If so much is said about the end of cars with internal combustion engines that see 2035 as the deadline, little is said about what will happen to motorcycles. The EU has been “quite” precise that the decision to end the production of vehicles with combustion engines was initially thought to involve only cars. But this is not the case and the ban also “embraces” motorcycles. In fact, the Euro7 standard effectively marks the end of the motorcycle with a combustion engine and the date, even for two wheels, is set for 2035.
Motorcycles with a heat engine the beginning of the end has already begun
But is there anything that will accelerate this move to electric? Well yes. Starting from urban centers forbidden to thermal vehicles but also all cities now have 30 km / h as a limit in different areas (if not all). And then the infrastructures that change and certain cities that will become 100% cycleable to the detriment of the existing infrastructures that leave less and less room for thermal. And finally, the increase in speed detection devices, which are now being installed more and more; and at 30km / h in the city, the fine can be very steep if you are not careful, and you suddenly become a street terrorist when before you could legally drive at 50km / h.
But is the industry slow, and will it be able to adapt? The question doesn’t even arise. She is currently forced to move to electric. We have seen this with the car manufacturers who announced a few years ago to aim for 100% electric or hybrid production in the short term, abandoning the thermal one.
And for motorcycles, the first steps in this direction are already visible. Kawasaki recently announced the development of ten electric models for 2025, which on an industrial level means tomorrow given the development times between an idea and its commercialization. And for 2035 the Japanese manufacturer has announced a production of only 100% electric motorcycles. But do you see yourself on an electric ninja?
And if the other manufacturers have not yet dared to announce such a revolution, they have all been looking for years to the electric and even more to the manufacturers linked to an automobile production. This explains the history of the BMW C Evolution but also the fact that Ducati has formalized its electric production, starting from a model that will be used in the MotoE championship. It had been talked about since 2019, but it is now official for the year 2023. And Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, one of the biggest detractors of electric motorcycles, has also had to give up, admitting that Ducati will propose (it is not yet clear when) a commercial electric motorcycle. Even brands historically linked to gasoline as a distinctive sign of their motorcycles have had to adapt by starting to list at least one electric model, as in the case of Harley Davidson with LiveWire.
All research and development, the establishment of standards, especially in terms of interchangeable batteries, will facilitate development. So, it doesn’t matter if at least in Italy we are late in the widespread construction of charging stations, or in the adaptation of power plants. to make them ready to supply lots of electricity. But the train that wants only electric motorcycles to circulate has already left, and it is also at high speed.
2021 is about to end, but among the many problems it has brought, certainly far more serious than this, it will still remain in the minds of piston and connecting rod enthusiasts, like the year in which the date of death of the heat engine was carved.