Electric motorcycles are nothing new but, even after over a decade of being ‘the future’, they have struggled to gain their expected foothold in the marketplace in recent years. Urban bikes may have been hailed as electric’s best shot at a breakthrough, indeed one of the biggest electric motorbike successes has been Coventry company Maeving –
who’ve delivered a range of retro styled commuter bikes which are learner legal, but even that sector took a big hit in 2025, with UK sales falling by over 3000 units last year.
Despite this a new British company, Hull-based Ampèra, is set to launch a range of new products which it believes can buck the trend and get a new generation onto two wheels. With a learner legal model priced in line with premium 125cc petrol models, the start-up appears to have vaulted one major hurdle already and, if the finished product lives up to the spec sheet and the AI edited images on its website, they may well have a fighting chance.
Two versions of the Ampèra are planned, with the first bikes slated to drop in June. It’s styled like a regular sportsbike, with the learner-legal Ampèra ONE offering a 60mph top speed from its 11kw direct drive electric motor and the Ampèra EVO offering supercar levels of acceleration and a theoretical 109mph top speed thanks to an uprated motor with a peak power of 50bhp and torque of 160Nm. The quirks of EV licencing means that the EVO can also be ridden on L-plates, as the continuous power remains below 11kw.
The EVO features an 11.5kWh battery, which is a little bigger than that found on Honda’s new WN7 but smaller than those utilised on the more expensive full-sized machines offered by the likes of Energica, LiveWire and Zero Motorcycles. Weight is a relatively low 170kg and official range is quoted at 89 miles. Charging is relatively slow, with a 3.3kw Type 2 charger built in, but the Ampèra’s USP is its pricing model.
The ONE, which features a smaller battery and lower specification cycle parts, is being advertised at £4999, with the EVO on offer at £9999. Where the company is taking a different approach, however, is by also offering its bikes on a rental basis, with a fee of £79 per month including an RST airbag jacket and all maintenance costs.
While motorcyclists have undoubtedly become weary of EV start-ups promising much and delivering little, Maeving’s relative success at least proves that there’s hope for companies like Ampèra.
The Yorkshire firm seems unencumbered by legacy thinking, and while not exactly completely reinventing the concept of the motorcycle there’s plenty of technology which claims to overcome some of the biggest challenges facing motorcycling today. Theft, for example, is addressed by its trademarked Sentinel system, which Ampèra says makes its products ‘unstealable by design’.
The bike features what is called a Digital Anchor, which locks the rear wheel in place to stop the bike being wheeled away, while subscribers to the Sentinel system will also find a smokescreen activated if an attempt is made to steal the bike. There’s a built in radio frequency tracker, and the major parts are also marked and locked to the bike’s specific VIN, meaning components like the battery, controller and motor won’t work if thieves do actually manage to steal the bike and break it up for parts.
Safety is also addressed with what Ampèra calls its HALO system, which uses cameras and sensors all around the bike to track surroundings and help prepare for the worst. The camera, for example, is able to detect if drivers have made eye contact with the rider and will notice if their wheels start creeping forward – pre-charging the bike’s brakes and suspension preload in anticipation of an emergency stop.
The technology can further intervene by alerting the rider, restricting throttle and even applying the brake. In event of a crash, Ampèra says its system will deploy the rider’s airbag and even call an emergency number, being able to share vital information like G-forces and impact speeds with medical professionals.
It all sounds very impressive and should hopefully get new people into motorcycles, although without seeing and trying out physical product it’s always hard to really understand how close the Ampèra models are to meeting their claims of landing in June and delivering their exciting promises.
