Ever since EICMA last year, Honda (well, Honda Europe specifically) has been teasing the production version of its EV Fun concept motorcycle. The stated purpose of this EV motorbike is right in the name. Unlike Honda's more practical, everyday commuter EV two-wheelers, this one is meant to be good at one specific high-water mark: Fun.
As a rider who's experienced a number of EV motorbikes, and who appreciates them for what they are while still realizing the current (no pun intended) limitations of the technology available so far, I have a few suggestions for what I hope Honda's about to bring to the table.
Because, you see, Honda Europe says it's about to make a big announcement about the production EV Fun motorbike on September 16. That's just two weeks from now at the time of writing, so clearly it's too late to probably change anything away from whatever Honda already has planned for the big reveal.
But still, I'll tell you what I hope Honda will do, if it really wants to get riders to seriously consider an EV Fun (or whatever the production motorcycle ends up being called). And I'll sprinkle some of Honda's latest EV Fun Concept teaser video/images throughout this piece, so that even though we have no spec details yet, we can all appreciate that the design does at least look intriguing.
Ready to hear (or read, at least) what I think Honda should do to kickstart its foray into making EV motorcycles more viable for everyone? Let's go.
1. Have sufficient range to go for a spirited weekend ride that lasts at least a few hours.
This is kind of a big one, and one that probably isn't possible yet unless Honda's made some heretofore unknown breakthrough with its EV battery technology. See, for those unfamiliar, energy density and packaging are significant hurdles for EV motorcycle producers. With cars and trucks and SUVs, OEMs have a ton more space to work with, so it's not as big a deal.
That's not the case with motorcycles, though. On EV scooters, the expectation of high performance usually isn't there, so that's one hurdle that doesn't exist. Swappable batteries can also work well for EV scooters, particularly in markets where scooters are common methods of transportation, and swap stations are far more feasible to support. But on EV motorcycles, especially if they're advertised as being meant for fun riding, riders will demand sufficient range on a single charge.
What would be considered 'sufficient'? That might unfortunately vary by rider, but I'd say at least 100 miles of spirited (read: not stop-and-go electron-sipping city traffic) riding. The higher you can get over that 100-mile range mark, the better. I am arbitrarily choosing 100 miles, by the way, because that's about what the fuel tank on my Hawk GT will do with a good burst of spirited riding. It's not a large fuel tank, by any means, so you can see I'm trying to be reasonable with my EV demands, right?
2. Be able to handle fast charging.
When I had a Zero SR/F on loan for almost a year, I had a great time with it. It's an incredibly fun EV motorcycle, and it handles quite well. Zipping through some of the gorgeous sweepers we have on some of the more fun roads in northern Illinois (well outside Chicago, but worth your time to venture out to if you live in the area) was a true joy.
But you know what wasn't a joy? Knowing that if I went out for a fun weekend ride (one of our tried and true weekend routes is around 150 miles, give or take), I would need to plan an extra couple of hours to stop for a charge. And most likely, it'd have to be a very carefully considered charging stop, because the SR/F could only handle up to Level 2 charging as its absolute fastest option.
Add to that the uncertainty over whether any charging station I couldn't already vouch for from experience was working at any given time, particularly in areas where charging stations are few and far between, and it was just a lot more anxiety than you'd ever get with a gas bike.
This sounds like I don't like EVs, and that's absolutely not the case. For what it's worth, I do like them, and I think that they absolutely have a place. But at the same time, there are practical infrastructure concerns, and being unrealistic about them doesn't help anyone.
Where Energica (maybe not-so-RIP? I can hope) and the first-gen LiveWires might have had a slight edge is that both offered fast charging as an option. So theoretically at least, the idea of going out for a truly fun ride where you didn't have to turn every mile into a math problem was a little more possible.
If you're in the middle of a fun ride, you'll have a lot fewer arguments with stopping for a short stint to maybe grab a snack or a meal, hit the bathroom, and then get back on the road than if you have to sit for hours as your bike slowly recharges. I mean, really, who has time for all that?
People parking their bikes for hours at work or school or home, that's who, not people out for a quick burst of fun riding. And EV OEMs need to understand this.
3. Be priced more in line with the way that Honda manages to price its combustion bikes.
There are multiple reasons why successful EV two-wheeler makers tend to stick to small-displacement equivalent machines. One is that people buying (or in some cases leasing or renting) those machines don't tend to be worried about things like long range or fast charging capabilities. Since those little scoots are meant to be more practical and workhorse-like, that's not what they're for. And so, they also tend to cost less.
When you get into discussions of premium EV motorbikes, there has historically been a massive price jump, and the frustration has typically been that the performance you get for that price jump doesn't seem to justify what you're spending. Who wants to pay brand new 2025 Ducati Panigale V2 S money for an EV bike that you're going to have to spend two hours in the middle of every 'fun' ride, just twiddling your thumbs as you wait for it to charge at an L2 station?
No one, that's who.
And like most things, you're more likely to be a little more forgiving of its shortcomings if the pricing is more reasonable. As the mega behemoth of a global manufacturer that Honda is, here's where economies of scale could and should hopefully drive the prices of higher-performance EV motorcycles down into territory that might make more riders want to take a chance.
4. Develop a robust spent battery buyback/recycling program.
This is a big concern, because as you probably already know from having any number of battery-powered devices in your everyday life, all batteries lose charging ability over time. EV batteries are typically quite expensive to replace, and there's also the concern that they'll just become big paperweights when they finally give up the ghost. Proper disposal is also a concern, as no one wants even more things that shouldn't be leaching into the ground to, well, do exactly that when they end up in a landfill somewhere.
Honda's talked about its various green initiatives in the past, and making strides toward incorporating more recycled products into its workstream is admirable. But it needs to keep doing that with any EV motorbikes it produces, as well; especially with their batteries.
Developing some type of battery buyback and recycling program would do a lot to allay customer worries about battery replacement when the time comes. It would also help to ensure safe, responsible recycling and/or disposal of spent batteries, which would be a net benefit for customers and the planet at the same time. It could also hopefully set a new industry standard for how to handle EV batteries, something only really possible at the kind of mega OEM level that Honda has.
5. Have a helmet lock, please and thank you.
Here's a place where the Zero SR/F absolutely didn't let me down, but where a lot of other current combustion bikes in recent time absolutely have. Helmet locks are an incredibly useful thing to have on a motorcycle, you guys! Not everyone has luggage, or rides a scooter that can fit a full-face lid in the underseat storage area.
Adding a helmet lock is a small but important touch that can instantly make it a whole lot easier to go "yeah, that's a great bike for my needs," because it makes it a whole lot easier for a rider to park, go inside, and then come out without having to carry their helmet with them wherever they go. Please, OEMs in general: Bring back helmet locks!
What are you hoping for from Honda's EV FUN production bike? You have two weeks to hash this one out before Honda Europe makes its big announcement about the details of this bike. Sound off in the comments in 3, 2...
