Rumors about Honda's first-ever electric motorcycle have been buzzing the past while, and now, the brand has finally launched it. Well, kind of. Honda has produced two-wheeled electric motorcycles before, but the E-VO is produced by Wuyang-Honda, Honda's Chinese joint venture, and this is that manufacturer's first electric motorcycle.
For now, the E-VO is only hitting the Chinese market. And that's unfortunate because this bike would make the best bang for buck electric urban commuter in the US.
I've tested Can-Am's electric offerings in the form of the Pulse and Origin, and while I had fun, it was hard for me to look past the cost versus the range on offer. But this conundrum isn't something the Wuyang-Honda E-VO suffers from.
In its most powerful configuration—using three batteries—the World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) tests give the E-VO a 75-mph top speed and a range of 105 miles. In China, this top-spec version costs ¥36,999 yuan, which is just a bit over US$5,000. The two-battery version can reach a top speed of 68 mph and has a 75-mile range, but is cheaper with a starting price of ¥29,999 (roughly US$4,000).
At least from the pictures, the E-VO has big-bike cafe-racer energy, but the reality is that its power figures aren't meant for much more than urban commuting. It has a continuous output of 8 kW (11 hp) but can go up to 15.8 kW (21 hp) in short bursts. So any significant highway stint is probably out of the question, but you wouldn't have a problem ripping around a city.
Charging times for the E-VO also blow a lot of other electric motorcycles out of the water thanks to its integrated charger, which enables it to be connected to a household outlet or more powerful AC chargers used for electric cars. It takes just 90 minutes to charge the 6.3-kWh three-battery model with an electric vehicle charger or 150 minutes when using a household outlet. And the two-battery 4.1-kWh pack charges to full in just 60 minutes with an electric vehicle charger or 90 minutes with a household outlet.
You'd think that the low-priced E-VO would lack modern creature comforts, but its list of features is going to make you question just how much $4,000 should get you. At the front, it uses a 7-inch TFT-LCD screen to show a wealth of information, including music, navigation, tire pressure, battery life, and even DJI camera connectivity. Also on offer is a keyless ignition and DVR cameras.
The reality is, even if we took tariffs out of the equation, which is a big "if", it's unlikely we'll see anything like this in the US for at least a few years. This is not a product developed by Honda for global release, as Wuyang manufactures its own domestic-market-only motorcycles in addition to some Honda-developed motorcycles for the Chinese market. The bottom line is that the focus of the E-VO is the Chinese market.
It's not impossible that Honda takes this bike or a modified version global if it does well in China, but it's unlikely to happen soon.
