Honda WN7 (2026) – Technical Review

A 67hp motorcycle weighing 217.5kg and carrying a £13k price tag might not seem like much to write home about but what’s remarkable about this one is not only that it’s electric but that those numbers aren’t completely out of touch with some combustion-engined machines. Slowly but surely EV motorcycles are approaching the expectations we’ve set for petrol bikes and the fact that the new WN7 comes not from an unknown startup but from the world’s leading bike brand – Honda – shows it might be time to take them a bit more seriously.

Sure, you can get much more performance for much less money by opting for petrol power, but the WN7’s key figures, including the power and price, aren’t a million miles from some combustion-engined cruisers and even the likes of Ducati’s 803cc Scrambler range, which extends nearly as high on the price scale with a similar power level. As a first attempt, then, the WN7 already looks like an intriguing prospect for early-adopters but also a potential outsider for consideration by a broader band of customers.  

Pros & Cons

2026 Honda WN7 - Price & PCP Deals

Depending on your perspective the WN7’s £12,999 price tag could be considered hefty or surprisingly affordable – it all depends on whether it’s seen in the context of ICE bikes or purely compared to other electric models.

Against combustion engined machines? Yeah, £13k will still buy you a lot more performance and equipment if you’re burning dead dinosaurs. But compared to other electrics the Honda’s tag looks tempting, substantially undercutting machines like the Zero SR and the Livewire S2 models – at least before the latter received the massive price cuts that accompanied the brand’s ‘Twist and Go’ promotion – while looking like a more substantial than those rivals.

The huge price cuts that we’re seeing elsewhere in the EV bike market, including those applied to Livewire’s models, show how rapidly perspectives can change: an S2 Del Mar, which launched with a price of nearly £19,000, dropped to under £9,000 during the brand’s recent promotion. Similarly, Kawasaki’s Z7 Hybrid – another high-tech, early-adopter machine – launched with £12k price tag in 2024 but has since dropped to £7,499. Will the WN7’s price follow a similar trajectory? Only time will tell.

What is sure is that the WN7 is already a bike that has a place in Honda history. We just don’t know if that place is as a curio, along the lines of the DN-01 with its weird hydraulic transmission, or if one day it will be seen as the forebear to a whole generation of world-beating electric models.

2026 Honda WN7 - Engine & Performance

We all need to learn some new terms to come to grips with comparing electric bikes, whether to each other or to combustion-engine machines, and even then there’s often a wide disparity between the way power and range claims are made that makes it a minefield to try to judge how electric bikes fare based on their on-paper statistics alone.

Honda is offering two motor configurations in the WN7, a full-power ‘18kW’ model and a restricted ‘11kW’ version to comply with 125cc learner regs and allow it to be sold to L-plate riders.

While kilowatts can be converted directly to horsepower, those headline figures don’t tell the whole story. The 18kW (that’s 24hp) version of the WN7, for example, really has a maximum power of 50kW (67.1hp) – reflecting the difference between the way regulators measure electric vehicle power and the traditional way that we’re used to seeing it. The rated power of 18kW is based on a ‘continuous’ measurement, monitoring how much the motor can put out without a break for 30 minutes, which is how UNECE regulations require it to be done. That’s nothing like the brief dyno runs that petrol engines make to establish their maximum outputs. Under that sort of testing, the 18kW version of the WN7 makes its peak of 50kW (67.1hp), so that number is more representative of the performance you’ll feel when riding the bike.

The electronic restrictions that bring the 11kW version within 125cc rules, however, mean that machine’s peak output is barely any high, only 11.2kW (15hp), the same as pretty much any 125cc combustion engine bike.

Both versions have identical torque – 100Nm, or 73.8lbft – and Honda reckons the full-power model hits 62mph in 4.6 seconds, which is faster than a CB500 Hornet but not quite as quick as more powerful ICE models. Top speed is a disappointing 80mph, dropping to 78.9mph as a ‘continuous’ maximum that can be sustained as long as there’s charge in the battery. At least motorway speeding tickets shouldn’t be much of a problem.

