The very new Damon Hypersport HS is one of the most exciting electric motorcycles of 2020 and has quickly made its way onto many enthusiasts’ favourite lists. Since travelling is limited even for local destinations at this time, we’ll do a “pre-review”, meaning we’ll discuss and compare -what we do know- with that of other motorcycles on the market.
Overview
In this article, we go through what this motorcycle is all about, how it works and also how it’s expected to perform. At the end, we’ll do a comparison with some other motorcycles that are roughly in the same class or category as the Damon Hypersport HS.
We’ll cover the following:
- What is the Damon Hypersport HS?
- How does the Damon Hypersport work?
- Who can buy the Damon Hypersport HS?
- Manufacturer’s specifications
- The pros and cons
- Comparison to other motorcycles
- Is the Damon Hyperport HS worth buying?
What is the Damon Hypersport HS?
The Damon Hypersport HS is an all-electric, high-performance motorcycle made by Damon Motor inc. and is the second model to be released since the company was founded in 2017. It is set on changing the motorcycling industry with its award-winning CoPilot safety feature.
If I had to accurately categorise this motorcycle, it would be “a high-end sports-motorcycle”. I think that would be the most accurate category to place this bike even though “electric” doesn’t appear in the name (and it is, in fact, electric).
I don’t think the fact that it’s electric makes it all that more desirable (relatively speaking). Instead, it’s what the motorcycle can offer. These would be namely performance, aesthetics and features that you won’t find on any other bike.
These aspects alone are certainly enough to attract people but that’s not to say that it, being an electric bike, doesn’t have any advantages. Because it certainly does.
I don’t think they focus all that much on -it being electric- compared to other manufacturers. And it might be that they realised that it’s been a decade since electric motorcycles were first set int production at a large scale.
These days, people don’t fall on their backs when you tell them you ride an electric. I get the feeling they realised this and don’t focus on that all the particular aspect much when promoting their models.
Instead, they focus on different aspects and have certainly done a lot to develop the tech behind it. For instance, their CoPilot system is something we have never seen before on any other motorcycle up until they revealed their models.
But that is not all, the Damon Hypersport has a feature called Shift that enables it to change the riding position while the bike is moving; from a sport riding position to a more upright riding position that is better suited for commuting in the city or urban areas.
How does the Damon Hypersport work?
Ultimately, the Damon Hypersport is a framework containing a lithium-ion battery/battery pack that delivers a flow of current to the motor in order to accelerate but the opposite can also be done to slow down (called regenerative braking). There are also a set of systems that control rider seating position and rider awareness by tracking other vehicles and predicting their movements.
That was it all in a nutshell but hardly useful. If we want to know exactly how a Damon Hypersport works, we’ll have to disassemble one (which is not possible at the moment.
So I’ll explain what I have seen and know to give you at least an idea of how it works.
Battery
The Damon Hypersport models all have the same 21.5 kWh batteries that power the motorcycles. To those who don’t know 21.5 kWh is good or not, I can say “yes, it is”. My estimate is that 99% of you reading this have no sense of quantifying battery size on a motorcycle.
So, I’ll explain…
The battery capacity doesn’t really have that much to do with how big it is. We are just measuring the energy that is stored in a battery and that is mostly measured in kWh.
For comparison, this is how the Damon Hypersport batteries compare to some other motorcycle batteries that are in similar categories and a Nissan Leaf:
| Model | Battery |
|---|---|
| Damon Hypersport HS | 21.5 kWh |
| Energica Ego | 21.5 kWh |
| Lightning LS-218 | 20.0 kWh |
| Nissan Leaf (car) | 40.0 kWh |
So we can say that the battery pack of the Hypersport is what you would expect it to have when comparing it to other electric sportbikes. Some smaller electric motorcycles have even 3 kWh battery packs but they are in no way capable of doing extended trips without charging points along the way.
How much range do you get out of this battery in a Damon Hypersport HS?
The Damon Hypersport HS has an estimated range of 200+ miles using the SAE J2982 specification. A straight 70 mph speed would give you ~161 miles of range and a straight 60 mph speed would give you ~201 miles of range.
| Specification | Range |
|---|---|
| SAE J2982 | 200+ mi / 322+ km |
| 70 mph | ~161 mi / ~259 km |
| 60 mph | ~201 mi / ~323 km |
Shift
Shift is a feature on the Damon Hypersport HS that allows the rider to change riding position while the bike is moving. It does this by automatically moving the handlebar and footpegs up or down.
The sport riding position has the handlebar up and the footpegs down while the commuter position has the handlebar down and the footpegs up.
The idea behind this is to have the rider comfortable when riding at higher speeds on a highway but also when in urban areas or when traffic is slow.
