Electrifying Big Motorcycles
Technology Challenges Compounded by Half-hearted Efforts
This is part 2 of last week’s post, where we started a discussion on Heritage Brands and the challenges of electrifying Lifestyle motorcycles
Last week, we discussed how the motorcycle industry faces an uphill task in electrifying lifestyle motorcycles. We concluded that while the technology challenges of power and torque may be easy for E2Ws, matching ICE's weight, range, and feel would remain challenging.
Derating, Thermal Management, Weight and Planned Obsolescence remain some of the big challenges for heritage brands to electrify while maintaining the virtues that their loyal fanbase expects them to.
We also examined why Ducati, BMW and Royal Enfield are addressing electric tech tangentially. We would continue to do so, considering all the regulatory challenges that seemed over the horizon just two years back have been pushed far away.
Looking at the Global motorcycling landscape, the electrification of large Lifestyle machines is left entirely to startups (Damon, Lightning, Verge, Evoke, Energica, etc.) and relatively smaller brands (like BRP-CanAm). In contrast, the big brands are reluctant to commit to the idea that two-wheel mobility should completely change from fossil to electric.
KTM-Husqvarna: No one wants a heavy scalpel!
KTM differs from other lifestyle brands like Ducati and BMW in that its range starts from 125cc, straddling both the beginner’s and performance segments. In comparison, even the smallest BMWs and Ducatis are more than 500cc in displacement.
KTM also heavily invests in the Enduro/Motocross segments and Kid’s MX bikes, some of the lowest-hanging fruit for electrification. The brand started offering its electric Enduro range in 2015 only.
The problem for KTM, especially in the large motorcycle domain, is that the brand is known for making motorcycles that handle sharper than the competition, are edgier and more fun. Difficult to do that if you are lugging a 20 kWh battery.
But KTM is trying, though we haven’t seen the results yet.
In 2021, KTM opened a new 20,000 sqm engineering facility dedicated to E2Ws next to the KISKA design studio in Salzburg, investing EUR 20m and employing 400 people.
Then, in February 2022, in an investor presentation highlighting the key figures of the 2021 business year, KTM revealed that the group is working on an E-Pilen and E-Duke. The Husqvarna E-Pilen (and the Husqvarna Vektorr scooter) had not been a surprise—they had been revealed as concepts a few months back. The E-Duke was a surprise, and the numbers looked practical—a 5.5 kWh fixed battery and a 10 kW mid-drive motor.
Since then? A deafening silence
It's not that the world is not used to KTM playing around with electrifying the Duke. Experimental prototypes have been spotted in the wild since 2017. However, nothing has been developed seriously.
Going through investor presentations in 2023 and early 2024, we noticed that while KTM still shows a lot of enthusiasm for electric mobility, the E-Duke never reappears as a discussion point. It has been two years, enough time for a heavily pixelated image to transform into a rolling motorcycle, but we haven’t seen anything in metal till now.
Considering that KTM is continuously working on new product lines in its traditional playing field of naked and enduro ICE motorcycles, we do not anticipate a rush to go electric in its lifestyle motorcycle range. Sure, there are the usual product plans for ever-enlarging engines because the competition is doing the same, but we do not hear any plans for a fast electric lifestyle motorcycle.
But KTM does keep talking the talk.
In its investor presentations, the company has laid out product guidance, including plans to make less than 250 cc equivalents using a 48V architecture.
The group has access to relevant technology using its own R&D. It also has access to electric technology developed by its partners Bajaj Auto (49% share in Pierer Bajaj) and CF Moto (2% stake in KTM).
Bajaj sells the Chetak electric scooter in the Indian market, while CF Moto owns the Zeeho urban mobility brand. For some time, rumours were afloat that KTM would use the Chetak E&E architecture for its scooters and motorcycles. That does not seem to be the case now.
Instead, we feel that KTM is becoming more inclined towards Zeeho’s much larger E2W range, including the newly launched City Sport motorcycle, which seems like a good fit for the European market. With Zeeho, KTM also gets access to some scooters that could work well in Europe.
As of now, KTM is distributing CF Moto / Zeeho in Europe, which gives the group a significant electric product portfolio.
KTM is also a regular member of the Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC), and it was expected that SBMC-developed portable batteries would be used in the E-Pilen and the E-Duke. Again, that does not seem to be the case for now.
