Born to be wired?

RAC Foundation: Electric motorcycling is approaching the crossroads

Whilst ministers and manufacturers continue to heavily promote electric cars the focus on, and take up of, plug-in motorcycles remains muted.

At the end of September last year there were 1.48 million licensed motorcycles in the UK but less than one percent (13,700) were plug-in electric.

At the same point in time there were 34.5 million cars in the UK of which 1.63 million (4.7%) were pure battery electric and a further 835,000 (0.5%) or so plug-in hybrids.

In analysis by written Sara Sloman – Wired for the Road: Living with an Electric Motorcycle – published by the RAC Foundation ‘motorcycle’ is taken to mean powered two-wheel vehicles subject to the rules requiring registration and licence holding for riders (i.e. excluding electric bicycles).

Motorcycles account for 3% of licensed motor vehicles, but just 1% of vehicle miles driven.

People looking to buy a new electric motorbike can potentially benefit from a government plug-in grant of up to £500, depending on the model they choose and its retail price.

Electric motorcycles tend to use the same public chargepoints as cars.

Sara Sloman is chief strategy officer at the EV payments company Paythru, and an ambassador electric motoring. In 2025, with her partner, Sam Clarke, she set a Guinness world for the longest electric motorcycle journey on a single charge of 193 miles on a Verge TS Pro.

She is about to buy her third electric motorbike.

Talking about a 100-mile ride out she completed with friends on petrol-powered bikes Sara Sloman said: “The 100 miles cost me around £1.50 but more like £12 for the others in petrol. They argued that their bikes were a fraction of the price to buy, and they can repair and maintain themselves. I pointed out my resale value was high, and there is virtually no maintenance… no oil, no clutch, no filters, less brake wear and depending on what drivetrain your bike has less messing about with chain lubrication too.

“The electric bikes you see today may not be to your taste, but it is a sign to me of the way things are moving that the mainstream brands are all joining in, with bikes like Honda’s WN7, and competition will bring choice.

“I’m really excited to see Verge announcing their solid-state battery models, technology developed here in the UK that could be a real game-changer offering riders faster charging and a longer range in a really stylish package.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The zero-carbon future for motorcycling is on its way, but as of today the precise pathway is far from certain. In part this in unsurprising because motorcycling is such a small part of the overall carbon emission problem.

“Utility bike riders – those who use their vehicles for everyday trips and are particularly cost conscious – are already reasonably well served with many mopeds and scooters returning more than 100 miles per gallon.

“However, it is this segment of the market which also offers perhaps the ripest opportunity to decarbonise with trips usually being relatively short and home parking often readily available even if it is in a passage down the side of the house.

“The market for bigger motorcycles, frequently ridden for leisure purposes, could be a tougher nut to crack, though as this report points out living with a large electric bike can be a pleasure.”

There are currently more than 60 motorcycles that are eligible for the plug-in grant.