Price and performance: Your complete electric motorcycle buyer’s guide for 2022

The world of electric two-wheelers fascinates me.

Motorcycles and scooters have been part of my life since I was young, and they make up a massive part of the world’s transportation, especially in developing nations because they are cheap to buy, simple to maintain and reliable.

The transition from internal combustion to electrification is happening in this segment too, so I thought it was time to look at the latest models, statistics and what’s on the horizon this year.

I’ve included a lot of global statistics, but as usual, have a slightly Australian bias because that’s where I live. I’ve included a price and performance guide which is highly subjective – feel free to tell me where you think I’ve got things wrong!

And lastly, I’ve tried to pick a recommendation in every segment with an explanation of why. I apologise right now for the undoubted offence I might cause my many friends in the industry – again, give me your feedback if you think I’ve missed something

It seems appropriate, therefore, to start out with the coolest statistic of the year, courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Did you know that the largest growth segment in EVs in Australia is electric motorcycles?! At least in percentage terms.

That’s right, electric motorcycles registrations grew by 107% in 2021, smashing passenger vehicle growth (at 59%) and other EVs (at 1%). There might be 10 times as many electric cars on the road as bikes, but I’ll take it as a strong sign of the sector’s potential and the public’s interest.

While we are on local statistics another snapshot comes from the NSW registration statistics. A quick filter and search on pure electric brands reveal that in Q1 2021, 344 electric motorcycles and scooters were on the road making up 0.14% of total motorcycle registrations, including:

• 27 Zero motorcycles
• 224 Fonzarelli electric scooters
• 35 SurOn electric motorcycles
• 58 VMoto electric scooters

I wasn’t able to detect other models which were hidden under brands (eg Harley Davidson Livewire) but at a guess, there might be another 20 or so.

Scooters rule

Now before I dive in, it’s worth noting that in the world of two-wheeled electric transport, scooters rule.

In Europe for example, electric scooters outsell electric motorcycles by a factor of 3 (52,289 v 18,007 in 2020) and in my NSW sample, it’s clear the locally assembled Fonzarelli electric scooter is winning too.

And in terms of manufacturing, California’s Zero motorcycles – which is arguably the world’s highest-volume pure electric motorcycle maker – sold an estimated 3,500 motorcycles globally. By contrast, China-based Yadea is the world’s largest electric scooter builder and was reported to have sold 3,000,700 electric scooters.

Intriguingly, Australian company VMoto, which sells under various brand names including SuperSoco, VMoto and Emax, is also a global major contender and sold 23,000 electric two-wheelers in 2020, according to its annual report: a huge success story.

Notably, around 30% (6,900) of its 2020 sales were motorcycles, sold under its SuperSoco brand so technically they are the world’s largest electric motorcycle maker.

ASX-listed VMoto is arguably worthy of an entire story on its own and, with an Australian headquarters, and is something of a fascination to me.

The short version is its primary shareholder and CEO lives and works in China along with the majority of other senior executives and staff, where its factory is located, and the majority of its sales are not in Australia. It’s also notable that its Australian HQ is a serviced office in Perth.

So, credit where it’s due – scooters are undoubtedly ruling the world in terms of two-wheeled electrification volumes and they have developed some amazing technology as a consequence.

Electric motorcycles

It’s a bit hard to pin down exact statistics on electric motorcycle sales around the world, but Harley Davidson’s recent investor presentation included a summary suggesting that (excluding scooters) the global electric motorcycle market was around 1,074,000 units in 2020 of which, 98% of sales are in China and thus predominantly low-performance motorcycles.

The remainder is the juicy bit I’m interested in as a traditional motorcyclist, and is what Energica call the “performance motorcycle segment” in the electric class. It suggests that it is a global market of around 28,000 units in its investor presentation.  For reference, this is around 3% of the total estimated total global electric motorcycle market.

The performance electric motorcycle segment is fascinating because it’s the toughest segment in every way. Motorcyclists are used to being able to do long distances with very high-performance levels on relatively lightweight bikes and can refuel in minutes.

