Two days in the Alps on an e-motorbike - we took on the long-distance test and extensively tested the Energica Experia for range, charging behaviour, comfort and riding characteristics. Auto Thomas from Bonn provided us with the electric motorbike for an extensive test. Matthias, our expert for heavy e-motorcycles over 11 kW, reports here on his experiences on his road trip to the Alps.
My test ride with the Energica Experia
When I got the news that I could test ride an Energica, I was electrified. Having had the opportunity to test ride an EVA several years ago, I was fascinated by these vehicles. When I was told that I would be getting the Experia, I was briefly disillusioned, as I had always labelled this type of motorbike, à la BMW GS, as an ‘old man's vehicle’. After the first few kilometres, however, I realised that I had rarely been so wrong. And so began five exciting days in which I rode this motorbike for around 2,000 km.
Now I must first categorise the vehicle. The Experia is a crossover motorbike that skilfully combines the sporty aspects of a naked bike with the rider position and comfort of a touring enduro. It rides like a dream and the seating position means that you can also ride long distances on the e-motorbike.
What can you expect from such an electric motorbike in detail?
At first I had to ride with caution, as I didn't yet know how the drive power would unfold. But what was already apparent here was the manoeuvrability of the motorbike. My first destination: the Schladernring, between Sieg- and Brohltal. On the way there, I already had such a big grin under my helmet that you must have seen it from the outside. The Energica Experia follows the finest steering impulses so willingly and precisely that you have the feeling that the e-motorbike is reading your thoughts and then riding exactly the line that you have just imagined to be optimal. In combination with the direct torque and the direct response of the drive, coupled with the controllable motor brake, the result is a riding experience that I have never experienced before. You don't need any familiarisation, it feels as if you've never done anything else before and you don't really want to drive anything else on the country road afterwards. For me, this is a new benchmark. Whether it's fast bends with smooth tarmac and high lean angles, or tight bends with very uneven surfaces - the ZF Sachs suspension elements, paired with the Pirelli tyres, always maintain contact with the road and give you a feeling of pure confidence and safety at all times. With the Experia, Energica has really developed a masterclass electric motorbike. For me, it is currently THE e-motorbike to beat on the country road.
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First impression: relaxed driving, operation takes some getting used to
In terms of ergonomics, inductivity and ease of use, however, I had a rather mixed impression. Starting with the seating position, I can only praise it. You sit upright on the bike and the wide handlebars have the grips in exactly the right place. Your legs are at a relaxed angle on the motorbike and your feet are relaxed on the footrests. However, after a short ride you notice the rather hard saddle, which proves to be a real indicator of your willpower on long tours. The adjustable windshield does a good job of keeping the wind away from your helmet and body, so you can ride in a really relaxed manner.
Operating the display using two switches, which have a total of four positions, took some getting used to at first, but its simplicity is impressive. Only the position of the ‘Mode’ switch (there are 4 riding modes Urban, Eco, Rain, Sport) is approx. 5 mm above the indicator, which is operated in the same direction and often leads to double operation. The controls for the heated grips and cruise control are located on the right-hand side next to the start button. Activating the cruise control, which is particularly practical on the motorway, proved to be a challenge because the sensor system of the throttle grip is so wide that there is a considerable gap between the grip and the switch block. As a result, you have to hold the throttle with your little finger and ring finger and then reach over with your thumb and hold the cruise control button for about three seconds - a real challenge, although you also have to keep the speed constant using the throttle grip.
The side stand was a bit annoying as it doesn't retract on its own after you give it a push. Switching the display between light and dark mode is also not a good solution. It changes from light to dark as soon as you pass under a bridge. A better hysteresis in the software would be desirable here.
A storage compartment that isn't one?!