Livewire: Why Harley-Davidson needed a new name?
Heritage inertia is sometimes too much to overcome, as it was for Harley-Davidson a few years back. Instead of directly tackling electric mobility, Harley created the Livewire sub-brand. The sub-brand would eventually become a separate company and do a public listing.
Creating Livewire meant the sub-brand could go in a direction the Heritage brand would never dare to. H-D is traditionally known for making highly desirable American cruisers, a format that is the most difficult to electrify due to the range of customer expectations and usage patterns. Think of it: a 400 km real-world range at a decently high speed needs a huge battery that is nearly impossible to package in a manageable wheelbase. If you persist, you end up with an ugly monstrosity like the Evoke 6061 GT with a wheelbase the size of a sixteen-wheeler.
Instead, Livewire wisely decided to target segments that only indirectly attack the same target audience. So, if we look at the Livewire One, the S2 Del Mar, or the S2 Mulholland, none is a traditional American Cruiser. They may be called roadsters, bruiser-cruisers, or street bikes because of a lack of definition based on body style conventions.
In one stroke, you have shifted the goalpost, the use case and the expectations.
That works for Harley and Livewire and should work for the customers.
Indian: The Brand
Arguably, the Indian brand is the better American Cruiser in North America. The brand has heritage and history, and with H-D going electric with Livewire, it was expected that Indian would follow.
In 2020, everyone got excited when Indian filed for the eFTR trademark, indicating an imminent product launch. The logical assumption was that an electric version of the Indian FTR roadster was on the way.
Instead, the world got this.
Indian announced a tie-up with Super 73 where they would take the popular fat tyre pedelec range and paint them in the Indian brand livery. That was the eFTR.
We haven’t stopped laughing since.
Putting money down for the engineering of a large electric motorcycle is not a top business priority for a brand which has been slow even with new ICE model introductions.
Honda: Market Domination Makes One Relaxed
Unlike typical European and American Heritage brands, the Japanese decided very early on that they were there for the business and not for the glory. It's all good if legacy follows as a result.
So, the Global market leader, Honda, sells everything from 50-cc mopeds to 1800-cc Grand Tourers. Ditto for compatriots Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. Being the global leader with huge volumes (18.5 million sales and 32 per cent market share globally), one would expect Honda to stay ahead of technology and trends.
Nopes.
We are in an era in which the Japanese seem to have lost their collective mojo, as is evident from how much they trail in other technology areas—cameras, computers, drones, home electronics, semiconductors, appliances, and software. Expecting Honda to take the lead in electric two-wheelers is perhaps too much.
However, they have been making some noise over the last five years. Honda has iterated that it desires to be a leader in electric mobility. The company is a founding member of Europe-based SBMC and the main constituent and manufacturing partner of the Gachaco consortium in Japan.
The Honda Mobile Power Pack (MPP) is supposed to become the de facto standard for Japanese brands. However, Kawasaki has decided to put Foresee Power portable batteries in its Ninja E-1 and Z E-1 motorcycles for now.
Yet another partner, Yamaha, works with Gogoro batteries in Taiwan, and it is a member of the ‘Powered by Gogoro’ network.
Meanwhile, in 2021, Honda finally released an E2W roadmap.
The roadmap featured a few planned products and highlighted the launch of at least three electric scooters and mini-bikes in 2024. The company clearly stated that all these products targeted the economy or commuter segments. The so-called ‘FUN’ machines would start appearing much later.
Realising that the road map was not comprehensive enough, Honda released a new one in 2022. The new road map announced that the brand would launch at least 10 electric two-wheelers by 2025.
Based purely on the silhouettes in the deck, it is safe to say that three of them would be targeted at the lifestyle segment.
Ten products may sound like a lot, but that is less than the annual portfolio churn for a large Chinese factory brand like Yadea or Tailg.
Honda’s problem is that deep down, it is not a ‘Heritage’ brand. Sure, it makes impressive motorcycles like the Goldwing tourer and competent ones like the Africa-Twin and Fireblade, but most of the brand’s sales are a mix of Beat, Vario, Wave, SH and Activa budget commuter scooters and motorcycles.
Even at the commuter end of the market, we have observed that Honda wants to play safe. Take the Indian two-wheeler market, where the brand is the market leader in ICE scooters, but the electric scooter market has started growing sharply. Honda is now readying an electric scooter, its first E2W offering in the Indian market, and is a late entrant to the game. Yet the brand’s careful play is to ensure that the new electric scooter does not cannibalise the sales of the existing showroom.
