18 September 2025

Honda plugs in to electric bike market with WN7

Love ’em or loathe ’em, electric motorcycles are here to stay.

Nothing confirms that statement more than the biking behemoth that is Honda entering the big bike fray.

Paul Browne is getting amped up to take out the WN7, a bike promising power to match a CB650, coupled with 100Nm of instant torque.

 

Following in the footsteps of a number of other manufacturers including Zero and Harley-Davidson, Honda have just announced that their electric product is now ready to go.

While they have had the EM1 e moped on offer for the last number of years, the WN7, to give it its catchy title, is a full sized motorcycle.

The W is for Wind, the N for Naked and the number seven for the class that the bike sits in.

With the name confirmed and production to start any day now we can expect to see them in dealerships sometime in the first half of next year.

Plug and play

Like the existing competition, the new bike can be charged either at home, for a slow charge, or at public charging points, for a faster one.

A public charger will ‘fill’ the battery from zero to 100% in as little as three hours or top one up in 30 minutes.

We were first teased with the bike back in ’24 when Honda showed an earlier profile at EICMA.

Since then, the development work in Japan has been completed and the testing has been done in Europe.

 

The end result is a bike that produces roughly the same amount of power as a CB 650.

Riding any two wheeled EV is always going to be different to riding a traditional machine with an internal combustion engine.

One of the things about electric bikes is the amount of torque that they produce. The WN7 claims to deliver 100Nm.

Put that in a package that weighs less than 220 kilos and it all sounds very interesting.

That weight figure is achieved by using  the latest battery technology, as well as proven lighter components such as a TFT screen and LED lights all round.

Power play

The full power bike puts out 18kW but in order to attract the latest generation of riders there will also be a 11kW version for those on A1 licences.

Will this mean we’ll see the first cohort of motorcyclists who will only ride electric?

So, 500,000,000 motorcycles after Mr Honda started out, this is not only a necessary project but a major step for the company.

Electrification is, the company says, “a core pillar of its future environmental strategy.”

As someone who’s intrigued by, what may well be, the future of motorcycling I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it performs in the real world.

After all, Honda says it’s pitched it for the “Fun segment”.

Home on the range?

Range has proven to be a challenge on other electric machines and I’d be interested in seeing if this particular problem has been ‘solved’ yet, or is the WN7 going to be another bike designed for urban and extra urban use?

Once again, the new machine will be on show at EICMA this year where the final bike and all the tech will be on display and available to play with.

If you order one before November the 4th Honda will give you a seat bag as a gift.

Sadly, Honda’s Irish website is stubbornly free of details of this landmark venture into electrification, the stuff you’ll want and need to know such as price, availability, servicing costs, specification

Keep an eye out though; it’ll no doubt soon feature some, er, current news!

Honda motorcycle insurance? Talk to our specialist bike team on 0818 945 950.

 

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