It feels like a new electric motorcycle concept vehicle is released on social media every week at the moment. From those concepts - a handful make it to production and an even smaller amount make it to our shores in Australia. At GRID Cycles - we’re going to do something about that. Taking it into our own hands to bring some of the best new electric motorcycles into Australia. We’ve already got the latest Zero and Energica models sailing their way over to us. But we definitely want to give some of the new kids on the block a shot too. Here’s 5 bikes we’re looking forward to getting our hands on and giving the GRID custom treatment this year (or very early next year). Please bear in mind that the prices quoted below are local RRPs converted to AUD. They do not include import, GST, Compliance Approval and any other fees involved in getting the bikes over to Australia and making them road legal.
Sondors Metacycle $7,000 AUD
Admittedly, here at GRID we’re not super keen on a lot of the futuristic looking electric motorcycle concepts coming out. Yes electric motorcycles are the future - but they don’t need to look like something off the set of Star Trek. Sondors - an electric bicycle company seem to have struck that tricky balance between advanced design and classic appeal. Yes the hole in the middle is quirky and wildly impractical (it looks the perfect size to store a jacket or helmet). But it manages to capture your attention and highlight how much simpler electric motorcycles are in terms of components from their petrol cousins.
The hub motor and 4 kW battery mean speed and range are a bit limited (128 kmph and 128 kms respectively) - a good bit short of the performance from the top end Zero and Energica’s. But the $7000 AUD price tag is a fraction of the price of those other electric motorcycles so the Metacycle could really appeal to those who want an affordable commuter, with a good dose of style that you can still have a bit of fun on around the city. Let’s just hope Sondors can make the successful transition from electric bicycles to electric motorcycles (some have expressed doubt about this). If we get our hands on a Metacycle this year we will have a play around with storage and additional battery range. The styling is pretty good as is so we’d probably only make minor tweaks there.
RGNT Scrambler $21,000 AUD
Classic lines and colours - RGNT have kept this electric motorcycle simple but very appealing. With a look somewhere between a 70s British scrambler and the modern-day Triumph T100, this Swedish Startup have made it to production level and currently offer the bike for sale in most parts of Northern Europe. Like Sondors, RGNT have kept the powertrain simple - a 7.7 kW battery powers an 11 kW Peak Power output hub motor. That generates slightly less range than Sondors claim - 120 kms and a max limited speed of 120 kmph.
With this bike already looking great - at GRID we’d probably focus on some performance enhancements and minor custom tweaks to make the bike more unique to its owner.
Switch eScrambler (Approx) $20,000 AUD
One of the most eagerly anticipated electric motorcycles to make it from an early prototype by Shanghai Customs in 2018 to (almost) full scale production today. The New Zealand based Switch Motorcycles successfully closed a round of funding this year which will see them through Compliance Approval, ABS development and production scale setup. With the plan to have the eScrambler available to buy in New Zealand and Australia by early 2022.
Unlike some of the other new entrants – Switch have opted for a 50 kW mid-drive motor and bigger power pack which is capable of reaching a top speed of 150 kmph and a real-world range of 150 km. This puts it ahead of the first 2 bikes on this list in terms of performance and more than most riders are going to need. Again, it’s a pretty good looking bike so at GRID we’re unlikely to make wholesale changes. But the Switch team have promised the bike will be highly customisable so we’re looking forward to giving one our touch.
Savic C-Series Alpha $24,000 AUD
Australia’s only home grown offering on the list – Founder Dennis Savic successfully sold out his first 50 bike production run earlier this year, with those bikes being delivered before the end of 2021. The C-Series comes in 3 performance specs (and prices) but we’re going to focus on the top end Alpha that has a 11 kWh battery, 60 kW peak power mid-drive motor and a claimed range of 200 km. 0-100 kmph is a nifty 3.5 seconds – but we weren’t able to find out top speed for this model. Looking at the other specs – we’re guessing it’s over 160 kmph.
The performance specs and price are pretty compelling for an Australian built motorcycle. So is the assurance that help/your warranty isn’t far away with the company based in Melbourne. The design however, definitely splits opinion. It seems to generate a love/hate reaction amongst early viewers. At GRID we love the wheels, forks, tank and stance of the bike – but we would like to soften some of the lines and play around with other light, handlebars and rear end options. We will be hitting up Dennis to get our hands on one of these as soon as that first production run is over.
Pursang e-Track $23,000 AUD
This is pretty bike is already in small scale production in Europe and available to order online. The team at Pursang have developed a low profile performance tracker with some off-road capability. The 11 kW Bosch motor is powered by a 7.2 kW battery which can deliver a top speed of 120 kmph and a claimed range of 140 kms. That’s a little bit below what you get with the similarly priced eScrambler and Savic Alpha. We do love the look of these bikes though – the videos of them flying around dirt and flat tracks in Spain have got us pretty excited to get one over here and start tinkering.
Are there any other bikes you’ve seen that we haven’t talked about here? We’re open to getting any decent bikes we can bring in to Australia so hit us up if there’s something you have your eye on.
GRID Team.
#ElectricMotorcycles#SondorsMetacycle#Pursange-track#SavicMotorcycles#SwitcheScrambler#RGNTScrambler#GRIDMotorcycles
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