Honda’s challenge is that its electric strategy is built around the global domination of the electric mobility ecosystem. The strategy pivots around the Honda MPP, which the brand plans to use as the standardised battery across the range and into Yamahas, Kawasaki, and Suzukis. If Honda has its way, the SBMC would also adapt the MPP as the standard.
(We look at Honda’s electrification strategy in detail in a future post)
Now, the MPP is 1.5 kWh, and most commuter formats take two of them. That works beautifully in the commuter E2W segment but is a challenge for Lifestyle products, which demand much larger energy storage. Most Lifecycle machines require battery packs much larger than 3.0 kWh and that’s a strategy challenge for a company that wants to push the MPP format as a universal solution.
Yamaha: The Cooler Japanese
If Honda has played safe until now, the other Japanese manufacturers are even more conservative. Currently, Yamaha has three electric scooters: Neos, EC-05, and EMF. Two are only available in the Taiwanese market and run on Gogoro batteries.
The only sliver of hope from Yamaha is the E-01 scooter, which the company says is 125cc (11kW) equivalent. It is still commuter but is a step upwards and onwards.
At such a nascent stage of evolution, it is too much to expect Yamaha to develop an electric Super Tenere.
Can Kawasaki Go Green?
Of all the Japanese brands, Kawasaki has the most aggressive streak, often doing things differently than its Japanese compatriots. So, it is no surprise that Kawasaki has worked not only on electric motorcycles but has opened a new front with hybrids with the Ninja-7 Hybrid.
That is still not a pure EV, but it is a bold step in the right direction. For its electric motorcycles, Kawasaki has merely taken the styling language of the Ninja and Z range and mated it to commuter-level power and practicality. That, to us suggests that the brand looks at electric as a means to expand its volumes (Kawasaki has never done too. well in the ICE commuter segment) and not as something that replaces ICE altogether.
Will Triumph triumph?
We saved the best for last as the UK Government Triumph seems to be our best bet for big bike electrification. That is understandable, as the British brand has never been burdened by heritage, exhaust notes or styling. This company makes singles, twins, triples, and the world’s biggest motorcycle engine for any underproduction motorcycle.
More importantly, Triumph has always sides-stepped the competition, figuring out ways to deliver the same experience differently. So, for any BMW S 1000 R and Ducati Panigale, Triumph has nothing.
For the R 1250 GS’s twin-cylinder and the Multistrada’s V4, Triumph packs a triple in the Tiger 1200. For most of Triumph’s range, it would be hard to pick up a direct competitor. What are the alternatives if it’s the Rocket III or the Bonneville one is looking at?
Instead, Triumph has focused steadfastly on making high-quality motorcycles that stand apart.
So when they revealed the ‘experimental for now’ TE-1 in 2022, we were impressed. Made with the help of some fine British technical talent from Williams, Integral Powertrain, Warwick University, and Triumph, the TE-1 betters most electric superbikes in many aspects.
Triumph has published the results of phase 4 of the TE-1 testing, and the numbers are impressive—the motor produces 130 kW peak power and 109 Nm peak torque. The motorcycle weighs 220 kg, and Triumph claimed a real-world range of 161 km.
The TE1 is experimental and a technology demonstrator. We don’t even know if Triumph would have had the same enthusiasm if the UK government had not funded the project. However, looking at the TE-1 program critically, Cycle World pointed out that motorbikes fall short of the range motorcyclists need. We partially agree—a 161km range is nothing to write home about, but an 80% charge time of 20 min should improve the perception. Also, an aggressive naked sports body style, reminiscent of the Speed Triple, means that not many would stretch their uninterrupted trips beyond 160 km.
Then, there is the motor and battery. The motor may not be the most powerful, but it is the most energy-dense, weighing around 10kg. The Damon has a more powerful 150 kW motor but weighs significantly more at about 22 kg. The battery size is undisclosed, but given the range and power, we estimate an 12-14 kWh size for the battery. This means some more may be packed, if needed, improving the range.
Most importantly, at 220 kg weight, the TE-1 comes close to ICE motorcycles, only 11 per cent off on weight compared to the Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS, matching it for feel.
And that is the most important thing.