Honda’s Newest Motorcycle Is Unlike Any Production Bike It’s Built Before

The Big Red breaks new ground with a release that takes its two-wheeled lineup in a whole different direction.

Honda

By Gray Van Dyke

Published 4 hours ago

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Despite Honda’s many automotive and powersport ventures, the brand hasn’t rushed into the EV game.

Quite the contrary. On the car side, Honda has an active presence, but the Prologue remains its sole all-electric offering in the United States. Similarly, the brand’s battery-powered two-wheelers primarily consist of lovable little last-mile solutions, like the Motocompacto.

Suffice to say, then — the Big Red has been playing things pretty safe.

Black and gray Honda electric motorcycle with a sleek, modern design, featuring a large battery compartment in the center, dual disc brakes on the front wheel, and a minimalist seat and rear fender. — The WN7 certainly looks sharp with its single-sided swingarm and minimalist bodywork.

However, after months of teasers, trailers and concepts, Honda is finally getting into the electric motorcycle segment. Meet the WN7.

Delivering on the concept

The name is an acronym that comes from Honda’s ‘Be the Wind’ development concept, in which the ‘W’ stands for Wind, the ‘N’ denotes Naked and the ‘7’ indicates the output class.

A sleek, modern Honda electric motorcycle with a black and silver frame, featuring a minimalist design and a white seat. The bike has large, sporty tires with disc brakes and a compact, angular body emphasizing its electric powertrain. The handlebars are equipped with round mirrors, and the overall look is futuristic and streamlined. — Differences compared to the EV Fun concept are minimal — thankfully, the seat looks to be more comfortable than this design.

If the bike looks familiar, that’s because it bears a strong resemblance to the EV Fun that Gear Patrol covered in August. At the time, Honda had mentioned that a production vehicle was coming, and it seems that the Big Red has made little changes since.

Overall, the streetfighter design remains consistent from bike to bike. While the shape of the tail seems to be more accommodating, and it now wears its required license plate holder, you won’t find any drastic differences in design.

Front view of a black motorcycle featuring a modern, angular headlight design with two rectangular LED lights stacked vertically and a horizontal LED strip in between. The handlebars have clear turn signals with amber bulbs on each side. The front suspension forks are visible, along with small transparent wind deflectors secured by gold-colored brackets on either side. The overall design is sleek and futuristic. — Light bars have even made their way to motorcycles.

Moreover, in keeping with the bike shown in the teaser video, the WN7 boasts a TFT display, a fixed lithium-ion battery, and some additional controls at the lefthand switchgear. In other words, the Big Red’s first electric motorcycle has been hiding in plain sight.

Charge like the wind

Although Honda continues to keep coy regarding the full specs for the WN7, thankfully, the brand has offered a taste of the bike’s capabilities.

A sleek black and gray Honda electric motorcycle with a modern, angular design. It features a matte gray seat, black wheels with disc brakes, and a compact, streamlined body with subtle bronze accents. The bike has round rearview mirrors and a distinctive front headlight assembly. — Without an exhaust to clutter the rear, the WN7 is an exceptionally minimalist machine.

Performance-wise, the electric motorcycle will boast an output rivaling 600cc gas-powered models, while its torque will be more like that of a literbike.

Honda states that the WN7’s estimated range comes in at over 83 miles, though the bike supports rapid charging for top-ups from 20 percent to 80 percent in only 30 minutes. What’s more, a full charge can be completed at home in just three hours.

Electric motorcycle dashboard and charging port with an orange charging cable plugged in, showing a digital display indicating 20% charge and other charging details. The motorcycle has black handlebars with control buttons and a rearview mirror on the right side. The charging port is located on the top of the bike's body, beneath a hinged cover. — The switchgear does appear to have some provisions for shifting, not unlike Honda’s e-Clutch system.

As such, even though the range is lacking when compared to competitors in the Zero and Livewire lineups, Honda does have the edge when it comes to charging speed. A comparable SR/S or a Del Mar will still be plugged in hours after the WN7 is ready for another ride.

A person wearing a black helmet, blue gloves, and a dark jacket is riding a motorcycle with a black and white abstract camouflage pattern on a winding road surrounded by green trees. The motorcycle has a bright horizontal LED headlight and round side mirrors. The rider's feet are positioned on the footrests, and the scene appears to be in a forested area during daylight. — Honda’s WN7 has been hiding in plain sight, even if the functional prototypes have been clad in camouflage.

Pricing and availability

Honda has a full reveal planned for November, at which time it will announce availability. Initially, the WN7 will be launching in Europe, so only time will tell whether the brand will be bringing it to the United States.

Should the bike make its way to America, it could certainly inject some life into the EV market. Given that MSRP is reportedly starting at £12,999 (~$17,800), it undercuts bikes from rival Zero by a significant margin.

Sleek black Honda electric motorcycle with a modern, angular design, featuring a compact frame, dual front disc brakes, round rearview mirrors, and a minimalist rear fender.

Honda WN7

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About the Author: Gray is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, motorcycles and anything else with wheels. When he’s not chasing the latest industry news, he’s probably wrenching on one of many projects. For better or worse, he believes classics make perfectly practical daily drivers.