The Current News

It’s like 1903 all over again: with so much e-bike news every week, it’s hard to keep track of who’s announcing what, but fear not, Tim Huber is keeping score. Here’s a few announcements from the past week:

The Electric “Ducati” Scooter

It was only a few months ago that Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati, publically stated that an electric production model wasn’t far off. Still, the news this week of an E-Ducati was a surprise, as it wasn’t what you’d expect. Instead of developing its own electric offering, Ducati — which in fact originally started out producing various electronic devices like radios and razors — has partnered with Vmoto to deliver what’s essentially a re-skinned version of an existing electric scooter dressed up in a Ducati Corsa-inspired livery. The Bologna brand won’t actually have any part in building the scoot, that job goes to Vmoto — which is the firm behind the electric Super Soco lineup — which will sell the limited edition two-wheelers through its existing dealer network whilst Ducati is tasked with the marketing. Dubbed, “the CUx Special Edition Ducati”, the small-wheeled runner is a Duck-ified version of Vmoto’s CUx model, which features a 3.75hp 2,700-watt Bosch motor drawing from a 60V/32Ah Lithium ion battery. Specs appear to be unchanged from the base model, which means a 3.5-hour charge-time, 46-mile (or 75km) range, and a 29mph (or 45km/h) top-speed. Standard amenities will include multiple ride modes, remote key start and unlocking, LED lighting throughout, built-in camera, and what I suspect will be a few other minor additions to what its manufacturer is calling a “luxury version” of the CUx — which, by the way; will reportedly carry a “luxury price”.

CSC Adds Another Electric To Its Lineup

The California Scooter Company — or CSC —is an Azusa-based outfit that sells rebadged Chinese bikes and scooters at bargain basement prices — low-figures that are helped along by CSC’s business model that forgoes a dealer network in favor of shipping fully assembled units directly to the customer’s door. The brand’s had success with a variety of small-displacement models ranging from enduros to café racers, though in Summer of 2018 CSC released its first electric offering with the City Slicker; a sub-$2K Grom-style mini with an electric powertrain. Fast-forward to today and the budget bike purveyor has pulled the cover of its next proton-powered model, the Wiz electric scooter. The Wiz is propelled by a very similar powertrain to the City Slicker — a 3kW motor paired with a 2.1kWh battery (0.3kWh more than the City Slicker) — albeit uses a rear-hub unit instead of the Slicker’s mid-drive. The battery affords a 33-48 miles (53-77km) range and can be removed from under the seat for easier charging. And with a top-speed of around 45mph the 200lb Wiz is up for just about anything, short of freeway stints. The affordable $2,495 price also gets you a standard luggage rack and a painted removable rear hard case, USB port, LED lighting, three ride modes (plus a reverse “gear”), cruiser-control, and regenerative braking. CSC is currently accepting deposits on pre-orders, with units slated to ship out around July.

Revolt’s AI-Enabled Electric Naked Heading To Market

If you want to get a production vehicle onto India’s showroom floors and public roads, you’ll first need certification from the Automotive Research Association of India, or “ARAI” for short. The independent body does homologation and certification for manufacturers producing vehicles for both the domestic market and for export. Put simply, getting ARAI certification is one of the final major hurdles marques must overcome before sending a model to production. For this reason, the news this week of India’s Revolt Intellicorp receiving ARAI-approval for its now forthcoming AI-equipped ebike definitely caught our attention. Thus far details are still scant, though the certification revealed the bike will yield a 97-mile (156km) range on a single charge, and will supposedly cost approximately Rs 95,000 ($1,350) — Rs 120,000 ($1,700) minus a Rs 25,000 ($355) FAME II subsidy. This is significant because it’s an early example of EV technology becoming increasingly affordable, which in the past has been one of the biggest drawbacks associated with going electric. On top of the price, Revolt’s concept renderings depict a pretty attractive modern, belt-driven naked with sharp lines and a sporty and aggressive feel, bolstered by an inverted front-end, monoshock, and radial mount caliper(s) up front, and superbike-style fenders fore and aft. The bike will supposedly be offered in a number of motor/battery sizes, with the largest reportedly being a to 4.5kw with a 45amp controller. Pre-orders are scheduled to begin in June of 2019, with deliveries following in September.

