The first round of Energica Electric Motorcycles have been hitting Australian roads for a couple months now. We asked the first Australian Energica riders what they think now they’ve had time to settle in and get comfortable with their new electric motorbikes.
In February of this year we were so excited to take delivery on the first round of Energica Motorcycles in Australia. A huge shipping container filled with 13 of the premium electric motorcycles touched down and were unloaded at our Dealership in Burleigh Heads. Our new Energica riders were itching to get behind the wheel and take their bikes winding around their favourite tracks.
Two months on, we reached out to some of the Energica riders to see just what they thought of their new electric motorcycles.
Brett from Brisbane is one of the first people in Australia to take on the Electric Tourer model form Energica, the Experia.
“I did a ride out to Mt. Glorious yesterday via D’aguilar from my house in Belmere, ~96km each way, basically 200km…and still had 48% SOC remaining…so not bad at all, I “guesstimate” in excess of 345+ kilometers would not be out of the question. I was just riding normally, no fast stuff, but not too slow either, just speed limit stuff.” – Brett
Robin took home an all black Energica Ego RS and says he now enjoys waiting at traffic lights to feel the acceleration and all that power behind the Ego’s throttle.
“My new Energica motorbike is terrific. Before the Energica I rode touring bikes and now I enjoy riding super sports bikes.
Mostly my use is around Sydney and I use it for commuting and for medium distance travel. I don’t have a car in Sydney and ride the Energica Ego everyday. I have had no difficulty or concern about charging or range
The key feature I love about the Energica Ego is performance, the Ego is astonishing.
That’s the reason I have so much enjoyment – every time I’m stationary at an intersection and I am sitting silently on the motorcycle the lights change green and the acceleration is just exciting” – Robin
Fraser is the first person in Victoria to register an Energica motorcycle, giving him the bragging rights to be the first in his state to own one of these epic machines. One of the first big rides he took his Eva Ribelle RS was the Black Spur Drive, an iconic winding mountain road outside Melbourne’s North East.
Paul in Sydney has been riding his Energica Experia as his Daily commuter and we were interested to hear his feedback.
“The main feature I like about the Experia is the absolutely seamless control from gently moving around in traffic to taking off at the lights onto the freeway. There’s no sudden jump from smooth to flat out, it just seamlessly puts down more power as you twist the throttle more. This is incredibly cool. I feel much more confident when lane filtering, because I can just gently move up between the cars and then instantly take off with no fear of stalling the bike or fumbling the clutch.
There are things I think could be better about it. The display has a few glitches occasionally. Some of the controls are hard to use – particularly the cruise control, which I use a lot. The seat is… a bit stiffer than I’d like. They probably need a seat option for shorter riders. But these are mostly simple things that detract from an otherwise polished and beautifully designed bike.
The Experia is my daily rider, and it’s brilliant for that. It’s easy to ride, the riding position is comfortable, the display is easy to read, and the top box and panniers it comes with is beautiful and top quality. The fact that the luggage mounts are all Givi Monokey compatible means its instantly got a wide variety of luggage options available.
I’ve only ridden from Sydney to Canberra, basically by the highways, so I don’t have much experience of touring on it. That experience tells me that it’s going to be much better to tour with all electric bikes – at least for the next five years. I’ve done several week-long tours with friends on petrol bikes, and we tend to fill up and then move on to have coffee or lunch elsewhere. At the moment we have limited places to stop and charge, and those places are often not where we stop when touring on petrol motorbikes. Until charging infrastructure really is everywhere, a mixed-bike group is going to have to stop where the electric bike can charge – and while that’s often near a petrol station, it’s often not near that nice cafe down the road that was recommended. So I look forward to trying this out in the future with other electric bike riders and seeing what the experience is like.”
Paul sent us a video of his Experia taking off in Sport mode from a red light, and of course a glamour shot of his new favourite toy.
It’s very rewarding from our P.O.V to see that all our hard work bringing the worlds best electric motorcycles to Australian riders is paying off. The bikes are handling their Australian road tests exceptionally well and we can’t wait to see the adventures these electric motorbikes will go on.
We’ve caught wind of an exceptional character who is thinking of trying to test ride an Energica motorcycle across Australia! Can it be done? Let’s find out!