Honda and Yamaha both have full-size electric motocross bikes that work. Honda's CR Electric Proto won the men's title in the 2024 FIM E-Xplorer World Cup, and Yamaha's YE-01 Racing Concept was ridden in anger for the first time at the Motocross of Nations in Ernée on 3 and 4 October, by Ben Townley and Milko Potisek, alongside the Honda in the hands of Justin Brayton and Trey Canard. A month later at EICMA 2026, Honda's electric headline was the EV Outlier, a low-slung concept with in-wheel motors front and rear that Honda says points at 2030 and beyond. No electric CR, no electric CRF, no supermoto. If you were waiting for Milan to give you a Japanese electric dirt bike with a price on it, you are still waiting.
What did Honda actually show at EICMA 2026?
Petrol, mostly, and very good petrol: a new 1,131cc Africa Twin family with the first Honda SENSING RIDE radar assistance, a 75 percent new Fireblade, the V3R 900 E-Compressor production model with the first electronically controlled compressor on a production bike, an ADV125 and a CBR500R Four. On the electric side, three things: the EV Outlier concept making its European debut, the RN0 electric mountain bike developed with Rotwild, and the WN7 naked that went on sale this year. Honda's own exhibit overview lists the lot. Note the wording on the Africa Twin and Fireblade: Honda now calls them its "flagship internal combustion engine" models and has given them a new Flagship Wing badge. That is a company organising its range around the day combustion becomes the special case.
Honda's film of the EV Outlier. The concept made its European debut at EICMA 2026. Film: Honda.
Why aren't Honda and Yamaha selling electric motocross bikes yet?
Two reasons, neither of them technical. First, racing. The FIM's electric motocross class (MXEP) is the development path both companies have chosen, and a factory does not sell a bike the year before it starts winning on it. Second, the market is already taken. Stark Future, a company that did not exist publicly five years ago, sells an 80bhp Varg and a road-legal Varg SM, and the lightweight end belongs to Sur-Ron, Talaria and the rest. Enduro21 put it bluntly after Ernée: there is no mainstream Japanese or European full-size electric dirt bike you can buy, and no evidence either company is about to launch an enduro version, though they make a good case that the Yamaha's hydraulic clutch makes it the likelier candidate.
| Bike | Maker | Status | Seen | Published specs | Can you buy it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CR Electric Proto | Honda / HRC | Race prototype since 2023 | All Japan MX 2023, E-Xplorer 2024, MXoN demo 2026 | None | No |
| YE-01 Racing Concept | Yamaha / Electric Motion | Concept, EICMA 2025 | MXoN demo 2026 | None (YZ450F chassis, hydraulic clutch) | No |
| EV Outlier Concept | Honda | Design study | EICMA 2026 | None (in-wheel motors) | No |
| Vida DIRT.E MX7 | Hero MotoCorp | Concept, EICMA 2025 and 2026 | EICMA 2026 | None (carbon frame) | No |
| Varg MX / Varg SM | Stark Future | Production | Everywhere | Up to 80bhp, 124.5kg (SM) | Yes |
| 805 RX and 902 | Bonnell (Austin, Texas) | 805 RX on sale in the US since 1 September; 902 due before the end of 2026 | AIMExpo, January 2026 | 805 RX: 42kW, 805Nm, 3.9kWh swappable, 99kg, 80mph+. 902: 65kW, up to 6.7kWh, 90mph+ | US only, $8,250; no UK or EU date |
| One Plus EVO | Ventus (VTB Performance, US) | Production | US dealers | 32kW peak (motor rated 52kW), 72V 51Ah, 72kg, 81mph | US only, from $5,599; no UK importer |
| Project Ventura | Zero | Pre-production | EICMA 2026 | 20kW+, 80mph peak, 93 miles | Summer 2027 |
Sources: Honda Global, Racer X, Enduro21, Autocar India, Bike EXIF, New Atlas, Ventus Bikes, Electrek. Links at the foot of the page.
Who else brought electric off-road to Milan?
Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest motorcycle maker by volume, showed the Vida DIRT.E MX7 for a second year: a full-size electric motocrosser with long-travel suspension, spoked wheels and a carbon frame, aimed at adults, with no specs and no date. Alongside it was Project VXZ, an electric streetfighter developed with Zero Motorcycles, and the DIRT.E K3, a kids' bike that adjusts its wheelbase and ride height as the rider grows and has already won a Red Dot and a CES award. Vida also started European customer deliveries this week, per Autocar India.
Ducati went the other way and previewed the Desmo250 EDS, a 250cc four-stroke enduro for summer 2027, to sit beside the Desmo450 EDS and the Desmo250 MX it launched this year. KTM's electric news in October was junior models; the Freeride E remains the only full-size electric in its range and, in Enduro21's words, does not count. Energica used show week to confirm its restart after insolvency. The British firm E-Motiv showed a two-speed electric demonstrator. None of that is a Honda CRF-E with a price tag.
The startups shipping what Honda is still racing: Bonnell and Ventus
Neither was in Milan, and both matter more to our customers than the EV Outlier. Bonnell is an Austin, Texas company founded by Matt Wauters, who co-founded the e-moto parts house EBMX, with Cedric Heinrich as lead engineer. Its 805 RX went on sale in the US on 1 September at $8,250: 42kW (56bhp), 805Nm at the rear wheel, a 3.9kWh battery that swaps out from under the seat in about 30 seconds, a forged aluminium frame, 21/18-inch wheels, 245mm of Sirris suspension at each end, belt drive and 99kg all in. That is Stark Varg weight for Ultra Bee money, and a 4.7kWh Race pack is on the way. Josh Hill has been racing it. The bigger 902, 65kW (87bhp), up to 6.7kWh and 90mph-plus, is still in testing; Bonnell's own support pages say "before the end of 2026" and give no price. No UK or European distribution has been announced for either bike. Cycle News, Racer X and RevZilla have all ridden the 805 RX; New Atlas has the full specification.
Ventus is the other name worth knowing. VTB Performance's Ventus One Plus EVO is a 72kg, 19/16-inch-wheeled e-moto with 32kW peak from a motor rated at 52kW, a 72V 51Ah pack, an 81mph top speed, belt drive and app-tuned wheelie control, selling through US dealers from about $5,599. It is a Light Bee 2 rival at Light Bee 2 money, and it has no UK importer. If either brand lands in Europe it changes the middle of this market overnight, which is why we are watching both. Ventus's own page has the detail.
What this means for riders in the UK
The established manufacturers are a year or two from a showroom electric dirt bike, and when it comes it will be a 450-class race tool at a Stark Varg price, not a trail bike. The bikes you can ride today in that gap are the ones we stock: the 24kW Sur-Ron Light Bee 2 that debuted in Milan, the 35kW Y-Volt Surge V (with a 42kW Surge V RS due in 2027), the Talaria Komodo, Zero's road-legal XE, on its way into the shop now at £5,590, and from next summer Project Ventura. Our round-up of those brands at EICMA 2026 is here, and the Zero announcements are covered in full here. When Honda finally puts a number on the CR Electric, we will be the first to write it up. Until then, the electric dirt bike market is being built by companies you had not heard of in 2020, and it is not waiting for anyone.
Sources
- Honda Global: CR Electric Proto enters the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup
- Yamaha Motor: YE-01 at EICMA 2025
- Honda Global: Overview of Honda exhibits at EICMA 2026
- Racer X: Honda and Yamaha to stage EV motocross demos at MXoN
- Enduro21: Honda and Yamaha pit electric MX bikes head-to-head
- MCN: Yamaha YE-01 revealed at EICMA 2025
- Autocar India: Vida UBX, DIRT.E MX7 and VXZ concepts at EICMA 2026
- Bike EXIF: Stark Varg SM specification and pricing
- Ducati: Desmo250 EDS
- New Atlas: Bonnell launches 805 RX
- Bonnell: 805 and 902 debut at AIMExpo 2026
- Ventus Bikes: V1+ EVO
