ELECTRIC FUTURE?

Electric motorcycles. Ten years ago they were the preserve of a curious little start-up in California plus some home-brewed specials. Now, they lap the TT course at 121mph, have their own race series and e-scooters sell by the million in China. According to the MCIA, sales nearly doubled in the UK last year. Harley-Davidson has just launched its first (see pages 44-48 for our launch report), while BMW and Ducati are both working on one. I’d be very surprised if any of the other big name brands weren’t thinking very hard about doing the same.

So why are they taking off now, and why should we buy one? The real surprise is that it’s taken so long. There have been sporadic attempts at electric two-wheelers in the past, but they’ve only been practical since a new breed