These were the five biggest electric motorcycle news stories of 2022
Electric motorcycles were once a rarity in the two-wheeler industry. But these days there are so many new models from a wide range of manufacturers that you’d have to go out of your way to avoid them. Fortunately for those in favor of progress, we actively seek them out. And these are the electric motorcycle news stories that you guys liked the most. You voted with your clicks, and these five stories became the biggest of 2022.
Harley-Davidson selling out its newest electric motorcycle in 18 minutes highlights pent-up demand
Harley-Davidson spun off its electric motorcycle operations into a dedicated EV brand last year with its big LiveWire launch.
LiveWire inherited the LiveWire One electric motorcycle from Harley, which made LiveWire’s second model its first to actually be developed under the new nameplate. The LiveWire S2 Del Mar launch was exciting for the company, but news that the Launch Edition of the S2 Del Mar sold out in 18 minutes was even more exciting for the industry.
The bike is expected to begin making deliveries early next year, though I got an early test ride on the bike this Autumn to see how the S2 Del Mar performs.
I was shocked to see that instead of being a toned down LiveWire One, it had nearly the same acceleration as its big brother. With a 0-60 mph time of around 3.1 seconds, it was ferocious off the line.
Cruising around New York with a mixture of city and highway riding gave me a feel for the bike’s handling in various scenarios, and I’m more pumped than ever for its upcoming release.
Check out my first ride experience here or take a look at the video below to see the bike in action.
TS Bravo is the latest low-cost electric motorcycle with the specs and price to upend the industry
There’s a chance you haven’t heard of this electric motorcycle, which would be fair since it is only starting to spread around Europe now.
The TS Bravo from Alrendo is a Chinese electric motorcycle built for the Western market. Its Eastern assembly means it can undercut the pricing of many major name-brand bikes, yet may actually offer better specs than many of the middleweight electric motorcycles you’re familiar with.
The European price is €11,200 (approximately US $12,300) including 20% European VAT, meaning the price may vary slightly from country to country depending on local VAT tax rates. The TS Bravo is available across the EU, as well as in Switzerland, Russia, Norway, and Israel. But Alrendo isn’t stopping there. As the head of Europe Connor McRae explained to Electrek:
There are several South East Asian countries we are entering at the moment, and we are in final talks for the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
On the specs side, you may be surprised by what the TS Bravo is packing. For example, the bike has a massive 17.4 kWh battery. That’s enough for 438 km (272 miles) of range at city speeds of 50 km/h (31 mph). At mixed city/highway riding averaging 80 km/h (50 mph), the TS Bravo has a reported range of 278 km (172 miles). And at faster 120 km/h (75 mph) highway blasting, the bike can still achieve an impressive 160 km (100 miles) of range.
As a commuter-level electric motorcycle, the top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph) won’t be the sportiest on the road. Daily commuters should find it to be plenty though since few riders require higher speeds on their way to work.
The TS Bravo is powered by a mid-mounted motor rated for 11 kW continuous and 20 kW peak. The water-cooled motor uses a Gates carbon belt drive and is capable of operating more efficiently at higher-power levels due to its improved cooling, which is part of the reason it can better maintain its peak power levels compared to air-cooled motors.
This is definitely one to keep your eye on.
Exclusive: Ryvid Anthem unveiled as revolutionary new affordable electric motorcycle in the US
We were excited to break the news on a brand-new California-based electric motorcycle company that unveiled its first model, the Ryvid Anthem.
Ryvid’s electric motorcycle is novel in a number of ways, from a striking new look to an innovative folded metal frame and even a seat that can be raised and lowered while riding by up to 4 inches (100 mm).
The light electric motorcycle is commuter-ready with a top speed of around 75 mph (120 km/h), meaning this is more of a getting around town type of bike than a canyon carver. It can still reach highway speeds though, making it ideal for everyday riding.
The Ryvid Anthem isn’t designed to compete with flagship electric motorcycles like the US $20k+ Zero SR/F or Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire One. Instead, the US $7,800 electric motorcycle is meant for average commuter riders with average commuter wallets.
The low mounting point of the 7.5 kW continuous-rated and 13.5 kW peak-rated motor keeps the weight lower on the bike, as does the low-slung 4.3 kWh battery pack. The entire bike weighs around 240 lb (108 kg), which is already quite light for an electric motorcycle, but the low center of mass makes the bike feel even nimbler. And with 250 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheel, the Anthem takes full advantage of that electric motor.
