Is the future electric? In most countries, electric bikes haven’t made the same impact as their four-wheeled counterparts. But despite the odd hiccup—such as the closure of Alta Motorcycles in 2018—the electric motorcycle is here to stay.
It’s likely to be the preserve of city slickers, due to battery pack range limitations when compared to the internal combustion engine. But the average price tag is likely to come down, and the local charging station will become a more common sight.
Custom builders are already looking at battery-powered motorcycles, with Zero models likely to be the most common platforms until the Harley-Davidson LiveWire builds up sales. And Honda Cub conversions are making waves in the East.
Here’s an up-to-date selection of the best custom electric bikes so far.
Bizarro Corp.’s online store has a T-shirt that reads “café racer is dead.” It’s a little rich coming from a custom workshop with a number of café racers in their portfolio. Then again, the Spanish crew isn’t exactly known for being conventional. If you need proof, we’d like to present ‘Esputnik II’: an electric drag…
Read more »
While some are skeptical about the future of electric motorcycles, others, like Adam Kay, are far more enthusiastic. So enthusiastic, in fact, that he’s just named his latest project ‘Death to Petrol.’ It’s all very tongue in cheek of course. As the founder of Untitled Motorcycles in London, Adam has a number of petrol-powered customs…
Read more »
We’re shaking things up this week, by dropping our weekly round-up on a Saturday. Feast your eyes on a mean XJR1300 from Romania, a zesty Dominator flat tracker from Germany, and a short film featuring Untitled’s Zero XP. But first, a look at Switch’s final, production-ready eScrambler electric bike.
Read more »
Dirt bikes can make surprisingly good road customs, mostly due to their light weight and the easy tune-ability of most offroad powertrains. But an electric dirt bike? That’s something you don’t often see. ‘Blackbird’ comes from Italian builder Christian Moretti, who runs Plan B Motorcycles from his base in Laveno-Mombello, just outside Milan. Clad in…
Read more »
Switching classic cars to electric power is becoming almost commonplace. There are companies and kits that can electrify everything from old Land…
Read more »
Meet the new LiveWire S2 Del Mar—a bike so hotly anticipated, the first 100 sold out in 18 minutes. Then peruse a…
Read more »
We all know about hybrid cars, with petrol engines and electric motors sharing powertrain duties. And Kawasaki is promising hybrid motorcycles in…
Read more »
Cake’s electrical motorcycles look exactly like you’d expect high-end products from Swedish designers to look: slick, utilitarian and minimalist. So who better…
Read more »
This week’s edition of Speed Read is loaded with new releases from major OEMs. We’re looking at Honda’s new Dax and Hawk…
Read more »
We’ve had our eye on Super73 for a while. The Californian company’s electric bikes are cheeky and fun, bridging the gap between…
Read more »
Honda goes electric—sort of—and Indian launches a limited edition FTR to celebrate its flat track successes. We also take a look at…
Read more »
We’ve gone global this week, with two-wheeled goodness from France, South Africa, Portugal and the USA. Our list includes a Triumph Bobber,…
Read more »
This week we’ve got a limited edition machine from the German car tuner Brabus, a delightful R nineT cafe racer from Switzerland,…
Read more »
We’ve got them in all shapes and sizes this week—from a Yamaha SR500 that’s gone electric, to a BMW R nineT built…
Read more »
We’re beyond debating whether or not the future of personal transportation is electric. Government bans on internal combustion engines are no longer…
Read more »