The 9 coolest electric motorcycles that debuted in 2019

Just as we predicted at the beginning of the year, 2019 turned out to be a huge year for electric motorcycles. Below you’ll find our top 9 picks for the coolest and most interesting electric motorcycles that debuted this year.

Lightning Strike electric motorcycle

The Lightning Strike electric motorcycle made headlines this year when it debuted back in March. It set a new high watermark in the industry as the most affordable electric sport bike yet.

Available in three different fully-faired models, it starts at just $12,998 for Strike Standard, which offers a top speed of 217 km/h (135 mph) and a highway/city range of 113/161 km (70/100 mi) from a 10 kWh battery. The Strike standard offers a 67 kW (90 hp) liquid-cooled motor.

The battery on the Strike can be recharged either overnight with a 110V Level 1 connection or in 2-3 hours with a J1772 Level 2 public charging station. The standard onboard charger is 3.3 kW but can be upgraded to a 6.6 kW charger for an extra $1,500.

The Strike Mid-Range gets a 50% battery capacity boost to 15 kWh and the Strike Carbon Edition gets a whopping 20 kWh battery. The Strike Carbon also has a higher power 90 kW (120 hp) motor, a higher top speed of 241 km/h (150 mph) and can be recharged in just over 40 minutes using Level 3 DC fast charging.

So far only the Strike Carbon Edition bikes are being produced and delivered, but the company hopes to begin deliveries of the Standard models by Q1 of 2020.

Want to see our video roundup of the Top 9 electric motorcycles of 2019? Check it out above!

Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle

Despite taking jabs for its high price of $29,979, the Harley-Davidson LiveWire is actually an impressive electric motorcycle in its own right. The electric roadster features a longitudinally-mounted 78 kW (105 hp) motor slung low underneath the bike, requiring a 90-degree bevel gear to transfer that power to the belt-driven rear wheel and creating the LiveWire’s distinctive motor sound.

The LiveWire features a 15.5 kWh battery that is good for 235 km (146 mi) of range in the city. The bike supports charging at Level 1 speeds (overnight wall outlet charging at home) as well as Level 3 (DC fast charging in under an hour). All Harley-Davidson dealers stocking the LiveWire also have at least one DC fast charger on site.

The LiveWire has a top speed of 177 km/h (110 mph), which should suffice for most riders.

I had the opportunity to test ride the LiveWire this past summer and I can say definitively that it is one hell of an electric motorcycle. Is it expensive? Sure. But does it perform? Absolutely! And while it surely won’t save Harley by itself, the company has a whole line of electric two-wheelers on the way that could breath new life into H-D.

Check out my test ride video below on the Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle.

Zero SR/F electric motorcycle

The Zero SR/F is the company’s first electric streetfighter and represents the highest power bike in Zero’s new lineup.

We were at the debut in February to break the news and specs on the bike, which features an 80 kW (107 hp) air-cooled motor and a 14.4 kWh battery pack.

The SR/F has a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) and a range of 257 km (160 miles) in the city or around 129 km (80 miles) on the highway. The additional PowerTank accessory adds a bit more battery capacity to bump the maximum range by around 25%.

We haven’t gotten on a Zero SR/F to review yet, but it should be coming very soon. So keep an eye out for that one right here on Electrek!

VOGE ER 10 electric motorcycle

The VOGE ER 10 heads in a bit of a different direction. It’s still a street bike, but this electric motorcycle is designed for affordability. Thus, it’s more of a city/suburban commuter-friendly electric motorcycle with a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).

The VOGE ER 10 features a liquid-cooled and swingarm-mounted 6 kW (8 hp) mid-drive motor that is rather small for its speed rating but actually produces up to 14 kW (18.8 hp) of peak power. That should be plenty for sporty acceleration, especially on a bike that only weighs 115 kg (250 lb).

The VOGE ER 10 was displayed at EICMA 2019 last month and is expected to become available for purchase next year. The price hasn’t been announced yet, but considering it was based on the Sur Ron White Ghost, a bike built by a company known for its affordability, we’d expect the price to be quite reasonable.

Verge TS electric motorcycle

The Verge TS (which was known as the RMK E2 until recently), is perhaps the only hubless electric motorcycle that will actually see production, at least any time soon. The rear wheel isn’t only hubless – but it’s actually the motor as well. It hides an 80 kW (107 hp) motor in the wheel’s rim. That motor puts out a blistering 1,000 NM (735 lb-ft) of torque.