Much of the Anthem’s weight comes from the 65 lb (29.5 kg) battery pack, which is removable for charging off of the bike when necessary. The battery removal process is quite ingenious, as unlocking it from the bike causes the battery to lower down onto a set of built-in wheels for easily rolling into an apartment or office building.
When returning the battery to the bike, the case of the battery locks into a fulcrum in the bike’s housing to lever up into place. That means the rider never supports the full weight of the battery.
Charging the battery on a typical home outlet will take 3 hours on 220V or 6 hours on 110V. An optional on-board charger instead of a separate brick charger is currently in the works but won’t be available at launch. If you have a ground-level outlet, such as in a garage, you’ll likely never need to remove the battery. But for anyone that lives in an apartment or lacks access to an outlet, the ability to roll the battery indoors, up and elevator and into your apartment or office to charge is a nice feature to have.
The Ryvid Anthem claims a range of 75 miles (120 km) in Eco mode or 40-50 mile range (64-80 km) in Sport Mode without the regenerative braking turned on. Mixed riding is likely to fall somewhere in the middle of those two figures.
I had the chance to test ride a Ryvid Anthem prototype a few months ago, which you can see in the video below. The experience was incredible and showed me just what a potent urban assault bike the Anthem truly is. From cruising PCH to slicing through the streets of Irvine, the Ryvid Anthem took me on a tour of LA to show off both the city and the bike’s abilities.
SUPER73 unveils new 75 mph light electric motorcycle
SUPER73 is best known as an electric bicycle brand that builds moped-inspired e-bikes. They may have functional pedals, but these aren’t your ordinary, everyday e-bikes. SUPER73 has a fiercely loyal community of riders that take bike culture (and customizations) to the next level.
So it only made sense that SUPER73 would drill down further into their roots towards the motorhead end of the spectrum, or at least the electric motorhead end. That’s exactly what they did with the Spring 2022 reveal of the brand’s upcoming SUPER73 C1X electric motorcycle.
This light electric motorcycle is designed to fill the gap between high-power electric bicycles and larger electric motorcycles. CEO LeGrand Crewse described it at the launch as the “natural evolution of a SUPER73.”
The smallish size and 31″ seat height puts it closer to a Honda Grom than a full-sized street bike, and the lower diameter 15″ wheels should keep it fairly nimble.
The bike will also be lighter than full-size electric motorcycles as well, as the company says it has a “target weight of under 300 lb.”
The C1X features a mid-mounted motor, though the company has not yet released a power figure for the motor. SUPER73 did say that it should get riders up to a max speed of “over 75 mph,” or at least 120 km/h for anyone keeping track across the pond.
SUPER73 opted for a chain drive on the C1X, so don’t expect this to be a silent electric motorcycle. Unlike most e-motos that use belt drives, chain-driven electric motorcycles tend to have a bit more chainsaw sound than motor whirr.
There’s no word yet on how large the battery pack on the SUPER73-C1X is, but the company claims it can eke out a maximum city range of 100 miles (160 km).
We also don’t know exactly when the bike will come to market, but it’s already begun low-speed testing ahead of an anticipated “late 2023” production commencement.
Yamaha reveals fresh-looking new design for an electric moped, plus new e-bikes and scooters
Yamaha hosted a large unveiling event as part of the brand’s new “Switch ON” campaign to showcase its electric vehicles, surprising many in the industry with the number of vehicles that Yamaha ultimately rolled on stage.
The company had six new electric two-wheelers to show off, but the star of the show was the most radical looking two-wheeler on stage, the Yamaha B01.
The eye-catching truss frame creates a step-through bike that fits nicely in the electric moped category with its large street tires and mid-mounted electric motor tied to a pedal drivetrain.
In fact, the bike looks so good that it even conjures up memories of another recently revealed electric bike, the Fantic Issimo.
As it turns out, Yamaha appears to have partnered with Fantic, resulting in the Issimo finding its way onto Yamaha’s stage adorned with a new Yamaha badge.
Whatever it’s called, the bike certainly embodies a fresh new electric moped design to challenge many of the same old recycled moped designs we’ve seen over the years.
Yamaha floated specs of up to 45 km/h (28 mph), making this a speed pedelec in Europe (similar to a Class 3 electric bike in the US).
It definitely sounds like Yamaha plans to bring the B01 concept to life. As President of Yamaha Motors Europe Eric De Seynes explained:
“Its future will become true sooner. We will start the production of this vehicle within one year, beginning in 2023.”
It’s hard to say what motor and battery Yamaha plans to put in the B01.
The Fantic Issimo came with a Bafang M500 mid-drive motor in the urban version of the bike, and the company paired it with a 630Wh battery. Yamaha very well may want to use its own brand of motor instead of opting for a Chinese alternative like Bafang, but that remains to be seen as the B01 works its way towards production.