Even the very best performance electric motorcycles are not quite there yet, although they are getting close. The (current) inherent weight and bulk of batteries is the single biggest obstacle and of course, compounds the challenge by being relatively expensive upfront.

But let’s be clear – we are close enough to compete in terms of power and torque with motors and controllers that are getting ever smaller, lighter and more powerful.

We have a selection of bikes that handle and stop incredibly well, kitted out with well-developed equipment and leveraging the inherent benefits that you get without lower centres of gravity, no reciprocating mass and no fuel sloshing around.

However, we’re still a bit on the heavy side, the range is still a bit limited on the majority of bikes and charging (refuelling) is still a 30 minute plus exercise, if you can find a fast charger.

I managed to collect a small number of rough sales statistics on a sample of premium electric bikes which really highlights how tough this space is. Honestly, I suspect that the 2021 data for Energica is significantly underestimating its sales, given the success I’m seeing on line.

Alright, now that I’ve set the scene, let’s take a look at the bikes available in the various segments.

Electric motorcycle models and segments

Performance on road

This class is pretty limited for all the reasons I’ve already described and of course it’s the premium price segment.

In the segment you can expect:

• Typically around 100Hp and around 100Nm of torque
• 0-100kmh in around 3-4 seconds
• A highway range of around 100-175km
• Excellent handling and brakes
• Highly sophisticated electronic management and control systems

Bikes I would include in this segment include the entire range of Energica’s, Zero’s SRF and SRS range, and the Harley Davidson Livewire. Expect to pay between AUD$40,000- $50,000.

If money is no object, a sports ride is your preference and you want the longest range and fastest charging, you can’t beat the Energica Ego RS+. Its 21.5kWh battery and motoE pedigree makes it the best of the best.

The new Australian Electric Motorcycle company is bringing in selected models of Energica and Zero and has been appointed as Energica’s first Australian Dealer.

If brand strength for service and a more relaxed riding style is what you want then Harley Davidsons Livewire definitely takes the crown. It is my favourite because of its riding position and support.

Zero currently has no official Dealers in Australia and there is only one service agent that I know of so as great as the SRS/F looks, I’m reluctant to recommend it. It also lacks the DC fast charging ability and high-quality suspension of its competitors. However, there are a number of second-hand bikes around and lots of enthusiastic and helpful owners.

Mid performance on road

(eg Evoke, Zero S, BMW)

In this class, there is a growing range of bikes you can buy today including Evoke and a range of Zeros as well as BMW’s just released maxi scooter.

In this segment you can expect:

• Typically, around 25Hp and around 100Nm of torque
• 0-100kmh in around 5-7 seconds
• A highway range of around 100-175km
• Reasonable handling and brakes
• More rudimentary control systems

If Zero had dealership support and fantastic after-sales support they would win this segment nicely with its S, SR and DS, DSR bikes which I really like for their simplicity. But they don’t.

I have to give the win to Evoke which are available in Australia and deliver impressive results in a decent package at great value for money, which is very important in this segment.

Commuter on road

The commuter segment is where the scooter and low powered motorcycle worlds collide, in a good way.

In Australia you can choose from Fonzarelli, SuperSoco, VMoto, Braap and Wyld. Internationally, there is a huge range of at least 30 brands I could find from vintage replicas like the CZeta to a vast number of Asian manufacturers.

Range is inherently limited by smaller batteries and power but for zipping around town at low speed these bikes are just great. There are a wide range of styles and models at great prices, many have removable batteries and the segment benefits from the massive global scale, which I expect to keep delivering rapid improvements.

In this segment you can expect:

• Typically around 5-10Hp and around 12-15Nm of torque
• A top speed of around 90-100kmh
• A highway range of around 20-40km
• Basic handling and brakes
• Simple management systems and controls

Personally I am a huge fan of the style and Australianised performance and features that Fonzarelli has developed and was impressed at the build quality when I rode its bikes.  I give them the gong for this segment for Australian owners who are willing to pay a small premium.

