Motorcycles and scooters are plug- in electric vehicles with two or three wheels that can be recharged from any external source of electricity , and electricity is stored on board a rechargeable battery that powers one or more electric motors to achieve locomotion. Electric motorcycles , as distinguished from scooters, do not have a step-through structure .
The early history of electric motorcycles is somewhat unclear . On 19 September 1895, an application for a patent for an " electric bicycle " was presented by Ogden Bolton Jr. of Canton, Ohio. [1] On 8 November the same year, another application for a patent for an " electric bicycle " was presented by Hosea W . Libbey of Boston.
The ' October 1911 issue of Popular Mechanics cited the introduction of an electric motorcycle . It claimed to be having a range of 75 miles (121 kilometers) to 100 miles (160 kilometers) per charge. The bike had a three-speed controller with speed of 4 miles (6.4 km), 15 miles ( 24 km) and 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour .
In 1919 , Ransomes , Sims and Jefferies made a prototype electric motorcycle in which the batteries are mounted under the seat of the sidecar. Even if the vehicle has been registered for road use , it has never gone beyond the trial stage.
In 1936 , the brothers founded the company Limelette electric motorcycle called Socovel ( Société pour l ' étude et la construction de Véhicules Electriques or the Society for the research and production of electric vehicles) , in Brussels. They continued production during the German occupation with their permission. Because of rationing of fuel , they found a certain degree of success . But after the war , they switched to conventional models . The electric models were available until 1948.
During the Second World War , forced by fuel rationing in the United States , Merle Williams of Long Beach, California, has invented a two-wheeled electric motorcycle towed one trailer wheels. Due to the popularity of the vehicle, Williams began making these vehicles in his garage. In 1946 , led to the establishment of the Company Marketeer ( current - day ParCar Corp.) .