What’s coming next in 2023?
You can tell by the most popular electric motorcycle stories of the year that there was a huge amount of variety in this year’s major electric motorcycle unveilings.
At the rate the industry is moving, who’s to say what we could see in 2023? There’s only one thing for sure: Electrek will be there to cover the news first as the premier EV website, bringing you all of the latest stories on the most interesting new electric two-wheelers.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
Why OPEC+ is accelerating oil production as prices are tanking and tariffs hammer markets
The Phillips 66 Company’s Los Angeles Refinery in California.
Bing Guan | Reuters
The oil price outlook is being hit with more bearish forecasts on the back of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping and market-hammering tariff announcements. Businesses and investors worry that a trade war and lower global growth lies ahead.
Goldman Sachs on Thursday reduced its December 2025 forecasts for global and U.S. benchmarks Brent crude and WTI by $5 to $66 and $62 a barrel, respectively, “because the two key downside risks we have flagged are realizing, namely tariff escalation and somewhat higher OPEC+ supply.”
The bank also cut its forecasts for the oil benchmarks in 2025 and 2026, adding that “we no longer forecast a price range, because price volatility is likely to stay elevated on higher recession risk.” Analysts at S&P Global Market Intelligence predict that in a worst-case scenario, global oil demand growth could be slashed by 500,000 barrels per day.
JPMorgan, for its part, raised its recession odds for the global economy to 60% for this year, up from a previous forecast of 40%.
Markets were therefore stunned when OPEC, which produces about 40% of the world’s crude oil — along with its non-OPEC allies that together comprise OPEC+ — chose not only to go ahead with its previously held plans to increase oil production, but also to nearly triple the expected increase figure.
Eight key OPEC+ producers on Thursday agreed to raise combined crude oil output by 411,000 barrels per day, speeding up the pace of their scheduled hikes and pushing down oil prices. The group — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman — was widely expected to implement an increase of just under 140,000 barrels per day next month.
The news pushed oil prices 6% lower.
OPEC+ bullishness and appeasing Trump
Several factors underpin the oil-producing alliance’s decision. One is that the group is bullish on oil demand later in the year, putting it firmly in the minority as investor outlooks sour and fears of a global slowdown worsen.
The eight OPEC+ members behind the production decision cited “the continuing healthy market fundamentals and the positive market outlook” in their statement Thursday, saying that “this measure will provide an opportunity for the participating countries to accelerate their compensation.”
The statement added that “the gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions.”
Another likely reason for the group’s move has to do with another T-word: the man in the White House, who during his first term in office and from the very start of his second, has loudly demanded that the oil producer group pump more crude to help bring down prices for Americans.
“First of all, this is partly about appeasing Trump,” Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Friday.
“Trump will be putting pressure on OPEC to reduce oil prices, which reduces global energy prices, to help offset the inflationary impact of his tariffs.”
OPEC officials have denied that the move was made to appease Trump.
Compliance and market share
Meanwhile, as compliance is a major issue for OPEC+ — with countries overproducing crude beyond their quotas, complicating the group’s efforts to control how much supply it allows into the market — the move could be a way to enforce that, according to Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy and MENA research at RBC Capital Markets.
“We think a desire by the OPEC leadership to send a warning signal to Kazakhstan, Iraq, and even Russia about the cost of continued overproduction underlies the decision.”
Helima Croft
head of global commodity strategy and MENA research at RBC Capital Markets
“We think a desire by the OPEC leadership to send a warning signal to Kazakhstan, Iraq, and even Russia about the cost of continued overproduction underlies the decision,” Croft wrote in a note published Thursday. She referenced the March 2020 oil price war, when Saudi Arabia flooded the market with supply to tank oil prices and forced Russia back into compliance after Moscow initially refused to curb production to help the alliance stabilize prices. The price war caused Brent crude prices to go as low as $15 a barrel.
The production increases are also “an example of OPEC increasing their market share,” Kavonic said, adding that it “ultimately does come at the expense of the United States [shale] patch,” which U.S. producers likely will not be too thrilled about.
What happens next?
OPEC+ appears confident about the market turning a corner in the coming months on the assumption that oil demand will increase in the summer and the tariff wars will be resolved in the coming months, said Nader Itayim, editorial manager at Argus Media.
“These countries are largely comfortable with the $70, $75 per barrel band,” Itayim said.
