Eighty-five pence. That is what Electrifying.com says it costs to fill the battery on the Honda WN7, and the little Short where they say it has racked up more than a million views. At UK home off-peak electricity rates, that is roughly a buck and change for up to 87 claimed miles. Your average coffee costs more than a full “tank” on this thing. The WN7 is Honda’s first full-size electric motorcycle, and it is a big deal for one simple reason: it is a Honda.
What the WN7 actually is
WN7 stands for “Wind, Naked, 7,” which sounds like a gassy yoga class but is really Honda’s way of saying naked streetbike in its 7 power class. Under the slim, tank-less body sits a 9.3 kWh lithium-ion battery that doubles as part of the frame (Honda calls it “frameless”), feeding a liquid-cooled motor with 50 kW (67 hp) peak and a stout 100 Nm (73.8 lb-ft) of torque. Honda says it hits 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.6 seconds, which is quicker than its own CB500 Hornet. Top speed is a modest 129 km/h, about 80 mph, so this is a city slicer, not an autobahn missile.
The killer feature: car-style fast charging
Here is the part that made Electrifying.com’s tester grin. Most electric motorbikes charge through a slow Type 2 plug, which means hunting for a rare slow charger and hauling your own cable. The WN7 has CCS2, the same rapid-charging plug European EVs use, so it can top up at regular car charging stations. Honda quotes 20 to 80 percent in about 30 minutes, good for roughly 89 km (55 miles) of extra range. At home, a full charge takes about 2.4 hours on a 6 kVA wallbox or around 5.5 hours from a regular wall socket.
Riding it is dead simple, too. No clutch, no gear lever, just twist and go. There are four ride modes (Standard, Sport, Rain and Econ), adjustable regen braking via paddles on the left bar, a 5-inch TFT screen with Honda RoadSync, a smart key and even a walking-speed reverse mode for backing out of tight parking spots. Honda thought of everything except a cooler name.
The catch (there is always a catch)
- Range is commuter-sized. Honda claims 140 km (87 miles) on the WMTC test. Electrifying.com’s two-week test landed at 60 to 75 miles in the real world, and closer to 60 if you live on 60-70 mph roads. It is a naked bike, so the wind is not your friend.
- That 85p fill-up needs a cheap home tariff. It works out to about 9p per kWh, which is UK off-peak EV pricing. Public rapid chargers cost several times more, and here in the US your bill depends on where you live.
- It is not cheap to buy. The WN7 is 12,999 pounds on the road in the UK, which is a lot of money for an 80 mph commuter. Electrifying.com still gave it 8 out of 10, but flagged the price, the firm seat and the range.
- Americans cannot buy one. The WN7 is sold in Europe only. Honda has not announced US plans or a US price, and Cycle World reports limited charging infrastructure as the reason. Ignore the random “US price” pages floating around online; none of them come from Honda.
Is it really the “first”?
The Short calls Honda the first of the big established motorcycle brands to bring a full-size EV bike to market. Harley-Davidson fans may want a word, since we wrote about the Harley-Davidson LiveWire back in 2018. To be fair, Electrifying.com’s full review acknowledges LiveWire and argues none of the electric bike makers have cracked the mainstream yet. That is the real point. When the company that sold you a Civic and probably a lawnmower goes electric on two wheels, the rest of the industry pays attention.
GadgetKing take
The WN7 is not trying to be a superbike. It is trying to be the electric bike normal people actually buy: quick off the line, easy to ride, built with Honda quality and able to use the same fast chargers as everyone’s EV. The 85p fill-up is the viral hook, but CCS charging is the real headline, because it fixes the most annoying thing about electric motorcycles. The price and the range will keep it a commuter toy for now. Still, if Honda brings it to the US with a sane sticker, we would happily trade our gas receipts for a twist-and-go Honda that fills up for pocket change.
Sources: Electrifying.com review, Honda UK, Honda Europe press kit, Honda Global, MCN and HiConsumption. Video: Electrifying. Images: Honda Motor Europe.
More two-wheeled goodness: the Segway Apex electric motorcycle, the Ethec electric motorcycle and the gas-powered Yamaha YZF-R2.
