Waiting For An Electric Motorcycle To Recharge Is Not A Bug, It's A Feature Says FortNineJalopnikJustin HughesTue, September 15, 2026 at 3:25 AM UTCAdd us on GoogleFortNine/YouTubeIt's common knowledge that electric motorcycles are a terrible choice for road trips. Our Collin Woodward road-tripped one so you don't have to, and had a rather stressful time of it. The Zero S he rode took a long time to charge while he was on a tight schedule, and its relatively short 150-mile range didn't help, either. FortNine took a similar road trip on an even less well-suited bike, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience, though. All except for hitting a deer, but that could happen to anyone.The steed of choice was the Can-Am Origin, the Canadian electric dual-sport that, being made in Mexico, it's a Can-Am that is not about to be banned in the U.S. over our silly tariff war with our northern neighbors. Our Andy Kalmowitz had one for a month and thought it was a great commuter with limited real-world practicality. He experienced a maximum range of just 89 miles, far less than the Zero, and severely limiting the length of any ride too far out of town. That makes it a perfect choice for a road trip to some highlights of British Columbia's wilderness, eh?Read more: Weird Myth That EV Batteries Die All The Time Refuted By Yet Another Study Conducted By Actual Scientists Who Didn't Graduate From Facebook UniversityThe stops are the pointAt first, the charging times of over an hour seem like an inconvenience. Sure, they give you time to grab lunch and use the bathroom, but then what? Then, you use the time to explore the local area. Rather than a quick splash-and-dash at a gas station before continuing to your destination, you're forced to slow down and spend at least a little while immersing yourself in the local culture.AdvertisementAdvertisementIn Brittannia, Ryan checked out an enormous dump truck and learned about the area's history of copper mining that produced 19% of the entire world's supply. In Whistler, he enjoyed a unique type of bread at the Squamish Lil'Wat Cultural Centre, so much that he stayed for seconds after the bike had finished charging. In Pemberton, he visited his uncle and explored his vintage Triumph TR6, radio-controlled airplanes, and extensive collection of files (tools, not classified information). In Lillooet, the charger he'd planned on using didn't work, but one at a vape shop did. There's nothing too interesting here, but the view was spectacular, and that's worth something. Road closures due to wildfires diverted him off his intended route, allowing him to test the Origin's dirt capabilities on the detour. This had him on the road after dark, which is when he hit the deer, an experience he elaborates on in another video. Fortunately, Ryan kept the bike upright, and both he and the deer suffered only superficial damage. Unfortunately, this is where the video ends. I would've liked to see the rest of the trip, but it's possible he and his camera crew ended it here, loading up the Can-Am and taking it back to Vancouver rather than risk riding it after hitting a deer.It's the journey, not the destinationFortNine/YouTubeIt's worth mentioning that in none of these cases, neither Ryan F9's nor our own, was the experience of riding the electric motorcycle the problem. Quite the contrary, in fact, as everyone thoroughly enjoyed them, as have I during my brief times on one. The problem is that such a small vehicle requires a small battery, which can't hold a lot of charge, and therefore can't offer a lot of range. No one's going to be doing an electric Iron Butt Saddlesore 1000 anytime soon.Most road trips end up covering a lot of miles in a short time. With limited time off work and other demands of modern life, that's the only way most of us can visit places far away from our normal stomping grounds. FortNine reminds us that the journey itself is part of the adventure as well. Half of this video has nothing to do with motorcycles, but with the places and experiences Ryan has during the trip. And that's the point. Until EV motorcycles can recharge 200 miles of range in five minutes, they force you to slow down and experience the places you visit, not just pass through them.AdvertisementAdvertisementFor me, traveling this way was the most enjoyable aspect of my van life journey. I spent time in the communities instead of just passing through, from a single night making friends in a Walmart parking lot to the entire winter in the Arizona desert. It's also what adventure riders love about long-distance journeys, particularly through countries and cultures that aren't their own. Most of us can't travel the world like Ewan and Charley, but we can have smaller adventures in our own backyards if we slow down and take the time to look around a bit. Recharging an EV gives us an excuse to do that.Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.
