Concept electric motorcycle shows that Honda gets it

It may be a little later to the party than many of us would have guessed, but Honda is on the verge of properly entering the world of electric motorcycles. And concepts shown at this year’s EICMA event suggest that Big Red ‘gets it’ when it comes to what matters

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It’s often the case that when manufacturers deliver electric motorcycles they put too much emphasis on one word: electric. In truth, for these bikes to develop broader appeal and thereby succeed, they need to be not “electric motorcycles,” but “motorcycles that are electric.”

Honda appears to understand this, revealing a concept bike that it calls the EV Fun Concept. It’s put the most important thing right there in the name.

*This thing already looks pretty close to production-ready.*

“The EV Fun Concept is Honda’s first electric sports model,” explains a media release. “(It) is being developed as a next-generation electric motorcycle that offers a new sensation of quiet riding and an emotional feeling unique to electric motorcycles.”

A long time coming

Honda has been dabbling with electric motorcycles for a long time. Roughly a decade ago, when Victory Motorcycles was running its modified Empulse TT electric bike at the Isle of Man TT Zero race (Man, what a different world it was in 2015-2016!), it was beaten out of the top slot by Honda-affiliated Mugen bikes ridden by John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey.

In fact, Mugen was on the podium every year from 2012 to 2019 ─ when the TT Zero race was unceremoniously dumped from the (increasingly irrelevant) Isle of Man TT schedule.

So, the machine that Honda intends to deliver will come with years and years of baked-in knowledge on how to make an electric motorcycle a motorcycle. I’ll admit I’m pretty excited.

*Many years of real-world experience will have gone into this.*

I know from personal experience that it is possible to make an electric motorcycle awesome; I still stand by my assertion that the Harley-Davidson LiveWire was one of the best motorcycles ever made. It had a lot of market- and company-related things going against it, but put those things aside and it was a hell of a bike.

Harley-Davidson may have been the first major motorcycle manufacturer to enter the electric motorcycle market, but you get the sense that Honda will be the first to succeed.

When will it arrive and what will it be like?

Honda’s forthcoming EV “is a naked sports model equivalent to a mid-sized internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycle,” says the company. “Equipped with a fixed battery, it is Honda’s first electric sports model and is scheduled to be commercialized in 2025.”

I’m not sure what Honda means by “commercialized” there. Possibly that’s when it is set to be revealed, perhaps at EICMA 2025. Elsewhere in its media release, Honda says that it “has begun full-scale entry into the electric motorcycle market, positioning the time up to 2026 as a period of market entry, and beyond 2026 as a period of business expansion.”

So… a bike that we can see next year, and a bike that we can buy in 2026? I don’t know.

*Considering that I still ook at 2019 models and think: “Ooh, new bike!” this thing will be a reality before we know it.*

But in telling us that it will be equivalent to a “mid-sized” ICE motorcycle, Honda is already telling us more about its electric bike than Royal Enfield has told us about its effort. Although, “mid-sized” could mean a few different things. 500 cc? 650 cc? A CB500 Hornet delivers 47 hp; a CB650R delivers 94 hp. Both would be classed as mid-size naked sport models.

The bike will charge via a CCS2 quick charger, the same that is used with electric cars, and, according to Honda, “has been developed to optimize the balance between lightweight and quick-charging performance, as well as to provide a cruising range of over 100 km” (62 miles).

That’s not as impressive as I’d like. But if it’s a genuine 100 km, and recharge time isn’t too excessive, I could see it working out.

This is just the beginning

Honda says this bike, along with the so-called EV Urban Concept electric scooter that it revealed at the same time, will be part of a line-up of 30 electric models produced by 2030.

“Honda aims to achieve carbon neutrality through all of its products and corporate activities by 2050, and to achieve carbon neutrality for all of its motorcycle products in the 2040s,” explains a media release. “Towards this goal, Honda is working to electrify its motorcycles as the mainstay of its future environmental strategy.

*I love the way the headlight looks like Kylo Ren’s helmet.*

“Through its efforts, Honda aims to expand its global market share and become the leading company also in the field of electric motorcycles.”

Meanwhile, we know that ─ in addition to Royal Enfield ─ BMW, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Triumph are among those working on developing legitimate motorcycles that are electric. With Honda’s entry into the market it may encourage those others to step up their efforts. Things could become very interesting in the next few years.

─ Royal Enfield’s new electric bike looks great, but…
─ Energica’s problems had nothing to do with electric motorcycles
─ The electric revolution is not as thrilling as I’d hoped

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Dancing the Polka