18 • September 2026 • Powersports Business

When I wrote about the e-moto craze in the July issue, I explained why this moment felt familiar.

We had the three-wheeled ATV crisis in the’ 80s, followed by widespread restrictions on personal watercraft in the late’ 80s and’ 90s. In 1985, most North American ski

JAN PLESSNER resorts had banned snowboarding. But only five years later, roughly 476 ski areas were open to these knuckle-dragging lunch-tray riders.

In each case, an industry faced a wave of untrained users, alarmed regulators, and headlines threatening to shut the fun down. In each case, the industry survived and came out stronger.

BICYCLE BACK STORY For decades, the bicycle and motorcycle industries took divergent approaches to safety. Motorcyclists were encouraged to take rider education and training courses that gave them the skills and confidence to use the roadway system.

The bicycle industry, by and large, skipped education and instead lobbied the government for separate infrastructure, such as bike lanes and paths. That strategy worked to a point, but it came with a cost.

To justify building separate bicycling infrastructure, advocates argued that riding in traffic is dangerous, often exaggerating the risk. The message stuck. It didn’ t just win bike lanes; it convinced many“ would-be riders” that the street is unsafe.

The first cohort is simply uneducated. These are kids who never learned the rules of the road and parents who do not understand the distinction between legal e-bikes and illegal e-motos.( Photo: CC / PxHere)

BY THE NUMBERS: 2024-2026 According to eCycleElectric:“ An estimated 1.7 million e-bikes were imported into the U. S. in 2024 by roughly 900 unique businesses, up from an estimated 1 million units in 2023, 72 % growth year over year.”

According to PeopleForBikes:“ Roughly 450,000 e-bike units, worth about $ 800 million, were sold direct-to-consumer from brand websites in 2024, outside the retail channels most market data tracks— plus another 80,000 sold peer-to-peer, putting total 2024 e-bike activity near 1 million units through those two channels alone.”

According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News:“ Bicycle Market Research puts 2025 e-bike imports at ~ 1.3 million units; the Light Electric Vehicle Association and eCycleElectric estimate ~ 2.2 million.”

According to Cycling Electric and Global Market Insights:“ Looking ahead to 2026: No confirmed import numbers yet, but market-size forecasts point to steadier, singledigit growth— a cooldown from 2024’ s 72 % spike. The biggest wildcards: tariffs and U. S.-China trade tensions, since over 95 % of U. S. e-bikes are imported.”

That’ s a trap we don’ t want the e-bike generation to fall into. These kids are already riding what are, in effect, pretend motorcycles. Let’ s not push them backward into cordoned-off bike paths when the natural next step is forward, into full-fledged, legal motorcycling.

That’ s the opportunity buried in this mess. I believe these future motorcyclists are ours to lose.

TWO COHORTS, TWO PROBLEMS Not every e-bike rider causing trouble is doing so for the same reason, and we need to stop treating them as a single group.

The first cohort is simply uneducated. These are kids who never learned the rules of the road and parents who do not understand the distinction between legal e-bikes and illegal e-motos. They don’ t know what they don’ t know. This group responds to real education, delivered clearly, before a citation or a crash forces the issue.

Check out the Ebike Training for Teens online course at www. teenebiketraining. com.