SuperSoco and VMoto (both owned by the same parent) are incredibly well priced and benefit from huge International scale but so far have been lacking in style and performance a bit for my taste.

Braap motorcycles are also worthy of a mention being another local company founded and based here in Australia and importing bikes made overseas. They recently launched several variations of a really nice looking electric sports bike that launches late in 2022 that is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Off road

The off-road segment is really interesting for electric because speeds and distances are typically much lower so bikes really shine here.

There’s a really wide range of bikes from KTM’s Free Ride which has a great reputation and premium features, Zero’s FX and FXS range which are well proven and super fun and then we have a range of funky and fascinating machines like Surron which is quickly developing a legion of fans, Cake and Ubco, featuring 2-wheel drive.

In this segment you can expect:

• Typically around 10-30Hp and around 50-100Nm of torque
• A top speed of around 90-130kmh
• A highway range of around 30-90km
• Pretty good handling and brakes in a lightweight package
• Simple management systems and controls, but typically pretty robust

Internationally, serious off-road riders rave about the KTM with its motocross heritage and a robust design, but you can’t get them locally last time I checked and I don’t think Cake are available anymore in Australia. The latest Surron’s are great looking machines with a really good reputation and some models are road legal now, but it’s a pretty lightweight machine.

As for a recommendation,  Zero and KTM are out despite being more serious bikes with substantially more range and power, because they’re too hard to get and maintain in Australia. Cake are just weird and expensive. Ubco would be my choice if you had a farm or want a low-speed utility bike but overall, Surron would be my pick.

Unicorns

(Savic, Lightning, Stark Varg, Damon, Arc Vector)

In the ten years that I’ve been riding electric motorcycles, I’ve seen a lot of names come and go and just as many claims about astounding performance and price. I wish they were all wildly successful and it is in this segment where we get a taste of what might come soon.

Lately, there has been a spate of announcements with Damon and Arc Vector making huge claims on hyper sports electric motorcycles and recently Stark Varg in the off-road space.

Locally, I interviewed Australia’s very own Denis Savic from Savic Motorcycles in 2019 who has a gorgeous all-electric café racer that shows fantastic promise but hasn’t quite made it to production yet due to pandemic delays disrupting production like it did for so many others.

They are in the final stages of ADR testing now, so I look forward to moving them out of the unicorn segment later this year and into the performance segment.

Lightning Motorcycles is also worth a mention because it not only set a number of world records and gave test rides to several journalists but also because I’ve seen and sat on one in the flesh.

But there’s is a tale of woe too it seems. Only a tiny handful of its top bikes were delivered and there was a ferocious shit storm of angry owners who paid deposits and never got bikes. I hope it succeeds with its tech one day, but I fear it may be out of date by the time it hits the market, the bane of such a fast-moving space.

The only bike in the unicorn segment I could recommend putting down a deposit on at this stage is Savic, because I have a couple of contacts who I checked with and believe the Savic team is real and will deliver bikes. The rest, well we’ll have to wait and see.

Big Brand prototypes

It would be remiss of me not to make mention of the announcements by the big brands in this space, albeit without either big or any production yet. Piaggo, Yamaha, Triumph, Ducati and KTM all continue to trickle out announcements.

Triumph made big statements recently and showed off a pre-production model so it appears to be getting close. KTM, with its experience selling the Freeride model, recently announced a premium bike based on its Super Duke model will enter pre-production testing too.

And course, Ducati have committed massively with the announcement that they will take over from Energica as the sole manufacturer of bikes for the premier race class of motoE, from 2023. Like Energica, it is sure to benefit hugely from race testing and presumably will release street versions at some point thereafter.

Price guide

With so much movement in this space and such a wide variety of models, it’s not possible to compare every model, performance level or every price point.

However, as a rough guide I took a sample from bikesales.com in February 2022, and added a few other bikes listed on websites. I’ve listed these below based on pure price and also a completely subjective assessment of where they roughly site in the performance stakes.