The Best Electric Motorcycles [2024 Edition]

Why We Picked It:

When Energica announced back in 2013 that they had an electric supersport motorcycle in the works, many expressed their doubts. Yet, in 2015, the first Ego models started to arrive to customers, and reviewers were surprised to find that a competent and fun motorcycle was underneath them.

It proved so popular, in fact, that Dorna Sports and the FIM, who run the Motorcycle Grand Prix championships of MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3, asked Energica to make a racing version of the Ego, the Ego Corsa, and started the Moto E World Championship in 2018.

The Ego+ is the newest base model, based off of lessons learned on the race track, and comes with permanent magnet DC motor pushing out a nominal 147 HP with a peak of 169 HP, and a nominal 164 lbs-ft of torque, with a massive peak of 875 lbs-ft in very short bursts. It is limited to 150 MPH (241 kph), and with its 21.5 kWh battery, it has a range of approximately 160 to 200 miles per charge.

Why We Picked It:

The Livewire, when it was announced, was a bit of a left-field surprise to the world. Here was Harley-Davidson, a company known for almost exclusively cruisers, tourers, baggers, bobbers, and the like, coming out with the electric equivalent of a neo-retro naked sport bike.

Because of the shift in the market in recent years towards electrification, Harley-Davidson spun off the eMoto program into its own company, Livewire Motorcycles, and renamed the bike to simply the One.

The most recent version has had some updates over the original Livewire, most notably in the battery technology. It now sports a 15.4 kWh battery, giving the One a range of between 95 to 130 miles depending on ride mode. It is electronically limited to 110 MPH, and will hit 60 MPH from a standstill in 3 seconds flat.

Probably the most important feature of the One over the original Livewire is that it is DCFC (DC Fast Charge, aka Supercharging) capable, with will take the battery from 10% to 100% in 60 minutes or less. It is also backwards compatible with Level 1 and Level 2 chargers, although it will only charge about 15 miles per hour of charge.

The One is still a very viable urban and freeway commuter, and is almost to a level that you could call "affordable." There is another bike coming from Livewire, the much more entry level S2 Del Mar, but that is still at least a year out.

Why We Picked It:

Zero Motorcycles have been around the longest in terms of eMotos, and from humble roots with one dual-sport bike and one sport bike, they have expanded their lineup and continuously upgraded the specs of their bikes year to year. Nowadays, one of the best bikes they have on offer is the 2023 SR/F.

It may not look all that special, but once you take it even for a ride down the street, it all makes sense. Zero have intentionally situated as much weight below the midline as possible, making the SR/F (and by extension the SR/S) agile and eminently flickable from side to side. It has somewhat stiff suspension, but that keeps the tires digging hard into the road, carving corners and catapulting you down the road as you exit them.

With a 17.3 kWh battery, the Zero SR/F has a range of approximately 142 miles combined city/highway. It produces 110 HP and 140 lbs-ft of torque, and is limited to 125 MPH top speed. What impresses most about the SR/F, however, is that it is compatible with any J1772 type 1 or 2 charger, levels 1 through 3, as well as has a home charger that comes with the bike that will take between 6 to 8 hours (overnight) to charge it to full. As J1772 is the most common type of charger in North America, you won't be wanting for a place to recharge your Zero!

Why We Picked It:

Lightning Motorcycles premiered the LS-218 all the way back in 2014, with a 2015 street date, and has become one of the few electric superbikes currently in the world. It has subsequently gone on to set several eMoto records, including a specially prepared racing prototype version winning the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in 2013, beating both other electric prototypes and even combustion powered superbikes.

In fact, with its top speed at 218 MPH (351 KPH), the LS-218 is not only the fastest street legal eMoto, it's one of the fastest production bikes, full stop. Using a liquid cooled DC motor, it produces a nominal 244 HP and 220 lbs-ft of torque, feeding from a 380V 15 kWh battery pack that gives it 188 miles of range. There are larger batteries available, at 20 kWh and 28 kWh for 255 miles and 335 miles of range, but it should be noted that those ranges are in eco mode, with maximum regenerative braking and dulled throttle response.

Because of the technoloy, power, and speed, the LS-218 is also not what could be labelled as affordable, as the base price, before any options, is $38,988. It can also be modified with carbon fiber parts, rapid charging compatibility, and even has three packages called Land Speed Record, Road Race, and Drag Race, which sets up the bike for each of those three competition styles. For an LS-218 to surpass $50,000 is not unheard of, as if you want the fastest electric motorcycle on the planet, you call Lightning.

Why We Picked It:

One would think that a much gentler way to ease the public into the idea of electric motorcycles is by starting "small." By this, we mean that BMW has the right idea, placing its first eMoto, the 2023 CE-04, as a maxi-scooter that is marketed specifically for urban mobility.

