Electric Motorcycles

Last updated 2008.07.24

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We do not sell electric motorcycles. We think they are a great form of environmentally-friendly transportation and endeavour to provide an unbiased source of information about them. With recent advances in battery technology, we think electric motorbikes are poised to explode onto the market as small, nimble commute machines that will be easy to find space for parking. We do sell Soneil battery chargers, which are ideal as on-board chargers for electric motorcycles as they are compact, lightweight, intelligent and affordable.

Electric motorcycle producers seem to appear and disappear more frequently than the producers of larger vehicles, probably because start-up costs are relatively low, but market penetration is difficult, especially in North America for such vehicles. Therefore, this page will probably be continuously out of date, no matter how often I update it. Any additions, corrections and contributions are always welcome.

Electric Motorcycles

While many jurisdictions regard any 3-wheeler as a motorcycle, I do not. If a vehicle is mostly enclosed, I consider it to be a car, even if it does only carry one person and has 3 wheels instead of 4.

I have converted a Honda MT125 Enduro motorcycle to electric power. It used a 200 amp surplus aircraft starter/generator as a motor, 5 golf-cart batteries in series to provide 30 volts to the armature with an 18-volt tap to the shunt field, and the other 12 volts to power accessories (headlight, signal lights, horn). It cruised at 45 mph, with a range of about 25 miles on a charge. Range was probably hurt by a number of factors: the controller used resistors for speed control below 30 mph, with toggling power to control speed between 30 mph and 45 mph; there was a single speed from the motor to the drive wheel; and, the aerodynamics of the bike and rider were terrible.
Photo - B&W (13 k)

There is a serious collection of electric motorcycle conversions in the EV Photo Album.

For more on electric motorcycles, definitely check out The NeoBike Site.

Area Azzurra Elettrica has a range of motor-scooter type electric motorcycles.

The Auranthetic was produced in California in the 1970's. It is more in the style of a miniature motorcycle than a scooter, but size and performance are more in the motor-scooter range than the motorcycle class. Not quite as small as the more recent electric pocket motorbikes. Some are still in use.
Auranthetic Web Page
Photo of Auranthetic motorcycle (colour - 151k)

Electricmoto's Blade is a small BMX motorcycle. The sweet part is that it is quiet and all-electric. Urban motocrossing, anyone?

Jerry Bowden's electric motorcycle conversion

The Berix EVR-203 was designed as a track bike, rather than a street machine. This electric motorbike is reported to have a top speed of 75 mph and a range of 25 miles. It weighs in at 339 pounds, which includes 132 pounds of lead-acid batteries. Berix is located in Sweden.

Eco-Glide Scooters come in two electric models, both in motor-scooter styling.

The Lectra electric motorbike was produced by EMB until 1999. There is a website dedicated to the machine and its fans (owners). Later picked up for production by Zap, the product did not survive the transition.

Esarati produced an electric motorcycle prototype and a lot of favourable press (circa 2002), including apparent production deals in China and elsewhere. However, it appears commercial production never actually occurred anywhere. However, it appears that Esarati, after its disappearance has re-appeared in the guise of Evader electric motorcycles.

Evader made a splash in the press in 2005 with some electric motor-scooter prototypes, but as yet they do not appear to be in production with any of the models they have displayed.

EVT has a motor-scooter style electric motorcycle.

John Fairstein's 1979 Suzuki GL1000 electric motorcycle conversion, plus additional information on electric motorbikes.

Mike Shipway's Honda Goldwing Conversion Project

In August 2004, Honda announced its Moped EV. However, as this prototype has no pedals for propulsion, it is not actually a moped. It is an electric motor-scooter. Of interest though was the mention of nickel hydrogen batteries, as opposed to NiMH.

The KillaCycle is an electric drag-racing motorcyle which is a NEDRA record-holder.

The Sol Gato II from Sun Cat Motor Company is a motor-scooter styled electric motorbike, with top speed over 30 mph and range of 25 miles per charge.

Vectrix, based in New Bedford, Rhode Island, introduced an electric motor-scooter type motorbike at EVS-14 in December, 1997. Commercial production was originally expected in 1999, with Europe and Asia as the main target markets. As of 2005, it appears that production still remains a year or two away, although the company is taking reservation orders on-line through their European website.

Vogelbilt Corporation created the Electric Hog and Electra Cruiser prototypes, beginning in 2001. There is no indication of commercial production as of 2005.

Yamaha has introduced (April 2005) a small electric motorcycle to the Japanese market, the EC-02. No plans for introduction to other markets have been announced. Yamaha's website for the EC-02 is mostly in Japanese.

There is an Internet discussion group for the Zapworld Lectra and other electric motorcycles. More information

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