The e-moto phenomenon exploded in the U.S. after China-based Surron introduced the Light Bee in 2017. Vinto Song, head of Surron America, said the company aimed to fill a niche between gas-powered off-road motorcycles and electric bicycles. The Light Bee retails for around $4,500 and claims a top speed of 46 mph. Competitors soon appeared, some promising faster speeds at roughly half the price.
Andy Leisner, an e-mobility consultant and former CEO of the e-moto company Rawrr, estimated that up to 80% of e-motos are bought through e-commerce platforms and delivered directly to customers’ driveways. Few of them ever see dirt, Leisner said. Though he said he does not condone the bikes’ misuse, he noted that their popularity stems partly from their simplicity: unlike most gas-powered motorcycles, e-motos have no clutch or gearbox — acceleration is as simple as twisting the throttle.
“That’s just the self-fulfilling prophecy of this entire community, which is inherently illegal,” Sur Ronster, a YouTuber who is a leading e-moto evangelist, said in a video shot during a Los Angeles group ride. “By participating in the activity, you’re hurting the future of the activity.” He did not respond to interview requests.
The bikes have attracted a wide range of riders. Joe Sulzbach, a 45-year-old electrician in the Houston suburbs, grew up with a Harley-riding father but said he never took much interest in motorcycles himself. That changed in 2024 when he bought his son, then 9, a low-speed dirt bike from Walmart. He soon upgraded it with a more powerful motor, and today the entire family rides e-motos on off-road trails — and sometimes on local streets.
“We went from people sitting in the living room looking at our phones to getting out and riding,” Sulzbach said.
E-motos also offer a practical commuting option, said Bryce Altaffer, a Chicago bike store manager who sells them. “We have a lot more people just trying to commute with them, and for them, a bigger bike isn’t an advantage,” he said.
The bikes typically lack safety features required for street use by the U.S. Transportation Department — including rearview mirrors, turn signals and tires approved for road use. That gap has created problems for riders like Chris Chevrier, a Detroit exurb resident who received a ticket for riding an unregistered motorcycle. He said he spent more than $500 to obtain the necessary safety modifications, plates and a license. Because he owns a business selling e-moto parts and accessories, he said he saw a bright side to the enforcement. “I think I’ll start offering things that will make the bikes street legal,” he said. “That will definitely boost sales a bit.”
Enforcement actions have escalated. In New York, police recently used bulldozers to crush more than 200 seized dirt bikes and scooters, calling them a menace to public safety. In California, prosecutors brought involuntary manslaughter charges against the mother of a 14-year-old boy who allegedly struck and killed a man while riding an e-moto. Amazon said it would stop selling bikes in California that do not comply with the state’s speed-limit regulations.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias helped draft legislation that requires anyone riding an e-moto on the street to have a driver’s license, title, registration and insurance. However, if an e-moto does not have a manufacturer’s certificate of origin indicating it is made for the road — and many do not — it cannot be registered. Giannoulias, who pushed for the law after saying he and his young daughters were nearly struck by an e-moto on a sidewalk, said he was not trying to stifle a new transportation option.
“These micromobility vehicles are quickly transforming how folks get around and are now part of everyday life,” Giannoulias said. “But innovation without guard rails puts people at risk.”
The motorcycle industry is watching closely. Michael Uhlarik, founder of the consulting firm Motorcycle Global, calculated that the Surron Light Bee alone sold about 16,000 units last year, making it the most popular motorcycle in the U.S. by volume. That meant it outsold Harley-Davidson’s entire line of sport and adventure bikes combined. Uhlarik said street-legal e-motos with similarly affordable prices could reshape legacy manufacturers. “If it isn’t this, then it can’t be changed,” he said.
Established manufacturers are responding. Zero Motorcycles, known for electric street bikes costing up to $23,000, has introduced a $4,400 option for dirt riding. LiveWire, the electric-bike maker majority-owned by Harley-Davidson, recently acquired a startup whose e-moto reaches a top speed of 75 mph.
The e-moto trend echoes the dirt-bike culture of the 1970s, when inexpensive Japanese motorcycles brought a wave of young riders into motorcycling. That era ended when noise complaints, safety concerns and misbehavior led to restrictions that blocked the pipeline of new riders, said Christy LaCurelle, president and CEO of the Motorcycle Industry Council.
“Nobody in the industry back then was able to capitalize on all of those young riders that were out there and try to get them to come along,” LaCurelle said. “And here we are again in a similar scenario.” She said she hopes education, training and the expansion of legal riding areas will prevent an all-out ban on e-motos.