#charging

Once upon a time, electric motorcycles had such short range and high MSRPs that only the most devoted of early adopters had a reason to consider owning one. Well, in the past couple years, improvements in range have resulted in electrics now being a viable option for riders who are looking for a greener alternative to internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles, which are relatively dirty compared to four-wheeled road users. So, we’ve taken the 2018 BMW C Evolution scooter and the 2018 Zero DSR as representatives of two different approaches to urban electric motorcycles to see how they stack up for everyday use. Note: This is not our typical comparison where we try to determine the best motorcycle out of a pairing. Rather, we are looking at two different electric bikes to determine their viability as urban transport.

We’ve all heard of range anxiety for electric vehicles, the fear of running out of power before you reach your destination. Apart from the cost, range is the one of the biggest limiters for electric vehicle adoption.

When it comes to a (relatively) affordable mass-produced electric motorcycle, Santa Cruz, California’s Zero is the most prevalent manufacturer of e-bikes. Sure, Italy’s Energica has a high-end line of electrics and KTM and BMW are bringing to market electric dirtbikes (the Freeride E-XC) and scooters (the C Evolution), respectively, but we’re still waiting on Harley’s LiveWire and an Indian version of the Brammo/Victory Empulse platform. Then there’s the ultra e-bike, Lightning’s LS 218, which is offered in small-scale production, as well as the RedShift dirtbike from Alta Motors.