top 10 motorcycles and scooters of 2024 from gas to hydrogen

Our top 10 motorcycles and scooters of 2024 range from gas to electric and hydrogen. Custom and DIY models are also big this year. They include the Kawasaki motorcycle that holds the Guinness World Record as the land vehicle with the most cylinders (48, in total), and the custom electric monowheel by Make It Extreme, made using discarded tires. Hydrogen is an interest for MIT as the team assembles an electric motorcycle that runs on a fuel cell. It has swappable parts for easy maintenance, plus anyone can try to build it because it is open-source.

Retro designs also influence some of the models, including the Nitro button on the gearless electric motorcycle DAB 1α – inspired by the 2000 game Need for Speed – as well as the real-life Shotaro Kaneda motorbike by Bel&Bel from the 1988 anime, Akira. For the other models, the design elements stand out from the get-go, such as Bandit9’s EVE Odyssey motorcycle with a body shaped like a sniper’s bullet. Our list below of the top motorcycles and scooters of 2024 goes over the design features of these on- and off-road rides.

REAL-LIFE SHOTARO KANEDA’S AKIRA BIKE BY BEL&BEL

images courtesy of Bel&Bel

Barcelona-based creative studio Bel&Bel remakes Shotaro Kaneda’s bike in the anime film Akira as a real-life motorcycle. It has a split-open body and cruises with the signature shade of red seen in the anime’s vehicle. The motorcycle comes with 200 horsepower and electronically controlled anti-lock brakes, two features that weren’t available in the 1980s, the time the anime was set in. Bel&Bel also works on commission, so owners can customize the motorcycle.

Should the owner want, the creative studio may equip the ride with a hybrid engine. It can also feature the recordings of a MiG-21 fighter jet and a 1927 Harley-Davidson motorcycle to accompany its cyberpunk aesthetics, and there’s even a noticeable green static electricity that flutters around the front tire as the rider cruises. The spokeless wheels, surrounded with neon blue lights, resemble giant buttons and remain faithful to the original design.

BANDIT9’S EVE ODYSSEY MOTORCYCLE SHAPED LIKE BULLET

image courtesy of Bandit9

Bandit9 shapes its EVE Odyssey motorcycle like a sniper’s bullet from a hand-brushed piece of aluminum. It’s streamlined to replicate a 9 mm projectile, and even the tank is fused to the aluminum frame, engineered and manufactured from scratch. A single-sided swingarm flows into the body, and Bandit9 completes it with a hand-brushed steel emblem milled from a single billet.

To stabilize the EVE Odyssey motorcycle, Bandit9 adds a monoshock for when it takes a sharp turn. The front fork looks sculptural, and it hides the telescopic suspension inside it, the one that helps make the ride smoother by absorbing bumps on the road. So far, this model that’s included on our top motorcycles and scooters of 2024 can run on a four-speed manual transmission and can reach speeds up to 110 km/h (68 mph).

MIT BUILDS AN OPEN-SOURCE HYDROGEN ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE

image by Adam Glanzman, courtesy of MIT

MIT assembles their own hydrogen electric motorcycle that runs on a fuel cell and has swappable parts. This is also an open-source model, so craftsmen can build their own. The hydrogen electric motorcycle successfully took its ride test demo in October 2023, but the technology team said that it would not be entering competitions. They designed the model to only be presented in conferences to help manufacturers optimize their own hydrogen electric rides.

MIT’s team built and tested their hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric motorcycle within their main space at MIT’s Building N5. It took them a year to come up with the prototype, and parts of the components they used were donated to them for this project. The team used a frame from a 1999 motorcycle, with many custom-made parts added to support the electric motor, the hydrogen tank, the fuel cell, and the drive train.

ZIGY, A SINGLE-SEATER ELECTRIC URBAN VEHICLE

image courtesy of Andrea Mocellin and DEXET Technologies

Andrea Mocellin and the DEXET Technologies team up to conceptualize Zigy, which is a single-seater electric urban vehicle. It’s as sleek as a microcar, and it resembles a motorcycle, just with four wheels. The chassis is made from thermoplastic composites to make the vehicle lightweight, and a selection of carbon and natural fibers are also chosen for the exterior and interior bodywork panels. It took the team three months to produce the concept design.

For the final design, Zigy gets a piece of glass that curves around the roof and front, which also masks over the sides of the single seat. This doubles as the sunroof for the electric urban vehicle, as well as to offer the rider views of the outside. There’s a seemingly silver edge that belts around the exterior of Zigy, and this also houses the rear and tail lights of the vehicle. The battery pack is located under the vehicle.

