Top 10 motorcycles and scooters of 2024 from gas to hydrogen
January 10, 2025
Our top 10 motorcycles and scooters of 2024 range from gas to electric and hydrogen. Custom and DIY models are also big this year. They include the Kawasaki motorcycle that holds the Guinness World Record as the land vehicle with the most cylinders (48, in total), and the custom electric monowheel by Make It Extreme, made using discarded tires. Hydrogen is an interest for MIT as the team assembles an electric motorcycle that runs on a fuel cell. It has swappable parts for easy maintenance, plus anyone can try to build it because it is open-source.
Retro designs also influence some of the models, including the Nitro button on the gearless electric motorcycle DAB 1α – inspired by the 2000 game Need for Speed – as well as the real-life Shotaro Kaneda motorbike by Bel&Bel from the 1988 anime, Akira. For the other models, the design elements stand out from the get-go, such as Bandit9’s EVE Odyssey motorcycle with a body shaped like a sniper’s bullet. Our list below of the top motorcycles and scooters of 2024 goes over the design features of these on- and off-road rides.
images courtesy of Bel&Bel
Barcelona-based creative studio Bel&Bel remakes Shotaro Kaneda’s bike in the anime film Akira as a real-life motorcycle. It has a split-open body and cruises with the signature shade of red seen in the anime’s vehicle. The motorcycle comes with 200 horsepower and electronically controlled anti-lock brakes, two features that weren’t available in the 1980s, the time the anime was set in. Bel&Bel also works on commission, so owners can customize the motorcycle.
Should the owner want, the creative studio may equip the ride with a hybrid engine. It can also feature the recordings of a MiG-21 fighter jet and a 1927 Harley-Davidson motorcycle to accompany its cyberpunk aesthetics, and there’s even a noticeable green static electricity that flutters around the front tire as the rider cruises. The spokeless wheels, surrounded with neon blue lights, resemble giant buttons and remain faithful to the original design.
BANDIT9’S EVE ODYSSEY MOTORCYCLE SHAPED LIKE BULLET
MIT BUILDS AN OPEN-SOURCE HYDROGEN ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE
image by Adam Glanzman, courtesy of MIT
MIT assembles their own hydrogen electric motorcycle that runs on a fuel cell and has swappable parts. This is also an open-source model, so craftsmen can build their own. The hydrogen electric motorcycle successfully took its ride test demo in October 2023, but the technology team said that it would not be entering competitions. They designed the model to only be presented in conferences to help manufacturers optimize their own hydrogen electric rides.
MIT’s team built and tested their hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric motorcycle within their main space at MIT’s Building N5. It took them a year to come up with the prototype, and parts of the components they used were donated to them for this project. The team used a frame from a 1999 motorcycle, with many custom-made parts added to support the electric motor, the hydrogen tank, the fuel cell, and the drive train.read more here
ZIGY, A SINGLE-SEATER ELECTRIC URBAN VEHICLE
image courtesy of Andrea Mocellin and DEXET Technologies
Andrea Mocellin and the DEXET Technologies team up to conceptualize Zigy, which is a single-seater electric urban vehicle. It’s as sleek as a microcar, and it resembles a motorcycle, just with four wheels. The chassis is made from thermoplastic composites to make the vehicle lightweight, and a selection of carbon and natural fibers are also chosen for the exterior and interior bodywork panels. It took the team three months to produce the concept design.
For the final design, Zigy gets a piece of glass that curves around the roof and front, which also masks over the sides of the single seat. This doubles as the sunroof for the electric urban vehicle, as well as to offer the rider views of the outside. There’s a seemingly silver edge that belts around the exterior of Zigy, and this also houses the rear and tail lights of the vehicle. The battery pack is located under the vehicle.
image courtesy of Tarform
SCI-FI MEETS CAFE RACER IN REAL MOTORS’ PROJECT: ARES
image courtesy of Real Motors
Real Motors’ first model is called Project: ARES. It’s an electric cafe racer inspired by sci-fi design and movies. So far, it is under development, with several prototypes underway, and Real Motors plans to release production models in late 2025. still , it makes its way to our top motorcycles and scooters of 2024. Its unibody frame hides the engine and components, and this approach makes the design singular and not cluttered.
The team draws their influences from the classic design of a cafe racer, and they also want to emphasize the retro style with a modern twist. The buttons and controls are analog rather than digital, and there’s a small screen that displays the riding information. The team believes that Project: ARES can be comparable to 700-900cc ICE motorcycles in terms of power.
ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE DAB 1Α HAS RETRO-INSPIRED BUTTONS
image courtesy of DAB Motors | photo by David Duchon Doris
DAB Motors’ inaugural production model is the DAB 1α. Dubbed a gearless electric motorcycle, it comes with a recyclable battery. One of its main features is the buttons and controls inspired by game-console controllers and video games from the 2000s. This model in our top motorcycles and scooters of 2024 only weighs 125 kilograms and can be recharged almost anywhere using a simple home socket or Type 2 charging point.
Looking at its buttons and controls, the design team follows the style found on game console controllers. There’s a blue Nitro button on board too, inspired by the 2000 game, Need for Speed. By pressing thios, the rider gives DAB 1α a boost in speed. A nod to bicycle motocross shows up too with the use of back pegs to support passengers when they hop on the gearless electric motorcycle.
image courtesy of Bonhams|Cars
CUSTOM ELECTRIC MONOWHEEL MADE OF MOTORCYCLE TIRES
video still courtesy of Make It Extreme, via Youtube
The team Make It Extreme produces a custom electric monowheel using motorcycle tires. Its frame is forged from metal, shaped in a perfect circle to mirror the style of the wheel used in circus shows. They encirle the metal frame with tire padding, custom too, because there aren’t any wheels available with this size. For the chassis, Make It Extreme makes three rollers and a black plastic material on which the wheel could spin.
The wheel can move forward because of the two motors connected to a tire that the design team took from a go-kart vehicle. It’s also non-slip, so cruising along watery roads isn’t so slippery. The motors move well thanks to the two controllers that Make It Extreme tied with a throttle, and the entire monowheel rotates as the rider takes it for a spin. The design team colors the metal frame orange, so it stands out on the road day and night.
image courtesy of ASYNC