What comes next depends on the trajectory of the tariffs and a potential trade war. Oil dropping into the $60 range could force pauses or even a reversal in OPEC+ production increase plans, analysts say – although that is likely to be met with resistance from countries like Iraq and Kazakhstan that have long been itching to increase their oil production for their own revenues.
Whatever happens, the group maintains the flexibility to adapt its plans month by month, Itayim noted.
“If things don’t quite go the way they imagine, all it does take, really, is a phone call.”
According to a Tesla Semi customer, the electric truck program is suffering more delays and a price increase that is described as “dramatic.”
Tesla Semi has seen many delays, more than any other vehicle program at Tesla.
It was initially unveiled in 2017, and CEO Elon Musk claimed that it would go into production in 2019.
In late 2022, Tesla held an event where it unveiled the “production version” of the Tesla Semi and delivered the first few units to a “customer-partner”: PepsiCo.
More than 3 years later, the vehicle never went into volume production. Instead, Tesla only ran a very low volume pilot production at a factory in Nevada and only delivered a few dozen trucks to customers as part of test programs.
But Tesla promised that things would finally happen for the Tesla Semi this year.
Tesla has been building a new high-volume production factory specifically for the Tesla Semi program in a new building next to Gigafactory Nevada.
The goal was to start production in 2025, start customer deliveries, and ramp up to 50,000 trucks yearly.
Now, Ryder, a large transportation company and early customer-partner in Tesla’s semi truck program, is talking about further delays. The company also refers to a significant price increase.
California’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) awarded Ryder funding for a project to deploy Tesla Semi trucks and Megachargers at two of its facilities in the state.
Ryder had previously asked for extensions amid the delays in the Tesla Semi program.
In a new letter sent to MSRC last week and obtained by Electrek, Ryder asked the agency for another 28-month delay. The letter references delays in “Tesla product design, vehicle production” and it mentions “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics”:
This extension is needed due to delays in Tesla product design, vehicle production and dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics. These delays have caused us to reevaluate the current Ryder fleet in the area.
The logistics company now says it plans to “deploy 18 Tesla Semi vehicles by June 2026.”
The reference to “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics” points to a significant price increase for the Tesla Semi, which further communication with MSRC confirms.
In the agenda of a meeting to discuss the extension and changes to the project yesterday, MSRC confirms that the project went from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks while the project commitment is not changing:
Ryder has indicated that their electric tractor manufacturer partner, Tesla, has experienced continued delays in product design and production. There have also been dramatic changes to the product economics. Ryder requests to reduce the number of vehicles from 42 to 18, stating that this would maintain their $7.5 million private match commitment.
In addition to the electric trucks, the project originally involved installing two integrated power centers and four Tesla Megachargers, split between two locations. Ryder is also looking to now install 3 Megachargers per location for a total of 6 instead of 4.
The project changes also mention that “Ryder states that Tesla now requires 600kW chargers rather than the 750kW units originally engineered.”
Tesla Semi Price
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2023. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
New diesel-powered Class 8 semi trucks in the US today often range between $150,000 and $220,000.
The combination of a reasonable purchase price and low operation costs, thanks to cheaper electric rates than diesel, made the Tesla Semi a potentially revolutionary product to reduce the overall costs of operation in trucking while reducing emissions.
However, Ryder now points to a “dramatic” price increase for the Tesla Semi.
What is the cost of a Tesla Semi electric truck now?
Electrek’s Take
As I have often stated, Tesla Semi is the vehicle program I am most excited about at Tesla right now.
If Tesla can produce class 8 trucks capable of moving cargo of similar weight as diesel trucks over 500 miles on a single charge in high volume at a reasonable price point, they have a revolutionary product on their hands.
But the reasonable price part is now being questioned.
After reading the communications between Ryder and MSRC, while not clear, it looks like the program could be interpreted as MSRC covering the costs of installing the charging stations while Ryder committed $7.5 million to buying the trucks.
The math makes sense for the original funding request since $7.5 million divided by 42 trucks results in around $180,000 per truck — what Tesla first quoted for the 500-mile Tesla Semi truck.
Now, with just 18 trucks, it would point to a price of $415,000 per Tesla Semi truck. It’s possible that some of Ryder’s commitment could also go to an increase in Megacharger prices – either per charger or due to the two additional chargers. MSRC said that they don’t give more money when prices go up after an extension.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the 500-mile Tesla Semi ends up costing $350,000 to $400,000.
If that’s the case, Tesla Semi is impressive, but it won’t be the revolutionary product that will change the trucking industry.
It will need to be closer to $250,000-$300,000 to have a significant impact, which is not impossible with higher-volume production but would be difficult.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway