Frequently asked questions

Will my motorcycle feel different?

Our goal is to provide the least abrasive electric motorcycle options functionally and visually, but yes, there are compromises.

Most electric motorcycles remove a motorcyclist most important safety device: The Clutch. There is no riding philosophy you need to relearn to safely drive our electric motorcycles. Our packages provide a similar feeling clutch replacement that will remove all power from the motor when pulled, even when you’re whiskey throttling. This maintains your first natural interaction with a combustion engine during an emergency.

Even when faked, there is nothing that will replicate the sound and shake of a combustion engine. Without that sound you will notice more road/tire/environmental noise providing a safer motorcycle experience while protecting your hearing.

You will not get as far as a full tank of gas, but it won’t cost you nearly as much charging it. Our on board charging systems will get you significantly charged in the time it takes you to get a snack at the gas/charging station.

Your neighbors will hate you a little less and you might even live a little longer not breathing all of those exhaust fumes.

None of this sounds like it’s for you? Cool. We’ll get you eventually.

Does this fit my motorcycle?

To be able to achieve no fabrication or electrical work for installation, each engine is developed specifically for each motorcycle model. The available electric motor packages will tell you specifically which models and years they are compatible with. Head over to the Electro Motorworks Roadmap to see what models will be available.

No fabrication or electrical?

Nope! These engines only require the skills and tools of an entry level mechanic to install. All of the engine mount locations and electrical connectors are the same, so if you can drop the original engine, you can install an EMW electric engine package.

What if I don’t want to install the engine myself?

Depending on location, EMW will offer either customer location or EMW shop installation for an additional cost.

Customer Location Install: an EMW representative will travel to you to drop your existing engine and replace it with your new EMW electric engine. The scheduling for this service will happen after the EMW engine has delivered to the customer.

EMW Shop Install: EMW will work with you to coordinate shipping your motorcycle to and from our shop in South Carolina. Here we will drop your engine and install your new BMW electric engine. The cost for this service is offset by not paying for separate delivery of the engine to your location.

Do you offer entire electric motorcycles?

Yes! If you don’t already own the motorcycle you’d like to convert, EMW will work with you to source and convert the model you’re looking for. An entire retro electric motorcycle delivered right to your garage.

Are you hiring?

We are not hiring traditional employees at this time, although we are looking to grow the business/team, so please let us know who you are and what talent you bring with you. Let’s chat!

Are your engines safe?

There is an inherent risk with all high DC voltage electrical systems, including current EVs on the road today. Developed by an automation engineer experienced with high voltage applications, our electric engine packages mitigate the risk via industrial safety controls. When the bike is off, there is no connected circuit back to the battery pack, minimizing risk and parasitic loading. A contact breaker also disconnects the battery in the event of a short or over-voltage; remember you only get shocked if you are the only grounded connection to a live terminal. All high voltage live circuits have finger safe protection so there is no access to live terminals without tools. You should never work on a live high voltage circuit. If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t do it.

Don’t lithium ion batteries explode?

Healthy cells do not explode. All of our Grade A cells come from CATL, the number 1 lithium ion battery provider in the world, found in electric cars from BMW, Volkswagen, Tesla and more. Our battery packs come with BMS or Battery Management Systems. These systems monitor the health and voltage balance every cell in the system upon charging and will report out if a cell is out of balance. There are two factors that go into battery combustion:

1.) Pressurized lithium gas from decaying/unhealthy battery cells

2.) Spark ignition from shorting out the lithium folds, usually by means of conductive puncture through the aluminum cell casing

Without both of these factors, a cell will not combust.

How does a cell become unhealthy?

Poor quality cells: overtime lithium breaks down inside the cells to release lithium gas due to poor manufacturing. The better the cell quality, the better the resilience to the following:

Parasitic loading: if the battery remains connected to components drawing current, the battery voltage will drop past an acceptable minimum. Beyond this point the cells start to break down releasing lithium gas. At a certain point the voltage will drop to zero, no longer causing a spark if shorted, no ignition = no combustion

Idle period: lithium cells are designed to charge and discharge. Without regular cycling, the cells can break down, again releasing lithium gas.

In summary, only a dying battery will combust, not a healthy nor a dead battery.

How can I prevent battery decay?

Our electric system mitigates these issues reducing the chance for battery decay. If the bike was left on and the bike detects no activity for a period of time, it will disengage the safety contactor disconnecting the battery from operation, eliminating a large source of parasitic loading. During long idle periods, the charging mechanism will both charge and discharge the bike to maintain healthy battery cells. The bike will indicate it needs to be plugged in by the behavior of the lights when the bike is off. This behavior is outlined below.

Battery Management Indicators:

Battery life will be displayed as a percentage on the battery display.

When plugged in, the bike will indicate charging by pulsing the battery percentage on the display.

If the bike needs to be plugged in, it will pulse its lights once every minute until plugged in. It will do this due to the following:

The batteries are low and require charging.

Long idle periods have been detected.

This behavior will stop if the batteries become dangerously low to preserve cell health. This state will be indicated by no activity from the bike.