Energica Eva Electric Motorcycle Goes From LA To SF In 12 Hours

Energica is an Italian electric motorcycle company. It now has two models, the Ego and the Eva. Gas2 contributor Susanna Schick has tested the Ego and pronounced it “a proper electric superbike.” The Eva is “naked” version of the Eva. It comes with an 11.7 kWh lithium ion battery and a 95 horsepower motor that produces 125 ft-lbs of torque.

An electric motorcycle is great when it can be ridden close to home and recharged conveniently. But can a rider actually go touring on one? On May 16th, actor and U.S. Air Force veteran Bill Levasseur rode an Energica Eva from Los Angeles to San Francisco, recharging only at CCS fast-charging stations along the way.

On his trip, Levasseur made nine stops at fast chargers on the 450 mile route. He stopped for an average of 23 minutes per charge, and the ride took about 12 hours. 3.5 of those hours were spent at charging stations. Compare that to the 17 hours the same journey would take if DC fast chargers were not available.

The ride was designed to celebrate the opening of Energica’s flagship store on San Francisco’s Page Street. It is the first dedicated store selling the Energica Ego and Eva. Up till now, Energica’s bikes were only available in the U.S. through Hollywood Electrics.

ChargePoint, BMW, and Volkswagen have formed a partnership to install DC fast chargers along primary highways on the East and West Coast. The stations are spaced approximately 50 miles apart between Boston and Washington, DC and between Portland, Oregon and San Diego. They all support the CCS charging standard that uses SAE Combo plugs.

The ChargePoint equipment can give a BMW i3 or Volkswagen e-Golf an 80% charge in as little as 20 minutes with the 50 kW charger or 30 minutes using a 24 kW charger. They are also compatible with an electric motorcycle like the Energica Eva, which is what made Lavasseur’s journey possible.

Touring on an electric motorcycle is still a challenge on roads where fast chargers are not available, but the infrastructure for electric vehicles is getting better all the time. You can find out more about ChargePoint and the location of the chargers in its network on the company website.

Source and photo credit: Green Car Reports