TARFORM’S VERA IS A KEYLESS ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE

top-10-motorcycles-scooters-electric-2024-designboom-ban

image courtesy of Tarform

Tarform releases Vera, which is their keyless electric motorcycle. It’s built for both the city streets and muddy trails, as the vehicle is suitable for both on- and off-road riding. It features air cooling technology for its motor to prevent the vehicle from heating up, and Vera removes the gears and clutches to make way for a direct belt drive. The electric motorcycle comes with an 8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Vera can achieve a maximum speed of over 85 miles per hour and a 100-mile range. It can speed from zero through 60 mph in around 3.5 seconds. It can also receive over-the-air updates, meaning the vehicle can be easily upgraded remotely or using the dedicated app. Tarform’s Vera focuses on design too, given the singular motor case at the bottom of the electric motorcycle and the sloping seat that peaks with an aluminum body frame.

SCI-FI MEETS CAFE RACER IN REAL MOTORS’ PROJECT: ARES

image courtesy of Real Motors

Real Motors’ first model is called Project: ARES. It’s an electric cafe racer inspired by sci-fi design and movies. So far, it is under development, with several prototypes underway, and Real Motors plans to release production models in late 2025. still , it makes its way to our top motorcycles and scooters of 2024. Its unibody frame hides the engine and components, and this approach makes the design singular and not cluttered.

The team draws their influences from the classic design of a cafe racer, and they also want to emphasize the retro style with a modern twist. The buttons and controls are analog rather than digital, and there’s a small screen that displays the riding information. The team believes that Project: ARES can be comparable to 700-900cc ICE motorcycles in terms of power.

ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE DAB 1Α HAS RETRO-INSPIRED BUTTONS

image courtesy of DAB Motors | photo by David Duchon Doris

DAB Motors’ inaugural production model is the DAB 1α. Dubbed a gearless electric motorcycle, it comes with a recyclable battery. One of its main features is the buttons and controls inspired by game-console controllers and video games from the 2000s. This model in our top motorcycles and scooters of 2024 only weighs 125 kilograms and can be recharged almost anywhere using a simple home socket or Type 2 charging point.

Looking at its buttons and controls, the design team follows the style found on game console controllers. There’s a blue Nitro button on board too, inspired by the 2000 game, Need for Speed. By pressing thios, the rider gives DAB 1α a boost in speed. A nod to bicycle motocross shows up too with the use of back pegs to support passengers when they hop on the gearless electric motorcycle.

CUSTOM ROAD-LEGAL KAWASAKI MOTORCYCLE WITH 48 CYLINDERS

top-10-motorcycles-scooters-electric-2024-designboom-ban2

image courtesy of Bonhams|Cars

A road-legal Kawasaki motorcycle built by Simon Whitelock holds the Guinness World Record as the land vehicle with the most cylinders, 48 in this case. The vehicle has sixteen KH250 engines arranged in six banks of eight, and each of the 48 cylinders has its own ignition and Mikuni carburetor. The tank is a stretched KH250 component, which doubles as a cover for the electrical and ignition components, and there’s a fuel tank between the middle and lower cylinder banks made from stainless steel tubing.

Simon Whitelock is a fan of multi-cylinder aero engines during the period of WW2. In fact, thge name of his custom-built Kawasaki motorcycle is 2003 Whitelock 4200cc Tinker Toy, which he drew from a B17 Flying Fortress bomber (Tinker Toy is the American equivalent of Meccano). This model, which is included in our top motorcycles and scooters of 2024, went up for auction by Bonhams|Cars and now has an owner.

CUSTOM ELECTRIC MONOWHEEL MADE OF MOTORCYCLE TIRES

video still courtesy of Make It Extreme, via Youtube

The team Make It Extreme produces a custom electric monowheel using motorcycle tires. Its frame is forged from metal, shaped in a perfect circle to mirror the style of the wheel used in circus shows. They encirle the metal frame with tire padding, custom too, because there aren’t any wheels available with this size. For the chassis, Make It Extreme makes three rollers and a black plastic material on which the wheel could spin.

The wheel can move forward because of the two motors connected to a tire that the design team took from a go-kart vehicle. It’s also non-slip, so cruising along watery roads isn’t so slippery. The motors move well thanks to the two controllers that Make It Extreme tied with a throttle, and the entire monowheel rotates as the rider takes it for a spin. The design team colors the metal frame orange, so it stands out on the road day and night.

ASYNC’S FIRST ELECTRIC MOTORBIKE X1

top-10-motorcycles-scooters-electric-2024-designboom-ban3

image courtesy of ASYNC

ASYNC releases its first electric motorbike named X1. For the inaugural model, the fate of the design lies in the hands of the riders because the final design of the motorbike is based on the gathered feedback from the pool of future owners. Design-wise, the engine is boxed inside a metal-like X cage, and the entire body is trimmed for a minimal look. The cushioned seating is shaped like a V, and the forks at the front are colored brass gold.

It’s possible to install a light indicator in the battery, so the rider knows when to charge their vehicle. ASYNC says that for their co-creation program, the riders can pitch ideas to add more to the current look of the electric motorbike. The vehicle, which is part of our list of top motorcycles and scooters of 2024, is also customizable, which includes the engraving of the owner’s name onto the motorbike. So far, the design team has yet to announce the final design of the ASYNC X1.