HONDA EM1 E (2024 - on) Review

Being so light, and with a tiny 12in front wheel up front, the Honda EM1 e can sometimes feel skittish – changing direction very quickly with the daintiest input on the flat bars. Coming from larger bikes, it takes a few miles to get used to but once you’re up to speed you can start to take the mickey out of road furniture – dodging craters, tramlines, and speedbumps at the last possible second.

Rather than ABS, the bike comes with linked brakes, using a single 190mm disc with one-piston caliper at the front and a 110mm drum at the back. Performance is ample for something of this size and speed, with both handlebar levers operating the stoppers like an oversized pushbike. The other advantage of a rear drum being that it will pull monster skids when you’re feeling silly.

Elsewhere, the suspension is as basic as they come, with the conventional forks and twin shocks offering no adjustment.

Working with the spongey seat to soak up the energy from the bumps, it works well enough most of the time but struggles noticeably on larger potholes and speedbumps – using your lower back as an additional damper.

It would be unfair to criticise it too much for this though because this hasn’t been designed to be a luxurious leisure motorcycle – more an easily accessed transport tool for the masses, and for that it does the job just fine.

There’s also room for a pillion, with a 180kg load capacity and neat pegs that fold away into the bodywork. Whilst it wouldn’t be the quickest journey you’ve ever had, the standard suspension settings do feel firm enough to withstand an extra timber but you would likely see a decrease in battery range. We were sadly unable to put this feature to the test on our route though, thanks to local road laws prohibiting two-up riding on scooters of this size.

The EM1’s three phase brushless motor can be found on the right side of the rear wheel and lays down a gentle 2.3bhp. Torque is a claimed 66.4ftlb, which sounds like a lot for a 95kg bike with a 10in back wheel, but the acceleration feels in no way abrupt – whisking the rider along in a sedate manner with no nasty surprises.

The motor and battery deliver typical Honda refinement and there is no noise at all. Riding along without earplugs in I can’t hear a single murmur from the motor – only the splashes of the puddles beneath the wheels, and the crunch of gravel as we wriggle across a carpark.

There are no vibrations at all, and away from other traffic you are left with nothing but your own thoughts to contend with. It’s not a bad thing, just very different if you’ve been used to combustion engines in the past.

Around the speed camera infested streets of Oslo where the bike was launched, the little Honda feels right at home. Even on larger roads the speed limit only climbs to around 30mph - meaning you’re free to ride without fear of intimidation from other motorists.

However, chances are you’re not reading this from Oslo and back in England I fear the EM1 e could be seriously outgunned should you ever venture onto an outer city ring road. I understand that the top speed is such to make it legal for the youngest of riders, but perhaps they should’ve given it a little more punch and offered a slightly restricted version for the younglings instead.

And then there’s the charging. Run it flat and it’ll take six hours to fill up to full again. This drops to 160 minutes for 25-75% refills, but it’s still not what you’d call fast. That said, being a removable 10.3kg 50.3v lithium ion battery you should be able to do this overnight at home, or in the background at the office so you may not even notice the time. Disappointingly there is no regen on the motor either, meaning you can’t claw any power back off the throttle.

Away from the charging, we must also consider range. Honda say there’s a usable travel of 25.7 miles when not using ECON. Enough to get you across town, our 15.5-mile test route left us with just 30% left on the dash – enough for a theoretical 22.1 miles.

Granted, some of that route was uphill, but then some of it was also coasting back down again. The small power and 28mph top speed means you need to use all of what’s on offer to keep up with the traffic too, so using less throttle isn’t really an option for stretching more from the battery.

Being a completely new bike and – in fact – a completely new concept for Honda, it’s difficult to comment on reliability. With no combustion engine to service and a fairly basic three phase motor sheltered inside the rear wheel, the servicing and component costs should be fairly minimal.

Being aimed at new riders, the smooth plastic bodywork will need to be robust enough to fend off the occasional drop and tumble, with many also likely to live outside bustling blocks of flats, with no more than a fabric cover for shelter. Fortunately, there are minimal elements protruding from the plain panelling, with even the front indicators lodged in the bodywork.

Early impressions are positive, with basic switchgear and an easily operated under seat storage and battery removal system. There are no signs to suggest it won’t last the test of time. It will start and run on the centre stand though, which could be an invitation for an accidental mishap if you’re not careful.

With no official pricing information yet available it’s very difficult to comment on value. That said, I would hope to see it priced around the £3000 mark because it’s a very basic machine by modern standards and – more importantly – Honda aren’t going to attract many cash-strapped 16 year olds if it costs any more than that. We’re also told that a leasing scheme is on the way, hoped to be in the region of £80-£100 a month.

Through this scheme Honda will also dispose of the battery when it’s time to be replaced, which is after around every 2500 charges. That’s just over six-and-a-half years of daily fill-ups, with any power pack elements that can be recycled then re-used again in the future. The other thing to consider is that this bike will be entitled to the UK Government’s electric vehicle grant, meaning 35% off the asking price up to a value of £150.

Of course, Honda aren’t the first company to build an easy-going swappable battery bike and so the EM1 e faces stiff competition from both established and new-wave competition. Staying in Japan, there’s the slightly more powerful £3350 Yamaha NEO’s.

The Piaggio One range is a similar offering from the Italian powerhouse that starts at £2600. From there, you can find a roster of new brands specialising in low-capacity battery transport including the Maeving RM1, which starts at £5995 for a single battery and offers limited storage, thanks to its retro motorcycle styling.

This is a very basic scooter, designed to simply get people from A to B. The only current Honda model to be built in India, it’s not a bike for ultimate riding pleasure, and that’s reflected in the level of equipment on offer. You get a standard riding mode, plus a more frugal ECON setting and there is no re-gen on the battery when you’re coasting off throttle.

You don’t get ABS either, just old school linked braking with a drum at the back end. Your vital information is supplied via a simple rounded LCD display up front too, which remains easy to read at any time and houses a small tortoise logo in the top left corner when range is getting concerningly low.

It’s not all simplistic though and you do get full LED lighting and 3.3-litres of storage under the seat – more than many swappable battery rivals and enough space for a McDonalds nugget sharebox. There’s also the option to equip a large 35-litre top box, which is the same one offered to Honda’s parallel-twin 500 range.

There are also three colours available: pearl white (as tested), matt black, and silver metallic. For additional carrying space, there’s a pocket up front as standard with enough room for a 500ml water bottle – plus a USB-A charger for your mobile phone.