It definitely looks the part of a futuristic electric scooter, and with 42 HP equivalent and 45.7 lbs-ft of torque, it isn't going to wrench your arms from your sockets too much when you crank the right wrist. It doesn't mean it's a slouch, however, as it will still go from a dead standstill to 30 MPH in under 2.5 seconds, and tops out at a governed 75 MPH.

It also manages to get up to and over 80 miles per charge, as once it's up and moving, it only uses 20 HP to keep going, and also features regenerative braking, using the drive motor to capture kinetic energy and shove it back into the battery.

Of course, being a BMW, you get a gloriously clear TFT dash, BMW's ABS and traction control systems, and three ride modes (Normal, Eco, Rain). It's funky, it's fast, and it's follows BMW's design language, so if you want to go electric in style without wanting a full motorcycle, here's your EV option.

Why We Picked It:

It's fairly easy, comparatively, for an eMoto to put a foot into a large market and have some traction. Sport bikes and dual-sports, two of the biggest markets, have had a lot of electric bikes targeted to them, but Energica has decided to dip its toe into one of the other largest markets, one that absolutely requires robustness, range, and capability: ADVs.

The Energica Experia has been marketed as "Europe's first Green Adventure Tourer," and has been designed from the ground up to be capable of long-distance, two-up-and-their-luggage adventure eMoto. It has an entirely new, ultra-efficient DC motor with the convoluted name "Permanent Magnets Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motor (PMASynRM)" that is liquid cooled and has a three-phase inverter to eek out every last bit of energy from every Watt of power used, giving it a nominal 80 HP and 85 lbs-ft of torque.

It also has an all new battery, a lightweight but massive 22.5 kWh unit that gives the Experia a range of 160 to 260 miles, depending on ride mode and city vs highway mileage. It even has mild off-road capabilities, if riding on packed dirt or packed gravel backroads. It's not quite a full, off-road, pathfinding ADV, but at a surprising price of $23,750 when all the research and development for it could have put the Experia above $30,000, it's definitely a good dip of the toe into ADVs.

Why We Picked It:

In the world of cars and bikes, there are sometimes big announcements about very special, very exclusive vehicles that promise to be the next big thing. One of these vehicles is the Hypersport, the first bike developed by the Canadian company Damon Motorcycles when it was formed in 2017. With a street date of Summer 2020, it promised to put the screws to bikes like the LS-218 and the Energica Ego.

But... 2020 came and went... then 2021... then 2022...

Customers who had put down a reservation deposit were starting to question if the Hypersport was ever going to actually be made. It's already three years beyond its original street date, so they are perfectly within their rights to be concerned, however if all the reports are to be believed, as well as the fact that test rides are now available, 2024 might finally be the year that the bikes show.

They do promise a lot, which might explain the delay. The Hypersport, and a streetfighter variant the Hyperfighter, are both promising "Four 200s." 200 MPH, 200 HP, 200 NM of torque, 200 Miles Range. It sports a 20 kWh battery, a liquid cooled 150+ kW DC motor, DCFC supercharging capability, and multiple ride modes depending on the usage scenario.

What is the most promising, and we really hope it works as intended, is one of the first built-in collision avoidance and traffic warning systems on a motorcycle called "CoPilot." Much like collision avoidance in a car, it will warn you of an impending crash from any angle, and can even apply the brakes if you have it set that way to slow you down as much as possible if a collision is unavoidable. It will also "transform," raising and lowering the handlebars and pegs from a comfortable sport tourer stance for commuting, to a full racing tuck with low clipons for hypersport mode.

It does promise a lot, and we're hoping that it is as good as it sounds, but it needs to hit the road first before anything can be determined...

Why We Picked It:

When the FIM started the Moto E World Championship in 2018, Energica secured a four year deal to supply the Ego Corsa as the primary race bike in the one-make series. However, for 2023 to 2026, Ducati was selected as the one-make partner, with their all new V21L Moto E Race Bike.

Based lightly on the MotoGP bike, the whole thing was torn down to the frame, and then built back up using almost exclusively carbon fiber. The frame itself weighs a total of just 3.7 kg (8.1 lbs). The battery pack weighs in at 110 kg (242 lbs) and is the heaviest part of the bike. The motor is a specially designed unit that produces 150 HP and 140 Nm (103 lbs-ft), which propels that bike, with a total weight of 225 kg (496 lbs) to a top speed of 275 KPH (170 MPH).

It has some of the most advanced electronics that Ducati has ever made, with a bespoke racing traction control, slide control, wheelie control, and throttle maps that were developed by the same team that develops all of those for the MotoGP bike at Ducati Corse. It is also perhaps the most efficient bike that Ducati has ever made, as its inverter is 99.5% efficient, and can travel a race distance of 20 to 30 laps, depending on circuit, on one battery charge.

We mention it here because Ducati surprised the world by gaining the exclusive contract, and as we all know that Ducati's roadgoing superbikes benefit from their MotoGP and World SBK motorcycles, this could possibly be the start of a Panigale E, or whatever they may call it.