Electric motorcycles are slowly coming into their own, with powerful, long-range models holding more charm for motorcycle enthusiasts.
Whether they are still a practical choice is probably more down to the lack of supporting infrastructure than anything else, but in any case they are becoming more accepted as a possible future option.
What’s more, part of the appeal of the electric motorcycle lies in its roots of a garage-built philosophy.
People who experimented and tuned their own models have given way to more professional production facilities and sophisticated technology, but there remains the idea of models that were tinkered with and developed over time.
What we bring today is a top ten electric motorcycle classification coming out of Europe (from an Italian ecology consumer site), that looks at the electric bikes that have been made so far around the world.
Obviously the Americans have got the jump start here, but some of the models are really very impressive, electric or not.
See after the jump for the list.
Neiman Marcus Mission One electric track racer costing $75,000.
Top speed of 240 km/hr and range of 250 km.
Killa Cycle produced in Colorado by a female bike builder.
Top speed is the highest so far at 285 km/hr.
Roehr eSuperbike and eSupersport.
Top speed of 240 km/hr and a range of more than 160 km.
Mission R Electric with a 141-hp, liquid cooled engine and top speed of 260 km/hr.
eCRP bike equipped with two electric motors and lithium-phosphate batteries, it can race for 40 km with a recharge time of three hours.
Sora: it apparently has the longest range of any electric motorcycle and can reach 200 km/hr.
Motoczysz E1pc which was the trailblazer at the 2010 Isle of Man.
We would have expected it further up the list.
Brammo Empulse: with its 55 hp, 160 km/hr and two-hour recharge time it’s an affordable and practical option for someone who wants an everyday electric motorcycle, costing just €7,500Brammo Enertia – definitely an urban cruiser with a range of just 70 km but one for the masses and not for the race track.
Brammo Enertia Plus rounds out the list with a range of about 160 km, it costs €6,700.
