Electric Motorcycles You Won't Be Embarrassed to Ride

Most of the electric motorcycles you wouldn’t be embarrassed to ride are currently in very limited production, and the electric powered motorcycle market has mostly been the province of backyard builders and smaller engineering firms, but that may change in the very near future as builders are getting a handle on creating machines with the one thing riders prize above all others – sheer performance.

Dutch design boutique, Orphiro, is set to release a sleek new electric motorcycle later this year which the company says has a range of 60 miles and a top speed of 75 mph. While that’s not blinding speed, the range has caught our attention.

Ophiro says their machine will include “sustainable fun, a cool design and comfortable driving. Orphiro combines all ideals when it comes to new motorcycling: fully electric, fast loading and one with nature. An enormous acceleration power, a lovely cruising speed and a range that covers all work-living distances easily.”

It’s also pretty darn good-looking…

Brammo, an Oregon company, has introduced the Enertia electric motorcycle and it may prove to be the first electric motorcycle to find a mass market of potential buyers. The Enertia boasts a top speed of 50 mph, a stated range of 45 miles and a full recharge time from the standard 110 volt outlet of 3 hours. The bike weighs in at a svelte 275 pounds.

Starting with a limited edition carbon-fiber model, you can snap one up for $14,995.

You can grab the Enertia Plus model for $8,995, so all is not lost.

Want something with considerably more top end? Well, you’ll have to start returning all your empties and robbing the kid’s college funds.

As with all electric vehicles, the battery technology imposes some serious cost and performance limitations on what designers and engineers can accomplish.

The good news is that battery technology is leaping forward the way microchip performance did a few short years ago. Some truly innovative minds are working on the problem of making smaller, faster to charge batteries, and the point where the products become commercially viable is clearly visible on the horizon.

Mission Motors is already rolling out what they say is “the world’s fastest production electric motorcycle,” and judging buy the video below, you have no reason to doubt the claim. The Mission says the Mission One will deliver a 150 mph top speed, and this is the jaw-dropper, an estimated 150-mile range per charge.

Engineers Forrest North (a veteran of Tesla Motors), Edward West and Mason Cabot – along with designer Yves Behar of Fuseproject – have come up with the gold standard in electric motorcycles, but you may well guess what the catch is should you want all this bleeding edge technology and performance – at price that makes your wallet shrink back in shame.

The Premier Limited Edition of the Mission One is $68,995.

Ouch.

Mission Motors: One lap of Laguna Seca on the Mission R from Mission Motors on Vimeo.

Ride along with Steve Rapp as he takes the all-electric Mission R superbike for a hot lap around Laguna Seca. Filmed at the Refuel time trials on June 26, 2011.

The Mission R and Mission Motors racing is made possible by our sponsors: Texas Instruments, ProItalia, Solid Concepts, Speedy Moto, Dunlop, BST, Cosworth, Ohlins, Zero Gravity, and GoPro.

Learn more about Mission Motors’s electric vehicle technology at ridemission.com

Thumbnail Photo courtesy of Brian Reynolds, www.rpmgear.com