Then there is a watertight storage compartment, where the tank of a motorbike would normally be. Here you can see what happens when unforeseen things get bigger in the late stages of development. The battery (max. 22.5 kWh / nominal 19.6 kWh - lithium polymer) protrudes into the compartment, almost directly under the lid. This results in two small cavities in the front area and on the left-hand side, which can be reached from above. At first I was surprised at what you can store in there: Standard utensils such as charging cards, wallet, spare glasses and sunglasses, tissues and visor cleaner were quickly stowed away. So I packed a second pair of gloves, a 0.5 litre bottle and a few small snacks in the storage compartment. So far, so good. But there comes a point when you want to get to these things again. This proved to be extremely difficult, despite our small hands. Energica could have supplied a removal tool for this.
As an option, the Energica Experia can be equipped with voluminous hard-shell side cases and a top case with a total capacity of 112 litres. Then, of course, there are no space problems.
The range of the Energica Experia in the test: unexpectedly good
After the first 3 hours and almost 200 kilometres, I was surprised that the battery was still not empty and I continued riding, as I actually only wanted to move the bike briefly, drain the battery a little and test the fast charging. Which actually proves that the Experia's range and battery capacity are more than sufficient. Anyway, I then stopped at a charging point and charged the vehicle without any problems. The decision was made to spontaneously drive to the Alps the next day.
Day 1: On the motorway heading south
We set off ‘early’ at half past 8 in the morning. The destination was the Alps and Lake Constance. The motorbike was fully loaded, the rucksack was packed on my back and I could hardly wait. The journey started through the picturesque low mountain ranges of Germany. Starting in the Siebengebirge, continuing through the Westerwald to the Taunus, before finally charging up for the first time in the Rhine-Neckar plain. In short, once across the A3 and A67 motorways to Mannheim. As the driver of an e-car that comes with a complete charging network, I had no reservations, as I had already tested this the day before. This naivety was about to make me sweat. So, according to my plan, I drove to a rest area with around 50 kilometres of range remaining and wanted to see where the nearest charging station was.
Fast charging the electric motorbike thanks to CCS: does it work?
To my surprise, there were already two EnBW columns here, but unfortunately they were out of order. So I went in search of the nearest charging point. The charging process started without any problems. The only thing I was surprised about was the decreasing charging speed, as 10% - 80% in a good 30 minutes had been advertised and confirmed by the salesman who handed me the bike. All other parameters, such as range (I had already driven 200 km on the motorway) and acceleration, were in line with the advertised figures. After 45 minutes, I set off again with about 80 % battery power. I travelled as far as Baden-Baden, from where I changed to the Schwarzwaldhöhenstraße. Here I recharged briefly, as there aren't that many charging points up in the Black Forest.
The journey up to here on the motorway was rather rough. The suspension is set up quite hard and almost reminds me of my racetrack bike. In combination with the hard saddle, this quickly leads to a sore rear end. The use of an electronic suspension would be appropriate here, so that the vehicle could be softened without losing driving dynamics in the jungle of bends.
In the Black Forest, the Experia was back in its element. The only annoying thing here is the constant speed limits. Here you realise that pleasure riders, especially on motorbikes, are not welcome, even if they are quiet. After the rush through the winding roads of the Black Forest, I got hungry in the early afternoon. So, without further ado, I found a charging station and an American fast-food restaurant where I refuelled and charged my e-motorbike at the same time. This demonstrated one of the most important rules of e-mobility: ‘If it stands, it charges.’ After a short break, I continued past Lake Constance to Oberstaufen, where I planned to spend the night.
Conclusion of the day:
The Energica Experia is simply fantastic to ride, but the saddle is too hard and the German charging network has its pitfalls due to overloading of the charging points and defective columns; but 650 km had been covered. Then I wanted to charge the bike overnight at a socket. I had taken my car's type II socket adapter with me and the hotel had provided me with a socket. Actually a great setting. But then came the disillusionment: after plugging the cable into the motorbike, it reported that it was initialising a DC charging process, but it was supposed to be charging AC. It seemed as if there were problems in the communication between the charger and the motorbike. After several attempts, it was clear that this was not going to work. Fortunately, there was a DC charging station about 300 metres further on, where I recharged the bike during my visit to the Italian restaurant.
