Electric Motorcycles

If you’ve followed my writings for any period of time, you’ll know there are two things I love: electric motorcycles and finding weird EVs on Alibaba. And when those two things overlap, well, then you’ve found my happy place.

Sometimes the result is weirder than others, and that’s the case with this four-wheeled electric motorcycle that has earned the dubious title of Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week.

When we first reported that the Southern California-based electric bicycle and motorcycle company SONDORS was preparing for an IPO late last year, the company was expecting to hit a $10 per share price point in the $20M offering. But that number has since been revised to an estimate of $4-6 per share.

Harley-Davidson was one of the first major motorcycle manufacturers to add electric motorcycles to its lineup last decade. It should come as no surprise then that the company’s CEO Jochen Zeitz is already saying that the brand’s future will be 100% electric.

The world has been begging Honda for years to bring to market an electric version of its famous Cub line of motorbikes. Now the company has finally done it with the recently launched Honda Cub e:, though it’s not exactly what we were looking for.

The Verge TS is one of the most revolutionary new electric motorcycles hitting the market, thanks to a wild design for the drivetrain. It was previously only available in Europe but has now opened reservations in the US after showing off an updated model known as the TS Ultra at CES 2023.

We’ve covered plenty of tax incentives and rebates to make electric motorcycles and other EVs more affordable. But this is the first time we’ve seen a country give out EVs for free as a way to replace internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

One of my favorite things about the electric vehicle industry is just how much diversity there is in the designs and types of EVs hitting the market. Part of that is due to the way electric drivetrains help break the mold of aging design constraints, but it’s also due to a new wave of forward-thinking engineers boldly pushing products in new and exciting directions.

As Electrek‘s resident tester of all things not-cars, I was fortunate enough to get behind, on top, and inside of some interesting and far-out forms of electric transportation. Here are the top five wildest and most awesome personal electric vehicles I tested in 2022.

I know, I know. Electric motorcycles are usually quite pricey. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles, e-motorcycles usually carry a premium of a few thousand dollars. Their long list advantages usually makes it worth it, though that still might not ease the sting of sticker shock. But if you know where to look, then you’ll find a surprising number of affordable options on the market in North America. All of the electric motorcycles featured here are either already rolling on America’s roads or are expected to become available in the coming months.

Huck Cycles is a North Carolina-based electric motorbike manufacturer that built a name for itself with retro-inspired electric mopeds hand-made by Americans, including by a largely military veteran workforce. Now the company is beginning of production of its latest model, the Huck Stinger electric motorcycle.

Electric motorcycles were once a rarity in the two-wheeler industry. But these days there are so many new models from a wide range of manufacturers that you’d have to go out of your way to avoid them. Fortunately for those in favor of progress, we actively seek them out. And these are the electric motorcycle news stories that you guys liked the most. You voted with your clicks, and these five stories became the biggest of 2022.

A single electric motorcycle has been responsible for the majority of hype around a growing wave of budget e-motos. The SONDORS Metacycle, which has seen more than its fair share of ups and downs during a lengthy development process, is now touting deliveries currently in progress to 27 states in the US.

Two Swedish EV brands today announced the release of a new electric moped version designed to slice through city traffic and look good while doing it. Electric car maker Polestar and electric motorbike maker CAKE have teamed up to release a new Polestar limited-edition of the CAKE Makka e-moped.

Electric powersports toys aren’t cheap. E-motorcycles can cost several thousand dollars more than their gas-powered ancestors, and electric snowmobiles aren’t cheap either. So it makes sense to want to combine the two to get the most bang for your buck. That’s exactly what Canadian manufacturer Daymak did when it rolled out the Daymak Combat.

I’ve always enjoyed multi-seater electric bikes, which bring passenger-carrying utility to small-format, easy-to-produce vehicles. But I never thought I’d see the concept taken this far. At least not until I stumbled upon a six-seater electric bike that has me all kinds of jealous.

There’s a growing number of affordably priced electric motorcycles hitting the US market, but many are still produced overseas. Thanks to a $20M California grant though, electric motorcycle manufacturer RYVID will be able to build its RYVID Anthem bikes in the Golden State and create hundreds of jobs in the process.

Electric motorcycles are my jam. If I’m on two wheels and it’s not a bicycle, then odds are I’m on an electric motorcycle. I don’t ride them because they’re clean or green, though those are nice side benefits – I ride them because they’re fun and enjoyable. They’re infinitely better than sitting in a car watching the world go by through glass. And the ownership experience is so much nicer than gas motorcycles due to their greatly reduced maintenance, lower cost of ownership, lack of vibrating cacophony, and a laundry list of other reasons.

My love of these awesome e-motos has put me in a unique position of having ridden pretty much every one of them out there.

Motorcycle industry legend Erik Buell announced his new electric bike and motorcycle brand FUELL back in early 2019. Now just one pandemic later, the motorbike visionary is finally ready to roll out the FUELL Fllow electric motorcycle… for reservations, that is.

Electric motorcycles are being used by VIPs and in all-electric motorcades to escort delegates from the international community attending the annual G20 Summit.

The long-awaited SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle is now beginning deliveries nationwide in the US, according to the latest update from the company.

I waited for this day for nearly two years, biding my time until I would finally get a chance to throw a leg over the SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle and ride off into the sunset with the twist of a wrist.

I never quite got that sunset, but an overcast LA morning was the next best thing I could wrangle up on short notice. The SONDORS team let me take out an early production Metacycle to get a sense of how the bike rides and whether or not it lives up to the long-building hype.

Kawasaki took to the EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show to unveil a trio of electric motorcycles, with Electrek front and center to see the action live. The Kawasaki Ninja EV and Kawasaki Z EV were revealed as traditional battery electric motorcycles, while the company also unveiled an HEV hydrogen-powered concept motorcycle.

I’ll spare you the uninspired cliché about “Team Green going green,” and we’ll just get to the bikes.