The motor itself is liquid-cooled and centrally-mounted, driving a single-speed transmission that uses helical-cut reduction gears to reduce noise, outputting to a rubber belt that takes the drive to the rear wheel. The use of helical gears and the belt drive highlight the fact that on a near-silent electric bike, chain rattle and gear whine would otherwise be an unpleasant accompaniment to every ride.

The motor is powered by a 9.3kWh, 349.44-volt battery pack inside an aluminium case that doubles as the bike’s main frame.

Stepping into more familiar territory, there’s a choice of four riding modes, each changing the power delivery characteristics, the regenerative braking characteristics during deceleration, and the traction control settings. Standard is a moderate mode, Sport boosts torque and adds more regenerative braking, Rain gives softer throttle response and less aggressive regen, and Econ combines a mild power delivery with maximum regeneration to squeeze the longest range from each charge.

The regen setting can be instantly tweaked between three levels using a trigger/thumb paddle on the left bar, letting you alter it as you ride to suit the conditions or your riding style.

2026 Honda WN7 - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

There’s no traditional frame on the WN7, which instead uses the cast aluminium battery casing as its main structure – doubling its function to keep weight to a minimum, while using careful design to engineer the right amount of flex into the bike.

When it comes to chassis geometry, the CB1000 Hornet has provided the template and the WN7’s rake, trail and wheelbase are all within a hair of that machine’s dimensions. The rake is set at 25 degrees, the same as the Hornet, the trail is 1mm greater at 99mm, the wheelbase is 25mm longer at 1480mm, and the overall weight of 217.5kg is only 5.5kg more than a Hornet with a 90% full tank of fuel.

The suspension is all from Showa, with 43mm upside-down forks at the front and a 41mm monoshock at the rear, acting on a single-sided swingarm, with 120mm of travel at each end. There’s no provision to adjust the damping, although the rear preload can be tweaked.

An inertial measurement unit allows for cornering traction control – easier than ever with electric power, where the torque can be modulated instantly by the control unit without having to fiddle with throttle butterflies or fuel injection delivery – as well as cornering ABS via Nissin brakes with two-piston front calipers and 296mm discs at the front and a single 256mm disc at the rear.

The wheels are 17-inch and the front tyre is 120/70-17 as used by most bikes this size, but the rear is a relatively narrow 150/60-17.

2026 Honda WN7 - Comfort & Economy

The bike’s dimensions might be on a par with the CB1000 Hornet but the WN7 should feel smaller because the bars, the centre of gravity, the pegs and the seat are all a little lower than the Hornet’s.

The riding position is also a bit more relaxed and upright, reflecting the fact that the electric bike is intended to spend more of its time on city streets and less on the open road or motorways.

Without a fuel tank to consider, Honda has been able to keep the bike relatively narrow between the rider’s knees and provide a seat that extends forward, motocross-style, up the rear of the ‘tank’ area.

The 9.3kWh battery is a little smaller than the 10.5kWh unit on the Livewire S2 models or the 12.6kWh unit of the Zero S, and Honda’s range claims aren’t as ambitious as some others. Using the standardised WMTC protocol, the 18kW full power bike hits 140km (87 miles) of range, while the 11kW version – which gets tested under a different set of speed ranges because it’s classed like a 125cc bike – manages 153km (95 miles). Bear in mind that a lot of electric bike companies bolster their range claims by using ‘city’ figures achieved only at low speeds, while the WMTC test covers an array of use cases, and with that in mind the Honda’s numbers look at least on a par with rivals.

More important, perhaps, is the bike’s charging abilities. Unlike many electric motorcycles, certainly in this price bracket, the WN7 has a CCS-2 charge port like most modern electric cars, allowing it to plug into the sort of quick DC chargers found at motorway services and other charging hubs. Plugged into one of those the charging rate is still low compared to the modern electric cars which use active battery cooling to allow faster charge rates, but the Honda can go from 20% to 80% charge in 30 minutes, enough for another 55 miles of riding, (60 miles on the 11kW version).

