Electric motorcycles and scooters


Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery that drives one or more electric motors. Electric scooters are distinguished from motorcycles by having a step-through frame, instead of being straddled. Electric bicycles are similar vehicles, distinguished by retaining the ability to be propelled by the rider pedaling in addition to battery propulsion.
Electric scooters with the rider standing are known as escooters.

History

1895 to 1950

The early history of electric motorcycles is somewhat unclear. On 19 September 1895, a patent application for an "electrical bicycle" was filed by Ogden Bolton Jr. of Canton Ohio. On 8 November of the same year, another patent application for an "electric bicycle" was filed by Hosea W. Libbey of Boston.
At the Stanley Cycle Show in 1896 in London, England, bicycle manufacturer Humber exhibited an electric tandem bicycle. Powered by a bank of storage batteries, the motor was placed in front of the rear wheel. Speed control was by a resistance placed across the handlebars. This electric bicycle was mainly intended for racetrack use.
The October 1911 issue of Popular Mechanics mentioned the introduction of an electric motorcycle. It claimed to have a range of to per charge. The motorcycle had a three-speed controller, with speeds of.
In 1919, Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies made a prototype electric motorcycle in which the batteries were fitted under the seat of the sidecar. Even though the vehicle was registered for road use, it never went past the trial stage.
In 1936, the Limelette brothers founded an electric motorcycle company called Socovel in Brussels. They continued production during the German occupation with their permission. Due to fuel rationing, they found some degree of success. But after the war, they switched to conventional models. The electric models remained available until 1948.
During the World War II, compelled by fuel rationing in the United States, Merle Williams of Long Beach, California, invented a two-wheeled electric motorcycle that towed a single-wheeled trailer. Due to the popularity of the vehicle, Williams started making more such vehicles in his garage. In 1946, it led to the formation of the Marketeer Company.

1950 to 1980

In 1967, Karl Kordesch, working for Union Carbide, made a fuel cell/Nickel–cadmium battery hybrid electric motorcycle. It was later replaced with a hydrazine fuel cell, giving it a range of and a top speed of.
In the same year, a prototype electric motorcycle called the Papoose, was built by the Indian Motorcycle Company under the direction of Floyd Clymer.
In 1974, Auranthic Corp., a small manufacturer in California, produced a small motorcycle called the Charger. It had a top speed and an range on a full charge.
In the early 1970s, Mike Corbin built a street-legal commuter electric motorcycle called the Corbin Electric. Later in 1974, Corbin, riding a motorcycle called the Quick Silver, set the electric motorcycle speed world record at. The motorcycle used a 24 volt electric starter motor from a Douglas A-4B fighter plane. In 1975, Corbin built a battery-powered prototype street motorcycle called the City Bike. This motorcycle used a battery manufactured by Yardney Electric.
In June 1975, the first Annual Alternative Vehicle Regatta was held at Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. The event was created and promoted by Charles McArthur, an environmentalist. On June 17, Corbin's motorcycle completed the uphill course in 26 minutes.

1980s to 2000s

In 1988, Ed Rannberg, who founded Eyeball Engineering, tested his electric drag motorcycle in Bonneville. In 1992, the January issue of Cycle World carried an article about Ed Rannberg's bike called the KawaSHOCKI. It could complete in 11–12 seconds.
In 1995, Electric Motorbike Inc. was founded by Scott Cronk and Rick Whisman in Santa Rosa, California. In 1996, EMB Lectra was built by Electric Motorbike Inc., which used a variable reluctance motor. It had a top speed of about and a range of. About 100 of these were built.
In 1996, the first mass-produced electric scooter, Peugeot Scoot'Elec, was released. It used Nickel-Cadmium batteries and a range of.

2000s

On 26 August 2000, Killacycle established a drag racing record of completing a in 9.450 seconds on the Woodburn track in Oregon. Killacycle used lead acid batteries at a speed of. Later, Killacycle using A123 Systems Li-ion nano-phosphate cells set a new quarter mile record of 7.824 seconds breaking the 8 seconds barrier at in Phoenix, Arizona, at the All Harley Drag Racing Association 2007, on 10 November 2007.
In 2006, Vectrix introduced the first commercially available high performance electric scooter, the VX-1. Following insolvency and initial bankruptcy reorganization, the Gold Peak battery group purchased the company in 2009. Vectrix expanded product lines, offering the VX-2 and the three wheeled VX-3. But Vectrix ceased operations in January 2014 and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, with its remaining assets auctioned off the following June.
In February 2009, at the TED conference, Mission Motors, a San Francisco startup led by a former Tesla Motors engineer, unveiled the Mission One, an electric motorcycle capable of. If achievable, this would make the Mission One the fastest production electric vehicle in the world.
On April 4–5, 2009, Zero Motorcycles hosted the "24 Hours of Electricross" event in San Jose. It is considered the first all-electric off-road endurance race.
On June 14, 2009, the first electric Time Trial Xtreme Grand Prix all-electric street motorcycle race took place on the Isle of Man in which 13 machines took part. Rob Barber riding a motorcycle built by Team Agni won the race. He completed the course in 25 minutes 53.5 seconds, an average speed of.
In September 2009, product manager Jeremy Cleland of Mission Motors broke the AMA electric motorcycle land speed record during the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, US riding the company's Mission One. The bike registered a speed of.

