When it comes to the EV revolution, most traditional motorcycle companies aren’t keeping up with their automotive peers.
In this episode of EV Rider, we’re taking a look at why there are so few electric motorcycles on U.S. roads.
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California-based Zero Motorcycles is currently the largest seller of electric motorcycles in the U.S. – and worldwide.
Zero produced about 3,500 motorcycles in 2020, according MotorcycleData.com. Although Zero doesn’t share production numbers, MotorcycleData.com came up with the number by looking at worldwide registrations. The 2021 total wasn’t available yet but as of October 2021, MotorcycleData.com said just over 3,000 new Zero Motorcycles had been registered.
Next up is Energica, an Italian brand, which also doesn’t share production numbers, and for which MotorcycleData.com does not have registration data. However, it’s generally believed in the electric motorcycling community that Energica is currently producing fewer bikes than Zero and has far fewer U.S. dealers.
Then there’s Harley-Davidson, which shipped 387 LiveWires for the 2021 model year and is projecting to ship 957 LiveWire Ones for the 2022 model year.
That’s according to an investor presentation by LiveWire, which Harley has spun off into a standalone brand.
The LiveWire’s dealership structure is currently being reconfigured into standalone LiveWire showrooms along with adding the line in some Harley-Davidson locations while removing it from others. Although Harley is spinning off the brand to raise additional capital in a partnership with KYMCO, a Taiwanese motorcycle company, the plan calls for Harley to retain 74% ownership of the LiveWire brand.
Then there are the starts up – like Damon – which is still in preproduction stage, and a few others that for the sake of time we won’t be mentioning in this story.
Outside of Harley-Davidson, no other legacy motorcycle maker has an EV motorcycle for sale in the U.S., although BMW does make the CE.04 EV maxi-scooter, aimed at around town riders, and KTM has an electric dirt bike call the E-Ride.
The question is: why haven’t more mainstream motorcycle companies launched EVs?
The answer is – at least in part – unlike cars, the technology just isn’t quite there yet, because motorcycles have more space and weight constraints.
While EV evangelists will correctly point out electric motorcyclists – such as the ones pictured above – have been crisscrossing the U.S. and other countries for years now, their EVs can’t quite match their gasoline counterparts on range or refueling convenience – although some of the bikes are getting close.
In the U.S., motorcycles tend to be used as recreational or secondary vehicles by the majority of riders, with many of them going on weekend road trips in excess of 125 miles.
Energica currently makes the longest-range motorcycles, estimating that its Eva Ribelle has a highway range of 123 miles.
Zero’s longest-range motorcycles can go an estimated 113 miles at 70 miles per hour with optional battery upgrades.
By comparison, many gasoline motorcycles intended for regional or cross-country travel can go 200 miles or more between refills. Rider Magazine recently averaged 224 miles of range using a 2021 Honda Gold Wing over 1,300 miles.
The problem comes down to the space for needed for the batteries.
The other issue is charging. Chargers take up a bunch of a motorcycle’s available space as this photo of a 2020 Zero SR/F’s 12kW charging setup shows.
In the case of the Zero, there are as many as three charging units that collectively add up to 12kW of available charging speed, using Level 2 AC J-1772 chargers. Zero is increasing that number to 13kW in the spring of 2022 through an additional cost firmware update.
Energica and LiveWire went in a different direction, opting to use their space and voltage setup for CCS DC Level 3 chargers, which can fill a battery faster.
The fastest charging Zeros can refuel to about 95% in an hour, using Level 2 chargers.
The Energicas and LiveWires can use Level 2 chargers but riders will be waiting around for hours for their bikes to charge since the LiveWire One only supports a 1.3kW charging speed and Energicas are limited to 3kW.
Conversely, while the fully optioned Zeros support relatively fast AC charging, there aren’t many Level 2 J-1772 chargers currently installed that can put out that much power in the U.S. Most U.S. Level 2 chargers are currently limited to 6.6kW and some that use shared circuits can be as slow as 3.3kW, although faster Level 2 chargers are gradually being installed.
And that’s the problem: every electric motorcycle on sale today is a compromise when it comes to refueling during long-distance riding.
To date, the charging infrastructure in the U.S. has developed in way that requires both fast Level 2 and Level 3 charging to maximize refueling options and speed. And options are critical, given how weak the current infrastructure is as compared to the wide availability of gas stations.
The cost between the two charging platforms is also vastly different. Charging at CCS stations is usually much more expensive.
Citing a cost example here in Jacksonville, FL, at the time of this story’s publication, an Electrify America CCS station was charging 43 cents per kilowatt of energy while several nearby Level 2 ChargePoint stations ranged from free to 14 cents a kilowatt.
For a motorcycle that took in 10 kilowatts, the CCS Electrify America fee would have been $4.30 while a ChargePoint Level 2 customer at its most expensive station would have paid $1.40, plus a 50-cent session fee, for a total of $1.90.
At two of four Jacksonville ChargePoint stations checked on Jan. 25, 2022, they were free to use, since some establishments offer them as an amenity.
The infrastructure will improve in the coming years as President Joe Biden’s $7.5 billion EV chargers plan is built out and the private sector invests more.
The Biden plan calls for 500,000 chargers to be constructed but doesn’t specify in detail yet what the mix will be in terms of CCS vs. J-1772.
Based on the budget number passed by Congress and stated number of chargers that will be funded, it is reasonable to conclude the majority of what will be built with public dollars will be Level 2 J-1772 chargers.
Currently, the fastest J-1772 chargers in the U.S. output 19.2kW, although there are no motorcycles in production that can accept that much AC current.
The fastest U.S. CCS Level 3 chargers can currently output 350kW, but motorcycles can only take advantage of a small fraction of that power. Energicas, which were the fastest charging bikes in production at the time of this story’s publication, currently peak at a 20kW charging speed, according to the manufacturer’s website, with some owners reporting a real-world peak charging speed of 24kW.
Looking at my own personal use case for recreational riding, I have found cities and towns in Florida and Georgia are currently more likely to have Level 2 chargers within walking distance of attractions as compared to CCS chargers, which are more likely to be near interstates at Walmarts or other similar locations.
However, motorcyclists with CCS ports will correctly point out that in many cases the time savings more than makes up for any difference in cost or lack of amenities while waiting – and – Level 2 charging stations are also often in out-of-the-way places.
While the lack of a robust charging infrastructure and technology limitations may currently be holding back some EV motorcycle sales, when it comes to urban riding, that’s where electric motorcycles shine, usually exceeding their gasoline counterparts in performance and maintenance costs.
Fueling is also usually much cheaper, with electricity often running half the price – and some times less – than an equivalent amount of gas. That’s especially true when charging at home in many parts of the country.
Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and some other legacy manufacturers have electric motorcycles in development but haven’t committed to saying when any of them will go on sale in the U.S.
While the overall rollout of EVs seems to be moving at a slower pace on the motorcycle side, the end result will likely to be the same: the days of being able to buy gasoline-powered vehicles are numbered.