The Verge TS’s battery capacity isn’t yet known, but the bike is rated with a city range of 300 km (186 mi) and a highway range of 200 km (124 miles).

The design has undergone a number of revisions over the last few years but is finally headed for production in 2020 after its production prototype was unveiled at EICMA 2019.

KYMCO RevoNEX electric motorcycle

The KYMCO RevoNEX is another electric motorcycle that received its debut at the 2019 EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show. Despite being initially teased as an electric maxiscooter, the RevoNEX was unveiled in front of a huge crowd in Milan as a fully-fledged electric motorcycle. It even comes with a manual gearbox – a feature rarely seen on electric motorcycles.

The RevoNEX can reportedly achieve a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 3.9 seconds and a 100-200 km/h (62-124 mph) time of 8.7 seconds. That’s not too shabby for the company’s second electric motorcycle, especially considering the first was more of a concept bike that could take years to reach production, if ever.

Sur Ron Storm Bee electric dirt bike

The Sur Ron Storm Bee is the successor to the company’s hugely popular Sur Ron Light Bee electric trail bike. While the Light Bee was a modest 6 kW electric motorcycle, the Storm Bee packs a 22.5 kW (30 hp) air-cooled motor putting out 520 Nm (382 lb-ft) of stump-pulling torque. It features a forged aluminum frame and will even sport a street-legal road version to compliment the main off-road edition.

The Storm Bee electric dirt bike will feature a top speed of 110 km/h (68 mph). The range at 50 km/h (31 mph) is estimated at 100 km (62 miles) based on the 4.6 kWh battery.

The Sur Ron Storm Bee is expected to be available at some point in 2020 after making its production prototype debut at the end of 2019.

CAKE Osa electric work bike

The CAKE Ösa is actually two different bikes with higher and lower speed/power options to fit into different motorcycle classes. And neither look like anything seen before in the electric motorcycle world.

Perhaps best described as a ‘work bike’, both versions have options for either a 1.5 kWh or 2.6 kWh battery, with the larger offering a range of up to 100 km (62 miles).

The CAKE Ösa+ is the higher power and speed model, making it a full electric motorcycle. It features a 7 kW continuous, 10 kW peak mid-drive motor connected to a Gates Carbon Belt Drive system powering the rear wheel. The CAKE Ösa+ features a double crown suspension fork and motorcycle-grade rims. The bike will retail for US$8,000.

The lower speed CAKE Ösa Lite is designed to be registered as a moped instead of a motorcycle. It has a top speed of 30 mph in the US or 45 km/h in Europe. Its motor is rated at a continuous 4 kW of power, but also peaks at 10 kW just like the CAKE Ösa+. The CAKE Ösa Lite will retail for US$6,000. Both the Ösa Lite and Ösa+ will begin making deliveries in the US and EU in late March 2020.

UBCO FRX1 electric trail bike

The UBCO FRX1 is technically an electric bicycle since it features functional pedals. But those pedals are mostly vestigial, and the bike has motorcycle level specs, so we think it deserves to be included here.

The FRX1 weighs in at just 52 kg (115 lb), yet features a 15 kW (20 hp) peak, liquid-cooled, mid-drive electric motor. The motor can be controlled either by the twist throttle or via pedal assist. And the e-bike can hit speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h).

The UBCO FRX1 features a 2.2 kWh Li-ion battery pack rated for a max range of 100 km (62 miles). At 35 Wh/mi (22 Wh/km) though, that’s likely at a reduced speed of closer to 32 km/h (20 mph). The UBCO FRX1 features the ability to regain up to 10% of its expended energy via regenerative braking. And charging up the pack the old-fashioned way (i.e. from the wall) takes just 2.5 hours.

So while this one is technically an electric bicycle, it wouldn’t stick out too much in a pack of electric dirt bikes.

2019 was big, but 2020 should be bigger

As great as it was to see these awesome electric motorcycles debut in 2019, we’re even more excited about what’s yet to come.

Every year seems to reveal big surprises and giant leaps forward in the electric motorcycle industry, and so 2020 should be no exception.

Keep checking back on Electrek to see all of 2020’s latest electric motorcycle innovations, because you know we’ll be the first to break the news! And don’t forget to stick around in the comments section below to let us know which was your favorite electric motorcycle of the year!