Wuyang-Honda WH8000D

Honda still insists that it will have a broad range of all-electric motorcycles in its model range in the near future, but despite unveiling intriguing concepts like the EV Fun that debuted at last year’s EICMA show the brand’s production electric lineup remains limited to a small handful of scooters.

That is set to change soon as Honda’s Chinese joint venture, Wuyang-Honda, has just type-approved a new electric model that, while no high-performance fireball, is genuinely a motorcycle rather than a scooter. One of Wuyang-Honda’s earlier electric models, the U-Go that was launched in 2021, became the basis of EM1 e: that joined Honda’s export range in 2023, so there’s already precedent for Wuyang-Honda’s bikes to become international sellers, and the new model—code-named WH8000D—is the most interesting machine yet from the company.

While the bike is code-named WH8000D, the graphics on the side suggest it will go under the catchier title of “E-VO” in showrooms, and while the styling still isn’t close to being as appealing as that of the RC-E Concept from way back in 2011, which harked back to Honda’s 1960s GP bikes to show how attractive a retro electric machine could be, it’s still much more distinctive than the cookie-cutter electric scooters that have emerged in Honda’s electric production bike range so far. The look has a hint of cafe racer, with a full-faired style that gives plenty of space to hide the batteries and motor. The motor itself is chassis-mounted, rather than using a scooter-style swingarm-mounted or hub-mounted setup, and there’s potentially some useful storage space inside the area where the fuel tank would normally sit.

Two versions of the bike have been type-approved. They’re visually identical but differ in performance and weight, indicating that they hold different batteries. Both make 11 hp (that’s 8kW, hence the “8000″ in the model’s name), which sounds unimpressive but will be the rated continuous output of the motor rather than its peak, which could be as much as twice as high. That’s still not a lot, but enough to put the bike into the same ballpark as a 125cc or 150cc internal-combustion equivalent when it comes to performance. The lighter version (with a 315-pound curb weight) is rated for a top speed of 68 mph, which would be good for a 125cc bike, while the heavier version, at 345 pounds, has a 75-mph top-end.

In terms of size, the E-VO is bigger than a Grom but smaller than a full-size motorcycle, with a 16-inch front wheel and a 14-inch rear, wearing 110/70 and 140/70 tires respectively, and a 54.3-inch wheelbase. There are disc brakes at each end, the front gripped by a four-piston radial-mount caliper, and ABS as standard.

Unfortunately, the type-approval documents that confirm these details don’t list the battery capacities or chemistry, making it impossible to even guess at the all-important range figure or to know whether there will be any rapid charging capability. Given the performance, it’s likely that the bikes will use removable batteries—potentially the Honda Mobile Power Pack e that’s already in some other models—so riders can street-park their bikes and bring the batteries indoors to charge. The Mobile Power Pack e would also make the bike compatible with Honda’s Power Pack Exchanger e battery swap stations, already rolled out in several countries including India, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia, and which have just begun European trials with a test network in Sweden.