2010s

In 2010, ElectroCat, made by Eva Håkansson, set the record time for an electric motorcycle to climb Pikes Peak. The motorcycle, ridden by John Scollon, completed the course in 16 minutes 55.849 seconds. ElectroCat uses batteries manufactured by A123 Systems.
On June 26, 2011, Chip Yates broke ElectroCat's previous record at Pikes Peak. He completed the course in 12 minutes 50.094 seconds. On 30 August 2011, Yates riding his prototype SWIGZ.COM electric superbike established the official Guinness record of the fastest electric motorcycle. The motorcycle clocked a speed of at Bonneville.
In 2012, Paul Ernst Thede set an SCTA record run of at Bonnevile Salt Flats, Utah, US. This did not qualify as a Guinness World record as it wasn't timed by the FIM timing association.
In 2012 Electro Force cycles made their debut as a commuter cycle for commuters to ride to work or for enjoyment. These cycle were built by Jennifer Northern of Issaquah, Washington, US. She became the first woman to develop and manufacture an electric vehicle in the US. The maximum speed reached was, while immediate speeds reached up to in 6 seconds, programmable with regenerative braking or on the throttle. Their range was up to 100 miles while maintaining in all weather and hills. It was the first of their kind built by a woman in the US.
In 2012, Jim Higgins rode the street-legal Mission Motors' Mission R at the Sonoma Raceway quarter-mile drag strip and set a National Electric Drag Racing Association street-legal electric motorcycle record for the SMC/A3 class with a time of 10.602 at.
On June 30, 2013, Carlin Dunne riding a Lightning Motorcycle-built electric bike beat conventional motorcycles at Pikes Peak. He clocked a 10 minutes 00.694 seconds at the course.
In 2017, Scorpio Electric announced its scope of business includes manufacturing and assembly of electric motorcycles and scooters. On November 20, 2018, VinFast from Vietnam introduced two electric scooter models in Hanoi, with 4 model: VinFast Klara A1, VinFast Klara A2, VinFast Ludo and VinFast Impes.
In 2019, the Lark Streamliner, a streamliner motorcycle, was built to challenge a land speed record in its class.

2020s

In 2022, VinFast of VinGroup from Vietnam introduced 2 new models, the Theon S and Feliz S.
In 2023, Bobfleet introduce its next generation model: Model X gen2.

Types

A two- wheeled powered vehicle if ridden with rider astride is termed a motorcycle; if it has a step-through frame with rider seated with feet on a floor panel it is a motor scooter. A smaller vehicle, typically just a deck to stand on with two wheels and a handlebar on a vertical stem is also termed a scooter; such scooters if unpowered are termed kick scooters, and e-scooters if battery powered. E-scooters are made available for hire by several companies in a scooter-sharing system.

Power source

Since electric motorcycles and scooters have relatively small frames, they typically have short ranges, restricted by the volume available for energy storage.
Most electric motorcycles and scooters are powered by rechargeable lithium ion batteries, though some early models used nickel–metal hydride batteries.
Alternative types of batteries are available. Z Electric Vehicle pioneered use of a battery with lead electrodes and an electrolyte of a liquid low sodium silicate compound, a variation on the classic lead–acid battery invented in 1859 and still used for electrical power in internal-combustion-engine automobiles, that compares favorably with lithium batteries in size, weight, and energy capacity, at considerably less cost.
EGen says its lithium-iron phosphate batteries are up to two-thirds lighter than lead-acid batteries and offer the best battery performance for electric vehicles.
In 2017, the first vehicle in the US to use the new Lithium Titanium Oxide battery non-flammable battery technology was a scooter called The Expresso. This technology allows a battery to charge in less than 10 minutes, and is capable of 25,000 charges, the equivalent of 70 years of daily charges. The technology, created by Altairnano, is used in China, where over 10,000 urban buses run on these batteries.