It seems that the motorbike always has problems connecting to charging stations. Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for charging to work straight away and not only on the 2nd or 3rd attempt or not at all. But it also depends on the available charging points. The 300 kW stations from EnBW in particular are a horror and should be avoided. Unfortunately, the vehicle is also unable to communicate with the Tesla chargers. That would be a huge benefit, in addition to a shorter charging time.
Even though there were problems with the charging time and the charging equipment, it was a nice drive and so all that was left for me to do was to relax at the end of the evening and look forward to the next day.
Day 2: Pure riding fun. The Energica Experia shows its true strength in the mountains.
Experia promised to be a lot better. Yesterday was dominated by a continuous cloud cover and around 20 °C, but I saw bright sunshine and the prospect of 30 degrees in the afternoon from my helmet. We set off early in the morning at twenty past seven. At first, the road wound its way through the Allgäu and into the Alps with the destination Bludenz. This is where the Energica really came into its own. The joy of the first day was back and I thought I had never ridden another motorbike, or at least I shouldn't from now on. From Bludenz, we set off on the first stage of the day.
From Montafon, we headed up to the pass of the Silvretta High Alpine Road. Here the Energica was in its element. At some point I stopped counting how many two-wheeled road users I had to leave behind me. This is where the advantage of the combination of an ingenious chassis and a drive that is not reliant on ambient oxygen becomes apparent. I stopped briefly at the top of the pass ridge. It wasn't long before there was a small crowd of people standing around the bike and wanting everything explained in detail. When I had finally finished raving about this motorbike, I continued through the Paznaun valley and through the village where I spent my first 15 skiing holidays. All the memories came flooding back.
But as I wanted to be back in Bonn by the evening, I made my way over the Fernpass. When I almost reached Germany on the other side, my stomach started to complain as I had been on the road for five hours and had covered over 260 kilometres. So it was time for a pit and charging stop, the first for the day. This proved the range and suitability of the Energica for country roads. It wasn't empty yet. Quod erat demonstrandum, what had to be proven. That's how it echoed through my head and I hadn't even expected such a high level of performance.
Lack of charging infrastructure on motorways
The first dampener of the day was the price for a kilowatt hour at the charging point there: €1.90. An absolute cheek. An absolute cheek. So I only charged until I had finished eating and not up to 80%, which turned out to be a mistake.
As it was already early afternoon, I wanted to drive back via the motorway from here. So I set the cruise control to 125 km/h and set off. After about 100 kilometres, the Experia wanted energy again. So I looked for a suitable charging station. I was disillusioned to find that one of two charging points was broken and the other could not establish a connection to the motorbike. It then charged at the third charging point, but at a significantly reduced speed. The maximum charging current for fast charging is specified as 80 A. The maximum that could be achieved under ideal conditions was 75 A. Unfortunately, the charging current drops quite quickly and continuously during charging, sometimes even below 40 A. This results in charging times of between 45 minutes and over an hour. As it turned out, the battery cooling simply does not allow a higher charging capacity at high temperatures and driving profiles. At least you could buy refreshments at the station.
After what felt like an eternity, the journey continued. I got as far as the area between Mannheim and Darmstadt. The first charging station I approached was again unable to communicate with the vehicle, so I carried on. Then a worrying error message: ‘Limp Mode’ (a protection mode of the motorbike that reduces the motorbike's power when the battery is almost completely discharged or there are problems with the engine temperature or operating voltage). When I arrived at the charging station at a local supermarket, it started charging straight away, even though the speed was very slow. So I used the break to have dinner. I slowly realised that I still had quite a way to go before I got home. With a 60% battery charge, I continued on my way, due to my impatience and with the hope that the falling temperatures would cool the battery in a better window. The next charging stops were very challenging due to the inadequately functioning charging infrastructure. The battery level was increasingly reduced. There were only 45 kilometres to the finish and I had already activated friends to pick me up in case charging was completely hopeless, but sometimes you have to be lucky. Around half past eleven I was back home after 900 kilometres and 16 hours.