In some later versions, they showed how the seat height also changes when the Shift feature is used.
CoPilot
CoPilot is a system developed to track and predict movements of other vehicles on the road around the motorcycle. It can track up to 64 vehicles at the same time and warns the rider via visual indicators or vibrations in the handlebar when there is danger.
This system not only watches for vehicles in front of the motorcycle but right around it, 360°.
You might have noticed that the Damon Hypersport has no mirrors, this is because it has an “always-on” 120° rear-view camera that displays on the dash. This allows the rider to see what’s directly behind you without looking over their shoulders.
Another great feature is the blind spot indicators which are lead strips on the windshield indicating which blindspot the rider should look at before switching lanes or turning.
CoPilot is definitely something extraordinary and, in my opinion, will forever change the standard on motorcycle safety.
Who can buy the Damon Hypersport HS?
At the time of writing, the Damon Hypersport HS is available for order only in North America and Europe. The model will be available for order in other countries around the world later on.
This doesn’t seem unusual at all. Usually, a product is first released or made available for purchase in it’s home country (which would be Canada) but they have already gone as far as to make it available in other areas as well.
And this is coming from a company that started in 2017, which isn’t that long ago at all. So I guess this is more than what I expected.
Manufacturer’s specifications
These are the manufacturer’s specifications. Note that some of the units are converted to be easily understood by readers using the metric/imperial system. Thus, actual values may differ slightly.
| Top speed | 200 mph / 322 kph |
| 0-60 mph | <3 seconds |
| Range | 200 mi / 322 km* |
| Wet weight | 440 lbs / 200 kg |
| Power | 215 hp / 160 kW |
| Torque | 148 ft-lb / 200 Nm |
*see previous table
The pros and cons
Since I haven’t actually ridden the Damon Hypersport HS myself, you shouldn’t take this section too seriously. I’ll basically just state what I think is good and what I think they can improve on. (I’ll try to get my test ride booked in the future when we can travel again)
Pros
- Advanced safety features
- Overall extremely good looking bike
- Powerful and fast
- Different riding positions
- Long-range capability
Cons
- Currently no pillion seat available
- Fairing patterns under seat might be hard to clean
- (Attracts too much attention)
Comparison to other motorcycles
So what I like to do when looking at a new motorcycle is comparing it to other motorcycles that are more or less the same in price or performance. And since I already have compared the Damon Hypersport HS to the Lightning LS-218, I’ll choose some other gas motorcycles that might be considered similar.
We’ll briefly compare the following motorcycles:
- Damon Hypersport HS
- Ducati Panigale V4
- Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory
| Damon Hypersport HS | Ducati Panigale V4 | RSV4 1100 Factory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top speed | 200 mph / 322 kph | 180 mph / 290 kph | 190 mph / 306 kph |
| 0-60 mph | <3 seconds | 3.3 seconds | N/A |
| Range | 200 mi / 322 km | N/A | 177 mi / 285 km |
| Wet weight | 440 lbs / 200 kg | 437 lbs / 198 kg | 439 lbs / 199 kg |
| Power | 215 hp / 160 kW | 214 hp / 158 kW | 217 hp / 160 kW |
| Torque | 148 ft-lb / 200 Nm | 92 ft-lb / 124 Nm | 90 ft-lb / 122 Nm |
| Price | $24,955 | $21,995 | $24,499 |
Read more about the Ducati Panigale V4 and Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory models.
Is the Damon Hyperport HS worth buying?
Yes, it is definitely worth buying. Even if it is an expensive motorcycle, it’s meant to compete with the other high-end gas motorcycles we see today. In reality, the Damon Hypersport HS offers more than it’s competitors.
I’ve seen a lot of comments that refer to the price. Most of them say something like “it’s too expensive” or “you need to drop the price”.
The fact is that it’s priced just right. Damon motorcycles aimed to build a the Hypersport HS to be direct competitors with the likes of Ducati and Aprilia.
If you look at what the bike offers and what the competitors offer, it’s actually a bargain because they offer more for the same price. This includes performance, aesthetics and the tech inside them.
Plus, if you are still counting pennies after buying a $25,000 bike, you’d be happy to know that it costs very little to charge an electric bike.
I’ve given the Damon Hypersport HS a 5-star (5/5) rating. If anything changes after the actual review, I’ll add it right here.
You can order your Damon Hypersport HS from the official website: damonmotorcycles.com
Final words
I regret not having the chance to ride one of these motorcycles. But when things get back to normal and the opportunity arises, I’ll do a proper review and maybe a YouTube video. I hope the current info was helpful in some way.
Featured image by @damonmotorcycles on Instagram.
I always try to keep my articles interesting and informative. And I’m always thankful when they are shared on social media platforms or Pinterest.
