Get Your (Electric) Motor Running

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Motorcycles are fucking fun.

And just like cars, home heating, and lawnmowers, motorcycles are going electric.

Zero Motorcycles has been selling bikes for over a decade.

Canada’s own Can-Am brought its new Pulse and Origin bikes to market this year.

Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire pushed out its first machines back in 2019. Oddly, the LiveWire One was featured in the Marvel movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron” nearly 5 years before it was widely available for sale. latimes.com

However, high prices, blah performance, mediocre charging, and limited range have kept those electric bikes in a relatively niche lane.

All of that is about to change, thanks to the combination of better, lower-priced batteries, increased competition, and a wider range of segments from e-bikes to electric dirt bikes and motorcycles. Not to mention a plethora of new models.

Zero Motorcycles confirmed that its new XE and XB models cost US$4,395–6,495 and are aimed squarely at the light off‑road segment dominated by juiced-up e-bikes like those made by Sur‑Ron and Talaria. To reach those price points, Zero partnered with the Chinese manufacturer Zongshen for lower-cost batteries, while retaining Californian design and support. electrek.co

LiveWire unveiled two 125cc-equivalent prototypes: a streetbike and a trail bike. These mini-bikes feature removable batteries and offer a range of approximately 160 km. Pricing is unconfirmed, but unlike Zero’s off-road focus, LiveWire’s mini-bikes appear street-legal. motorcycle.com

Patent images uncovered by Cycle World suggest that Honda is quietly developing an electric motorcycle based on its Shine 100, a budget ICE commuter launched in India.

Honda appears to be repurposing the Shine’s chassis and mounting brackets, bolting in a simple motor with a pair of removable lithium-ion batteries. The patents show the batteries canted forward like engine cylinders, with cooling ducts channelling air over the electronic controller. cycleworld.com

Stark Future, the Barcelona-based electric motorcycle startup known for its high-performance off-road bikes, smashed expectations by posting its first profitable quarter. electrek.co

Stark’s progress marks the fastest path to profitability ever recorded for an electric vehicle manufacturer, whether on two wheels or four.

Other fun-looking bikes are in development, nearing release, or already on the road.

BMW’s half-motorcycle, half-scooter electric CE 02 is already on the streets of Europe.

Honda’s E-VO looks like it’s straight out of a Tron movie. That bike will only be available in China for the foreseeable future. (Why can’t we have nice things?) cycleworld.com

Royal Enfield expects to start selling their Flying Fea in 2026, and recent reports have surfaced that its Electric Himalayan has been spotted in testing. rideapart.com

Segway inches closer to selling a motorbike as it evolves from weird mall cop scooters into cool-looking rides like the Segway Xyber Electric Bike.

These bikes offer a combination of cost-effectiveness, excellent acceleration, zero-emission riding, and fun! Although not all of them can get you on the open highway.

I’m personally infatuated with the Beachman. With a top speed of 32 km/h, it won’t break any land speed records. However, it will likely allow me to beat the streetcar from my place to Yonge Street.

Every single Beachman sold is hand-assembled in Toronto.

Don’t be surprised if you see me cruising down Dundas on a Beachman in the not-too-distant future on my way to meet you for afternoon pints. Cheers!

Huawei plans to launch its 5th EV brand in September with the SAIC-made Shangjie H5 SUV. carnewschina.com

Nissan’s N7 beat the Buick GL8 and Toyota Platinum 3X in China’s June sales, securing the title for best-selling new-energy car from a non-Chinese brand. carscoops.com

Xpeng’s G6 EREV was spotted in testing and is expected to have a combined 1,400-kilometre range. carnewschina.com

BYD has sold over 60,000 vehicles to date in Australia, with 8,156 units sold in June. cnevpost.com

Nio hits cumulative 80 million battery swap milestone, less than four months after reaching the 70 millionth swap. cnevpost.com

China plans a crackdown on zero-mileage used car sales. reuters.com

Tesla robotaxi expansion exemplifies how Elon is a dick. autoevolution.com

Waymo’s response to Tesla explains why size matters. theverge.com

Tesla can’t settle on its trim-level naming convention as it prepares to launch larger versions of both the Model 3 Plus and Model YL in China. theverge.com

A Miami jury will decide if Tesla is partly to blame for the death of a stargazing university student after a runaway Model S on Autopilot sent her flying 75 feet through the air. finance.yahoo.com

SpaceX’s cellular Starlink service is coming to Canada through mobile carrier Rogers. pcmag.com

Over 500,000 Canadians use Starlink. iphoneincanada.ca

Elon claims that Grok is now the "Smartest AI in the World," but most other folks who work in AI disagree. futurism.com

Elon wants Tesla to invest in xAI. businessinsider.com

The Royal Canadian Navy is experimenting with explosive-packed drone boats, turning lessons learned from Ukraine’s war with Russia into a “new operational concept” for Canada’s maritime forces. ctvnews.ca

Bedrock Robotics, led by a veteran of Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous tech unit, is emerging from stealth mode with $80 million and plans to make heavy construction equipment work around-the-clock without human operators. forbes.com

GM and Redwood Materials plan to build battery energy storage solutions (BESS) made out of new batteries and recycled EV packs. theverge.com

Panasonic opens the world’s largest EV battery facility in Kansas. insideevs.com

CO2-enhanced oil recovery could help the government transform Canada into an energy superpower and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. nationalpost.com

China’s gasoline and diesel demand has peaked as electric vehicle adoption surges. oilprice.com

EV charging company Flo plans to lay off 80 staff and close one of its three EV charger assembly plants. autonews.com

US EV charging company Ionna, the DC fast charging network backed by nearly a dozen global automakers, has partnered with the convenience store and gas station chain Wawa to expand its charging coverage. insideevs.com

Uber plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Lucid and Nuro in a massive robotaxi deal. theverge.com

Lucid is set to roll out a software update that will enable hands-free highway driving on its Lucid Airs. techcrunch.com

HSBC analysts suggest that it could take years for robotaxi companies to turn a profit, and the market for self-driving Ubers might be "overestimated." businessinsider.com

VW is giving the ID.4 a visual overhaul to make it more closely resemble its other models. insideevs.com

Production of the Chevy Silverado is temporarily paused at the GM Oshawa Assembly Plant as the facility undergoes a scheduled summer shutdown. gmauthority.com

The new Chevy Bolt looks like the old Chevy Bolt. autonews.com

Mercedes plans to let you use an in-car camera with Microsoft Teams while driving. theverge.com

Scout Motors has requested that the US government eliminate state motor vehicle franchise laws, describing them as “burdensome restrictions on competition.” autonews.com

Rivian will resume prep work on its planned Georgia factory in August and is still looking to break ground early next year. techcrunch.com

The Donald plans to impose a 93.5% bullshit tariff on Chinese graphite. Which will likely make all EVs more expensive. nytimes.com

It’s taken some time, but OEMs are bracing for the impact of The Donald’s bullshit tariffs. nytimes.com

ICYMI: According to new data from Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. China and Europe represent the most significant portions of this EV growth. electrek.co

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