Electric Motorcycles & Electric Bicycles

The world famous Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati has announced a few days ago that they will be competing in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup for the 2023 season.

https://www.ducati.com/ww/en/news/ducati-begins-its-electric-era-it-will-produce-the-bikes-for-the-fim-enel-motoe-world-cup-from-the-2023-season

"The goal is to develop expertise and technologies in a constantly evolving world such as the electric one, through an experience familiar to the company like that of racing competition. This has been a consolidated tradition for the Borgo Panigale company starting from the Ducati 851, which inaugurated the trend of Ducati road sports bikes by revolutionizing the concept with its innovative two-cylinder water-cooled engine, electronic fuel injection and the new twin-shaft, four-valve heads, deriving from the Ducati 748 IE bike that made its debut in endurance races at Le Castellet in 1986.

Since then, this endless transfer of expertise has always taken place from the Superbike World Championships, in which Ducati has participated since the first edition in 1988, and from MotoGP, in which Ducati is the only non-Japanese motorcycle manufacturer to have won a World Championship."

But what most people may not realize is that Ducati forms part of the Volkswagen Group, which has made electric mobility an essential element of its 2030 "New Auto" strategy, represents the best prerequisite for an extraordinary exchange of expertise in the field of electric power trains; meaning that not only is there a push for electric cars, but that all forms of vehicle electrification is happening simultaneously !

I expect that there will be many cross-overs of electric motor, battery chemistries, faster charging, and electronics that will help accelerate the transition and also move forward the engineering process iteration, optimization, and cross-market material collaboration.

This is exciting news for those who look forward to electric motorcycles, and may be depressing for those who hold onto the fond memories of the noisy and loud, smelly, and very inefficient combustion engines - the ones that we grew up with and lived thru, but a new dawn of technology is emerging and the future looks brighter for it !