Alternatively, you can use a 6kVA home charge unit to fill the battery in only 2.4 hours, or you can use a normal domestic plug and wait 5.5 hours for a full charge. How cheap that charge will be will depend on your electricity supplier, but using off-peak rates you’d be looking at around £1, maybe less if you have an EV-specific deal, for a full charge. A rapid public charger, by contrast, might cost nearer £8 at current prices if you used it for a full charge.

2026 Honda WN7 - Equipment

The WN7’s five-inch colour TFT is shared with other Honda models, and offers phone connectivity via the RoadSync app for navigation as well as calls and music control when used along with a Bluetooth helmet headset. Of course, the displays aren’t completely familiar, with power consumption and predicted range figures taking prominence instead of revs.

Since it’s electric, the WN7 can power itself backwards as well as forwards, and there’s a Walking Speed Mode that works in both directions to help if you’re trying to shuffle the bike into a tight spot. A speed limited can also be selected, potentially useful in cities bristling with speed cameras.

Accessories are limited to a rear seat bag, which was offered to early pre-order customers free of charge, and two types of charging cable – a 230V AC ‘Mode 2’ type and a ‘Mode 3’ cable for 6kVA chargers.

2026 Honda WN7 - Rivals

Are the WN7’s customers purely going to be interested in electric bikes, or can Honda achieve the dream of persuading ICE riders away from their engines? That’s yet to be seen but it’s likely that whoever buys the WN7 will be an early-adopter looking for a head-turning bike. As such, alternatives might include the unusual Kawasaki Z7 Hybrid as well as more obvious EVs like the Livewire and Zero competition in this segment.

Livewire S2 Alpinista - The latest addition to the Livewire S2 range, the Alpinista is closest to the Honda in its use of 17-inch wheels. It claims faster acceleration and a higher top speed – with 0-60 in 3 seconds and 99mph flat out – and manages a claimed 89 miles of range in mixed use. It lacks the rapid-charging abilities of the Honda, though. The £17k price seems salty, but was slashed to £10,599 during the ‘twist-and-go’ promotion that ended on 31st October, hinting at the sort of real-world deal to expect.

Zero S - The S is far from the top of Zero’s range, but comes closest to the Honda in terms of range and performance. With 60hp and 97lb-ft it’s a fraction behind the Japanese bike on performance, with a sustained top speed of 68mph, but promises to go further thanks to a larger, 12.6kWh battery. But a 6kW charger adds nearly £3k to the price and there’s no DC rapid charging.

Kawasaki Z7 Hybrid - With a £7.5k price tag the Z7 Hybrid looks like it’s in a different league to the £13k Honda, but bear in mind it launched with an RRP of £11,949 before that was slashed earlier this year. It’s not a pure electric bike, of course, but its clever hybrid tech means it can run on electricity alone, petrol power or both combined, and it scratches the same high-tech itch as the WN7. There’s no charging to worry about and the hybrid system means it sips fuel, giving a vast range between fill-ups.

Livewire S2 Alpinista | Price: £17,390

Read more

Power/Torque

84bhp / 194lb-ft

Weight

196kg

Zero S | Price: £15,515

Read more

Power/Torque

60bhp / 97lb-ft

Weight

223kg

Kawasaki Z7 Hybrid | Price: £7499

Read more

Power/Torque

68.5bhp / 44.5lb-ft

Weight

225kg

2026 Honda WN7 - Verdict

The WN7 is a fascinating enigma at the moment: in some lights it’s an impressive machine, particularly compared to other electric offerings, and in the right circumstances it could replace a conventional ICE bike for daily use without forcing too many compromises on the owner. But from another perspective it’s still heavier, slower, less convenient and more expensive than the vast majority of combustion engine machines. On balance it looks like we’re still waiting for the EV that can really take the fight to conventional bikes, but Honda has certainly taken a step closer.

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2026 Honda WN7 - Technical Specification

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