Winter is a common time for reflection and making plans for the year ahead, which for many people involves learning to ride at a motorcycle driving school.

However, looking to the future also means looking at what future riders might be riding on, and the engines that might be driving them forward.

On four wheels, that future looks increasingly electric-powered, but are electric bikes necessarily going to be the future of riding in the same way?

Whilst the modern history of electric bikes begins at roughly the same time as the electric car with the Peugeot Scoot’elec from 1996 finding a successful niche and selling for a whole decade, they have not quite had the same big breakthrough moment that EVs have in recent years.

Despite some attempts, there has not been a Nissan Leaf-type breakthrough in the market, and the majority of electric bikes continue to be electrically assisted pedal cycles rather than motorbikes.

Part of the reason for this is range anxiety; motorcycles are often bought for long journeys travelling across a variety of beautiful roads and a variety of weather conditions, but at present, the battery life of many electric bikes is not enough for uses outside of urban commuting.

Adding more batteries is not an option in the same way it is for cars, as the extra weight can affect the handling in a way that can make a bike less safe to drive.

The charging infrastructure is improving for EVs across the board, but for people who own a motorcycle because they do not have the space for a car and a garage, getting a charging station fitted might be trickier than expected.

As well as this, battery life is heavily affected by the weather, and bikes tend to be more exposed to this due to their relatively small frames in comparison to cars.

However, they do benefit from far more consistent acceleration, very good handling and a much quieter ride, which means that once the capacity issue is rectified through better battery designs, they could have their big breakthrough.