Honda finally enters the electric arena
By Ben Purvis
For decades, Honda has been arguably the most powerful company in motorcycling - leading the way on technology and providing the broadest range of models across a wider market than any of its rivals - but it has been notably slow in adopting electric power, particularly in Europe. The new EM1 e: makes a tentative step into the European EV arena and might be more important than its specifications suggest.
On paper, the EM1 e: won't strike fear into the established electric scooter brands. It's derived from an existing electric scooter built by Wuyang-Honda in China, the U-Go, but with different electronics and, most importantly, the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: battery instead of the U-Go's more generic pack.
The Mobile Power Pack e: (the "e:" element is a running theme in Honda's EV line) is a standardised, swappable battery that's intended to be used across a wide range of Honda products in the future, from lawnmowers to motorcycles. The idea is to back it up with an infrastructure of battery-swap stations - already being sold to private companies in some countries - rather like the system used in Taiwan by Gogoro, which now dominates the scooter market there as a result of the convenience of readily available swappable batteries.
'EM1 e: is Honda's first European-market electric bike'
The Mobile Power Pack e: is a 50.3V, 29.4 Ah battery, and the EM1 e: carries just one of them. Future electric Honda scooters and even motorcycles are likely to use multiple Mobile Power Pack e: batteries to get more range and performance while remaining compatible with the battery-swap infrastructure.
Complying with the 'AM' moped licence class in Europe, the EM1 e: has a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) and weighs 95 kg, including the 10.3 kg battery. That puts it head-to-head with Yamaha's new NEOs, although the Yamaha has more power and torque than the Honda.
The bare figures show the EM1 e: manages a peak of 2.3 hp (1.7 kW) and 66 lb-ft (90 Nm), but its continuous power rating - considered to be the level that can be maintained constantly for at least 30 minutes - is only 0.8 hp (0.58 kW). In 'ECON' mode, which you need to use to maximise range, peak power drops to 1.15 hp (0.86 kW).
Range is the other key figure, and the EM1 e: is claimed to be good for 41.3 km (25.7 miles) in normal mode and 48 km (29.8 miles) in ECON mode. However, WMTC test conditions bring out the worst in the bike, with just 30 km (18.6 miles) between charges or battery swaps. Not big numbers, but for inner-city use potentially enough to keep a typical rider going, with overnight charges on the supplied home charger. The removable battery means it can be brought indoors to top-up, so the bike doesn't need to be parked at a charge point.
Overnight is key, as charging isn't fast. A complete 0-100% refill takes six hours, with a more typical 25%-75% part-charge taking 2.7 hours.
On the plus side, Honda claims the Mobile Power Pack e: is good for 2,500 charges before it deteriorates, which equates to around 100,000 km (60,000 miles) of use in the EM1 e:.
The running gear includes basic 31 mm forks and twin rear shocks, while braking comes from a single front disc and rear drum. There's a combined braking system, but no ABS, and no regenerative charging for the battery during deceleration.
Rather than selling the EM1 e:, Honda plans to lease the bike, battery and charger to European customers, starting in September 2023. Prices have yet to be established, but the leasing model means that customers aren't taking as big a gamble on the bike as they would if asked to purchase outright. It also means Honda retains overall control of the bikes and will be able to withdraw them from use or upgrade them as required as it finds its feet in the electric motorcycle market.
