Up to this point, innovation in motorcycling has been the preserve of the major manufacturers. Now, with the future of motorcycling being electric, it is opening up the market to small start-ups with no experience of producing motorcycles but with plenty of good ideas.

If there is one good thing to come from the gradual migration to electric motive power for motorcycles, it is that the monopoly held by the major motorcycle manufacturers is being eroded, however slightly at the moment.

Being able to start from a clean sheet with off-the-shelf battery and motor technology, not to mention 3D printing and availability of CNC machining expertise, means that anyone with an idea can set up a business building motorcycles.

Such is the case with a group of Portuguese students who initially set up a business with around $400 each, making parts and accessories for bikes. The resulting business, called Axiis was so successful they turned their collective hands to building a complete electric motorcycle.

The new brand is called Liion and the first design is a supermoto model. The frame is CNC-machined aluminium, as is the single-sided swing arm. The bodywork is fabricated from carbon fibre, while the motor develops 132bhp and a not inconsiderable 177lb.ft of torque. The whole bike weighs in at just 133kg.

So far so good but now the trio are looking for investment funding to turn the prototype into production reality.

Whether or not they find it is neither here nor there, although we are sure it will be forthcoming. What is important is that the market is wide open to a profitable business with no track record of building motorcycles, that doesn’t have to go global to achieve success and doesn’t require the resources of a major manufacturer.

As unpalatable as the change to electric power for our beloved motorcycles might be, the opportunities it is creating can only be a good thing for the future of the motorcycle and the innovation that can come with it from small and flexible companies.