bit, though, that fell through and eventually led to the company’s demise. That was back in August, and it marked the end of both the R&D project AND Harley’s continued investment in Alta. From that point forward, Alta Motors has been in talks w...
Zero Electric Motorcycles Coming to a PD Near You
Last week, Zero motorcycles took a massive step towards the mainstream when it became the first electric motorcycle brand to receive a GSA listing. GSA listings–, or: General Service Administration listings– help to facilitate the purchase of given vehicles (example: Ford Crown Vic) by federal, state, and local government agencies. Granted, there’s more to government buying decisions than GSA listings. Still, it’s a big step, and the Gas 2 favorites at Zero deserve their victory lap. Check out the official press release, below, along with a video from the Monterey, California PD putting a Zero through its paces from 2013. Once you’ve done that, let us know what you think of Zero’s chances of coming to your PD in the comments section at the bottom of the ...
2018 CSC City Slicker, or: Meet the $1995 Electric Motorcycle
Electric motorcycles are not my thing. Motorcycles still taste like freedom to me, whatever that means, and I don’t like the idea of short range and long charge times attached to a bike. I feel like we should get those things out of the way before I tell you anything else about the California Scooter Company’s new City Slicker electric motorcycle. So, do we all know where I’m coming from? That’s good, because: I think I might love the CSC City Slicker. I don’t want to bury the lede, so here goes: the new CSC City Slicker electric motorcycle can be yours for $1995. At that price, it costs significantly less than any of the Zero or BMW electric bikes. Crucially, however, it’s also less than the Honda Grom— and the Grom is this bike’s natural co...