Conclusion of my test ride with the Energica Experia
After two days in the Alps and back, I stood in front of the Energica Experia with very mixed feelings. On the one hand, the riding experience on the country road and in the Alps was simply fantastic and represents a new benchmark for this discipline for me and has inspired me for this motorbike class, even the too hard saddle could not shake it. On the other hand, there was the ordeal of the motorway ride on the second day, which resulted from a mixture of the motorbike's insufficient battery cooling and the desolate state of the public charging network. I therefore thought long and hard about how I could reconcile the two. At the moment, the Energica is an absolute country-road machine. The driving dynamics are unrivalled and the drive, coupled with the long range, make every trip an experience that you don't want to end. Short motorway trips are also no problem, but you shouldn't try to cover longer distances in warm weather.
Next time I'll take it on the trailer to the Alps and then just enjoy it there.
Interested in a test ride?
Write to us and we'll arrange a test drive for you at a qualified Energica dealer, such as Auto Thomas in Bonn. Here you have the opportunity to experience and test each model live. All 4 models Energica Experia, Ego +, EsseEsse9 and Eva Ribelle are available here. Auto Thomas is also passionate about high-performance e-motorcycles, so you will receive sound and comprehensive advice from a qualified team.
Technical data Energica Experia
Motor
TYPE: Permanent magnet synchronous reluctance motor. Liquid-cooled (PMASynRM)
VOLTAGE 306V
POWER Peak power 102 hp (75 kW); continuous power 80 hp (60 kW)
TORQUE 115 Nm / 85 lb-ft – 900 Nm / 664 lb-ft at the wheel
SPEED Limited to 180 km/h
ACCELERATION 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph): 3,5 sec
RANGE City: 420 km - Combined: 256 km - Motorway: 208 km – WMTC: 222 km
Elektronics
DRIVING MODES
Seven profiles: Energica 1-4 (factory setting), Custom 3 (customisable)
Four driving modes: Urban, Eco, Rain, Sport
Four regenerative modes: Low, Medium, High, Off
DASHBOARD
COBO 5’ IPS 1000 nits bonded 848×480 TFT colour display; 10 warning lights with coloured LEDs and icons; nambient light sensor; real-time clock.
CONTROLLER
Dual microcontroller ARM based with an adaptive multi-mapping algorithm for energy and power management
TRACTION CONTROL
6 levels of intervention combined with the existing eABS and the Cornering Bosch 9.3 MP
TEMPOMAT
PARKASSISTENT (forwards/backwards slow drive)
Battery
CAPACITY Max 22,5 kWh / Nominal 19,6 kWh – Lithium-Polymer
LIFETIME 1200 cycles at 80% capacity (100% DOD)
CHARGING DC fast charging mode 4: 400 km per hour (max. 24 kW)
0 to 80 % in 40 minutes
Slow charging mode 2 or 3: 63.5 km per hour
BATTERY CHARGER Onboard, 3,3 kW 90-264 Vac 50/60 Hz [1 kW 90-177 Vac range].
FRONT BRAKE Brembo, double floating discs, Ø330 mm,
4-piston radial brake calliper
REAR BRAKE Brembo, single discs, Ø240 mm,
2-piston calliper
ABS Cornering Bosch 9.3 MP
FRONT SUSPENSION
Front fork ZF SACHS Ø43 mm, adjustable rebound damping, spring preload and compression damping; suspension travel 5.90 in. (150mm)
REAR INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION
Rear ZF SACHS monoshock 55mm, adjustable rebound damping, spring preload; spring travel 5.90 in. (150mm)
Dimensions
HEIGHT 1461mm (mirrors not included)
SEAT HEIGHT 847mm
WIDTH 867mm
LENGTH 2132mm
WHEELBASE 1513mm
WEIGHT 260 kg
PRICE: from € 28,263 - more product information on the Energica Experia in our e-garage!