Despite Honda teasing a certain number of all electric motorcycles during several shows, including the EICMA event from last year in Italy, he has not yet fully engaged electrification and putting something fleshy in production.
This is about to change, because its collaboration with the Chinese bicycle Wuyang led to the Wuyang-Honda Wh8000D, or to the first electric motorcycle of production of the famous specialist in the Japanese two wheels.
Admittedly, Honda-Badged electric scooters preceded this, but the WH8000D, which will probably be called the E-VO on its national Chinese market, is the first to look like an “appropriate” motorcycle.
Inspired by the magnificent RC-E concept bike which appeared at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011 fair, the E-VO has a style of retro-futuristic coffee runner, with a neat round lighthouse, a sports fairing, foot pools and a slightly deposited handlebar.
It is a little annoying to look at and not as beautiful as the influences of GP bikes from the 1960s of the aforementioned concept, but it is undoubtedly more impressive than the electrical scooters step by step that have so far released Honda production facilities.
Despite the adoption of the air of a larger capacity machine, the E -VO is designed to compete with 125 cm3 combustion engine motorcycles, as the engine it uses has a cutting -edge power of 15.3 kW – or around 20 hp, according to Electk.
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This means that top speed will be limited to around 68 MPH to 75 MPH in the lightest models, although Wuyang-Honda suggests that it can accelerate rest at around 30 MPH (city traffic speeds) in just 2.8 seconds.
The second sticky problem is battery capacities and load speeds, because it will be offered in China in forms of 4.1 or 6.2 kWh. The first offers approximately 74 miles of reach but weighs 143 kg.
There is also a heavier triple battery option which sees the beach climb to 105 miles, but the load takes approximately 2.5 hours on a standard domestic socket or approximately 90 minutes on a low -power level 2 charger. There is no option to quickly load the motorcycle.
However, battery swap technology is becoming more and more popular in China (and further), the cycle world suggesting that E-VO may well benefit from something like the existing mobile technology of Honda E Swappable Tech.
This would allow users to remove the batteries and load them from the bicycle, but also to exchange them for units fully loaded in dedicated stations.
But if this kind of convenience does not exist, the Wuyang -Honda becomes a vehicle that is really good only for short journeys – something that can easily be approached by a more affordable and practical ice scooter.
Bang for the yuan
Despite a slightly strange appearance, without wrapping particularly impactful performance, offering a relatively lean beach and slow load speeds, the Honda-Wuyang E-VO is equipped with impressive money.
According to Electk, prices start at 29,999 yuan, or about $ 4,500 / £ 3,100 $ 6,465 at the 4.1 kWh version and 36,999 yuan (about $ 5,100 / £ 3.811 $ 7,970) for the triple pack version of 6.2 kWh.
However, bikes are completed with two 7 -inch TFT screens that take care of instrumentation, as well as certain infotainment tasks. There are also integrated front and rear dashboard cams for more security.
Add the inverted front forks of the “large bike”, the disc brakes and the adjustable levers and it is starting to look like an impressive package for money, but it will probably be much more expensive if it is brought for world sales.
This is where electric vehicles of smaller capacity like this do not really have a financial meaning, because their combustion engine counterparts are more practical, offer similar performance and generally cost cheaper. Take the MAEVING RM-1, the TC Max of Super Soco and the Ninja Z E-1 of Kawasaki as good examples of this.
But a larger range of electric motorcycles is on the horizon, Royal Enfield hoping to be among the first large manufacturers to offer low -cost electrified two -wheeled transport when its flying chip ends up being on sale at the start of 2026.
