The transition from IC engines to battery power is all the rage right now in the automobile sector. Unless you’re living under a rock, you must be familiar with Tesla and its stylish ‘S’,’3’,’X’,’Y’ range of cars which put electric vehicles (EVs) on the map, and also new entrants like the ‘Lucid – Air’ a luxury EV brand founded by an ex-Tesla engineer, followed by models of existing marquee brands looking to not lose out on the market share such as the ‘Ford Mustang Mach E’, ‘Mercedes Benz EQ’, ’Porsche Taycan’ etc. But what about motorcycles? Are they moving on from rumbling V-twins and inlines to the silent hum of the electric motor too?
From what the trends show, it’s a yes.
The motorcycle that is capturing the most headlines nowadays is the Harley-Davidson ‘Livewire’ powered by a 105bhp 15.5 kWh electric motor. While this is a continental shift from its traditional pushrod “big-twin” engines, it is an unmistakable nod to the future of motorcycling. The Livewire’s mettle was tested when actors and friends Ewan McGregor (Star Wars’ Obi-wan) and Charlie Boorman rode them on an epic adventure through the rough terrains of South America all the way to Los Angeles in the thrilling 11 episode series – “Long Way Up”
Another promising new entrant into the world of electric motorcycles is ‘Zero Motorcycles’ a start-up that was founded in a garage in Santa Cruz, California in 2005 in the words of ex-CEO, Gene Banman. Although they started with a naked streetfighter – Zero S in 2010 with only 81 km of range and a top speed of 112 km/h, now they offer a slew of beautiful well-crafted sports, supermoto, and adventure electric motorcycles with 3 times the range. You can check out a humorous review of the ‘Zero FX’ by YouTuber ‘FortNine’ below.
KTM introduced a midsize electric dirt bike called the ‘Freeride E-XC’ in 2014 but its also rumored to be developing electric powertrains for its street and sports motorcycle range along with Bajaj for the near future. Triumph, the iconic British motorcycle brand announced its electric motorcycle initiative called 'Project TE1' in 2019 in collaboration with the University of Warwick and Formula 1's Williams Advanced Engineering. Husqvarna revealed its 'E-Pilen' motorcycle concept recently and BMW Motorrad has secured the naming rights to its ultra-futuristic ‘Vision DC Roadster’ electric concept motorcycle that was introduced in 2019, which surely hints at a later release.
Other renowned brands such as Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki are also said to be developing their EV projects. Kawasaki revealed their EV prototype named "Endeavor" at EICMA 2019 and the Honda model is alleged to house a foldable drone module for navigation assistance.
It is interesting to note that meanwhile in India, we do have our own indigenous selection of electric motorcycles as well, most notably the ‘Revolt RV 400’ launched in August 2019 by Gurugram based electric two-wheeler start-up – ‘Revolt Motors’ founded by Micromax’s co-founder Rahul Sharma.
Hero Motocorp introduced its entry into the electric segment with ‘AE 47’ during the Auto Expo 2020. Both these motorcycles are pegged at a base price of just over 1 lakh ex-showroom, have a 3.5kWh battery pack with around 160kms of range and a top speed of 80 km/hr to 100km/hr, ideal for city use.
New noteworthy players in the start-up space who have entered into the field include the Tork -T6X made by Pune based 'Tork Motors' team who have a history of winning the ‘Isle of Mann TTXGP’ race, the sleek-looking ‘Ultraviolette F77’, and the ‘Emflux One’, both of which are performance-focused motorcycles from Bangalore based start-ups.
Other major Indian two-wheeler manufacturers such as Royal Enfield and Classic Legends, the revivers of the vintage ‘Jawa’ brand, are also rumored to be working on their electric variants.
All this is fine, but why do we need electric motorcycles when the petrol ones don’t pollute as much as cars are cheaper and more practical?
Well although it’s true that motorcycles don’t produce as much CO2 as cars do, studies have shown they do emit other greenhouse gases such as oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide which are bad for the environment. Below is a study conducted by IIT-Kanpur on air pollution in Delhi which was published in The Times of India.
Electric motorcycles on other hand, do not pollute and are much smarter than their petrol counterparts as most have inbuilt AI, OTA software updates, IoT, GPS, and mobile app connectivity. They offer a smoother ride with instant acceleration, very little vibrations, and are also lighter on the wallet in terms of maintenance as there are not many moving parts.
Regarding pricing and practicality, yes, there are a few caveats. The range of electric motorcycles tops out at 150kms to 200kms, while most petrol touring motorcycles go well beyond 300kms. It takes 4+ hours to fully charge the battery and electric motorcycles on average are pricier than their petrol counterparts (except in India). But the fast-paced breakthroughs in Li-ion battery technology, availability of widespread fast charging/hot-swappable battery stations combined with the rising prices of fuel, definitely lighten these concerns making the electric motorcycle an economical and worthy contender in the long run.
If you’re in the mood for nit-picking though, then a few details such as the absence of a gearbox and the sweet rev of a powerful motor might irk some hardcore petrolheads. But then again, there are few models with the gearbox available and fake engine noises of your preference played through speakers.
All in all, when it comes to environmental safety, better technology, practicality as well as performance, the electric motorcycle is at par or better than its petrol counterparts and is poised to take over the urban landscape. Therefore, it’s safe to say that pretty soon, the “braap” of an aftermarket exhaust can very well be a thing of the past.