Zero Secures Another $25M in Funding

Zero Motorcycles is having an incredible couple of years. Having gotten in early on the two-wheeled EV game back in ’06, the California-based business is now poised to ride the current wave of growth the industry is experiencing. The company already has military and law enforcement utilizing its electric wares, and now, just on the heels of unveiling the sexy new SR/F, Zero is announcing its officially received an addition $25,000,000. While that’s undeniably a good chunk of cash, it only accounts for 10% of the total funds raised by the company in its 13-years of operation. According to a press-release put out by the company, Zero is not only the biggest electric motorcycle manufacturer in the world, but its sales actually surpass that of all the other electric motorcycle marques put together. Though Zero’s bike’s already offer impressive performance and specs, this cash infusion ensures further R&D which is practically guaranteed to translate into even better range, shorter charge-times, higher top-speeds, etc.

Energica Offering Free Trackdays & Training With Purchase Of Ebike

A few months ago we spoke with Energica CTO, Giampiero Testoni, who explained that one of the biggest challenges the company faces, is simply getting riders to give Energica’s bikes a try. The ridiculous amount of torque instantly on tap at any given point makes for a wildly fun riding experience, and typically all it takes to convince someone is a few minutes in the saddle. Knowing this, the Italian ebike maker is now offering “My Electric Academy”, an on-track training program aboard Energica bikes at Italy’s Modena Circuit. The course will be held on two days (May 31st and June 23rd) and is limited to ten riders per day. Each group of ten will then be split into two five-person groups who will be receive expert instruction from coaches including one of the brand’s official test riders, Alessandro “Branna” Brannetti. The cost of the daylong program is €990 ($1,100), though if you purchase an Energica motorcycle within a month (30-days) of completing the training program, the outfit will refund the $1.1K in its entirety. Well played Energica, well played indeed.

New Yamaha Patents Hint At Production Electric Motorcycle

Yamaha has shown off a number of pretty slick electric motorcycle concepts over the last half-decade or so, though the Tuning Fork Company has yet to officially announce a production electric motorcycle. Because producing the technology is becoming cheaper as specs and performance improves, it won’t be long before Yamaha reaches a tipping point where the release of a moto EV becomes finically viable/worthwhile. While it doesn’t look like we’re quite there, a new patent from the Japanese firm suggests it’s definitely fine-tuning elements of an electric behind closed doors for when the time is right. The patents tell us that Yamaha is toying around with, of all things, charging port locations. The images show Yamaha is diverging from the traditional top-of-the-tank-port setup, and exploring a number of different charging port location options. This includes an offset setup toward the front of the tank that would be positioned facing straight up when the bike is leaned over on its side-stand. Another shows the charging port housed in the headlight assembly, which may sound strange but looks surprisingly at home next to the other round elements in the headlight housing. The remaining setup sees the port on the back of a TFT/LCD-style display that rotates/pivots to allow access to the plug. Now it’s only a matter of time before Yamaha releases an electric motorcycle — and one that will quite possibly have an interestingly placed charging port.

Lito Motorcycles Unveils Limited Edition Sora 2.0

After releasing the $40,000 first generation Lito electric motorcycle, Lito has just pulled the cover off the next generation of its electric sport-bobber. The Sora 2.0 was unveiled last weekend at the 2019 Quail Motorcycle Gathering, where the company let attendees check out the high-spec, high-dollar ebike up close. The carbon-clad e-bobber features an 18 kWh battery connected to a liquid-cooled, three-phase, permanent magnet AC motor that are good for a 180-mile range — double that of the gen one. The Sora 2.0 also affords a 0-60mph time of three-seconds flat, a top-speed of 120mph, and a cool 66ft-lbs of torque (and 108hp). On top of the improved specs — which include a 25lb reduction in weight — the Sora 2.0 also gets a smattering of top-shelf componentry. The 6061-T6 aluminum chassis is complimented by a 48mm inverted Ohlins fork and a monoshock from the Swedish suspension outfit in back, while braking hardware is provided by Beringer, who teamed up with Lito to design the units for the Sora 2.0; a pair of floating 320mm discs bit by four-pot radial-mount calipers in front and a single floating 230mm disc with a dual-piston caliper in the rear. Other high-end goodies include carbon wheels from Rotobox, an electronically adjustable seat that goes from 29.5 up to 33.5”, LED lighting throughout, 5.7” touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity, a liberal amount of carbon bits, and a bevy of parts from Rizoma. Unsurprisingly, the Sora 2.0 doesn’t come cheap, however you may be surprised to learn to what extent, as the second gen — which is limited to just 20 units — carries a whopping MSRP of $82,250.