Finally, Someone's Putting Overdrive on an Electric Motorcycle
We've been saying for a while that overdrive could be a clever addition to electric motorcycles. Electric motors already deliver plenty of torque, so why not give them a shorter ratio for acceleration and a taller one for cruising at speed? You get the punch off the line, without having the motor spinning away unnecessarily once you're covering ground.
Now someone looks to be putting that idea to the test. British engineering company E-Motiv is developing a two-speed transmission for electric motorcycles, potentially giving manufacturers another way to get more out of their motors.
E-Motiv Brings Seamless Shifting to Electric Motorcycles
E-Motiv's system uses its Seamless Powershift Technology, allowing it to switch between two ratios without cutting power to the rear wheel. The technology has its roots in motorsport, including work on Aprilia's MotoGP programme, and is now being adapted for electric motorcycles.
Electric motorcycles with gears aren't exactly new territory. Some manufacturers have added them to recreate the familiar feel of a petrol bike, while others use them to manage torque delivery when things get more technical off-road.
E-Motiv is coming at this from a different angle. The goal isn't to make an electric bike feel more like a petrol one. It's about giving engineers more room to work with the motor, potentially allowing a smaller unit to deliver the sort of performance we'd normally expect from something bigger.
The idea is pretty straightforward. A lower ratio gives you more torque at the rear wheel, helping with acceleration and pulling power. A taller ratio drops motor RPM at a given road speed, potentially letting it run more efficiently.
This could be especially useful on bikes that spend a lot of time at highway speeds. A bike geared for strong acceleration might otherwise have its motor spinning faster than necessary once you're settled into a steady cruise.
A taller ratio could also increase top speed without asking the motor to spin any faster, provided there's enough power to push through the extra aerodynamic drag. The actual gains will depend on the motor, transmission ratios and overall drivetrain efficiency.
E-Motiv's development has received £1 million in Innovate UK funding, with BSA, the University of Bath and IAAPS among the project partners.
The company is now developing its Demo 1 motorcycle, with real-world testing planned for Q1 2027. We don't have figures yet for transmission weight, gear ratios or efficiency gains. Those are the details that'll tell us whether this is more than a clever bit of engineering.
The BCB Take
We've been making the case for a dedicated overdrive ratio on electric motorcycles for a while now. They don't need a gearbox to keep them in a narrow powerband like a petrol engine, but that doesn't mean a single ratio is always the answer.
There's still a way to go before we know what this can deliver on the road. But if E-Motiv can improve efficiency at higher speeds without taking the punch out of acceleration, it might be onto something.
Ride safe, folks.
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