This Gorgeous Honda Electric Motorcycle is... a Little Bit of a Catfish
Image Credit: Wuyang-Honda.
Have you seen it? The pictures have been making the rounds online, causing the kind of buzz usually reserved for a celebrity wardrobe malfunction. A stunning, retro-futuristic electric café racer with a big, beautiful Honda wing on the side. The internet collectively gasped, “Finally! Honda’s building a proper electric motorcycle!” And I was right there with them, ready to throw my money at the screen.
But, as is so often the case with things that seem too good to be true, there’s a little asterisk. A tiny bit of fine print. A situation not too different from going on a date with someone who looks exactly like their profile picture… from ten years ago. It’s still Honda, kind of, but not the 100% purebred, globally available Honda we were all drooling over. This, my friends, is the Wuyang-Honda E-VO.
Image Credit: Wuyang-Honda.
What does that mean? It means this bike is the product of a joint venture between Honda and a Chinese company, Guangzhou Motorcycle Group, also known as Wuyang. It’s designed and built specifically for the Chinese market. See the little trickery there? The “Honda” is big and proud, while the “Wuyang” is tucked away like a shy cousin at a family reunion. It’s a clever bit of branding, for sure, but it does mean that for those of us in the good ol’ U.S. of A., getting our hands on one is, for now, just a dream.
Before we all get too disappointed and start writing sad poetry, let’s have a look at what the E-VO actually is, because it’s genuinely fascinating. One thing it is not is a fire-breathing superbike meant to shatter land speed records. Not at all. It’s a chic urban commuter, designed to look fabulous while you zip through city streets. And honestly, it nails the look. It’s sleek, it’s stylish, and it has that minimalist café-racer charm that makes you want to put on a leather jacket, even if you’re just going to the end of your driveway.
Image Credit: Wuyang-Honda.
Underneath that pretty face, the numbers are perfectly respectable for city life. The motor gives you a steady 11 horsepower, with a little extra kick up to about 21 horsepower for when you need to merge with enthusiasm. The top-tier model will get you up to a breezy 75 mph and give you about 105 miles of range. The more affordable version tops out at 68 mph with a 75-mile range. Perfectly adequate for winning the traffic light Grand Prix on your way to get artisanal coffee.
The top model has a 6.3 kWh pack, while the standard one has a $4.1 kWh setup. But both have an integrated charger. Hallelujah! No more lugging around a heavy charging brick like it’s 2015 - you can plug it directly into a regular wall outlet. The one with a smaller battery pack can be fully juiced in just an hour at a car charger.
Image Credit: Wuyang-Honda.
Digging into available details, I found out that the bike is built on a forged aluminum frame, which is quite fancy. It weighs in at 315 pounds for the smaller battery model and 344 pounds for the larger battery version - not exactly featherlight, but manageable. What I really love is the seat height: just 30.1 inches. This means a wider range of riders can comfortably put their feet on the ground, which is a huge confidence booster. It also uses a proper chassis-mounted motor with a quiet belt drive, a much more sophisticated setup than the hub motors you see on many electric bikes.
And the long list of gadgets reads as if the Chinese Honda raided an electronics store. There’s a beautiful 7-inch TFT screen for all your vital info, keyless unlocking, and three riding modes (Eco, Normal, and Sport). This thing even has built-in DVR cameras. The base model has a front camera, and the premium version adds rear and foot cameras. I’m still trying to figure out what the foot cameras are for. Checking for rogue chewing gum? Making sure your shoes match your belt? Whatever the reason, it’s quirky. The E-VO can even connect to your DJI drone…
Image Credit: Wuyang-Honda.
Now for the part that will make you simultaneously happy and sad: the price. In China, the cheapest E-VO costs the equivalent of about $4,000, and the top-end model is just over $5,000. For a beautifully designed electric motorcycle with this level of tech, from a Honda-affiliated brand, that price is simply incredible.
What we have here is a gorgeous, cleverly-equipped, and shockingly affordable electric motorcycle that we can’t buy. It really is the ultimate window shopping experience. This might not be the global Honda electric streetbike we’ve all been waiting for, but it’s a massive, promising step. And if the E-VO is a hit in China (and with that price and those looks, how could it not be?), it sends a powerful message to Honda’s head office. Maybe they’ll see our puppy eyes from across the Pacific and decide to send something similar our way.
