Honda announces new sleek electric motorcycles with incredible features — here's what makes them stand out

Honda has unveiled two new electric motorcycles that could reshape the market for two-wheeled vehicles. 

According to a press release, the EV Fun Concept and EV Urban Concept bikes were both revealed at the 2024 EICMA show in Milan. 

The Fun Concept "is Honda's first electric sports model," which the company believes "will provide a new emotional experience that is very different to ICE motorcycles." Its battery is compatible with the same types of chargers as electric cars, and it provides a cruising range of 100 kilometers (about 62 miles). 

Its sleek build is reminiscent of traditional motorbikes or mopeds, and Honda touts its quiet, smooth ride to deliver a fun experience.

Where the Fun Concept is traditional and sporty, the Urban looks more like a practical scooter. The company touts the new model as reconstructing "from scratch Honda's vision of what urban electric mobility should be." With its practical design, it figures to be a perfect vehicle for city life. 

Motorcycles are an underappreciated polluter, likely going under the radar as a result of their smaller size and thus fuel efficiency. While there isn't a ton of data on just how much planet-warming pollution is spewed out by gas-powered motorcycles (because the EPA doesn't track that information), the data we have — via the show Mythbusters' use of emissions measurement systems in 2011 — showed that while motorcycles may be a bit better on carbon dioxide, they cause a lot more air pollution overall. 

From a Los Angeles Times summary of the findings: "For the most recent model year vehicles tested — from the '00s — the motorcycle used 28% less fuel than the comparable decade car and emitted 30% fewer carbon dioxide emissions, but it emitted 416% more hydrocarbons, 3,220% more oxides of nitrogen and 8,065% more carbon monoxide."

This vast difference is likely because motorcycles make up less than 1% of vehicles on the road, and their engines haven't been regulated nearly as strictly as those used in cars and trucks, for example. Gas-powered lawn tools experience similarly lower regulations on pollution. 

But the industry is shifting even when laws aren't mandating it. Chinese manufacturer Felo has released the Tooz, a fully electric bike with a 450-mile range. Zero Motorcycles' bike can go 600 miles on just $15 worth of charge. And a Kenyan company is offering a battery swap program that would allow riders to replace their drained batteries with charged ones to continue their trip. 

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For its part, Honda said it hopes to add 30 different models of electric motorcycles to its lineup by 2030. 

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