The Current News: Aug. 28, 2019

Electric news from around the world this week: ebike sales surge in Europe, Chinese motocrosser Sur Ron looks potent, Evoke unveils new models, Blacksmith has a menacing new design, Moto Parilla kills it with a radical new ebike, Harley-Davidson reveals a super-cool kids scooter, Rad Power has a groovy new ute, the new Čezeta is retro-awesome, Rwanda moto-taxis go electric, and the Indian company Emflux goes naked.

Electric Vehicles Registrations Spike In Europe

This week The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (or ACEM) released figures on lightweight electric vehicle registrations for the first half of 2019, with the numbers showing a 70% increase over Q1 and Q2 of 2018. In the first six months of this year, a total of 35,810 electric mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles were registered in Europe.  France was the market leader in Europe, closely followed by Belgium, and then the Netherlands, with 8,723, 8,087, and 6,321 unit registered respectively. Trailing behind the Netherlands is Spain (with 4,052) and Italy (with 2,426) which accounted for over 18% of new European registrations. Of the more than 35,000 new electric vehicle registrations, just under 80% (28,577) of those were mopeds, a little over 16% (5,812) were motorcycles, and the remaining four-or-so-percent (1,412) were quadricycles. If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, electrics are the future. 

Sur Ron Goes Big With New E-Moto Model

It was also recently revealed that Sur Ron, a Chinese outfit best known for its high-performance electric bicycles, is currently working on a full-size off-road motorcycle model. The sleuths at EV Nerds got their hands on spy-shots and a short video of the forthcoming model undergoing testing dubbed the “Booom Bee”, since which time Sur Ron has officially confirmed the ebike’s on its way. 

What Sur Ron hasn’t confirmed are the rumored specs, also released by EV Nerds, who listed figures for two different the Booom Bee battery variants; a 72V; and a 96V. Under its most powerful ride mode (“Turbo”, the former has a top speed of 62mph (100km/h) and a range of at least 75-miles (at an average pace of 31mph (50km/h). The latter tops out at just under 70mph (about 110km/h), though no speculative range was cited. 

Sur Ron’s current flagship, the Light Bee (or Firefly in some markets) is offered with either a 48V or 60V  battery paired with a 6kW (8hp) motor that offers a top speed of 50mph. The Light Bee starts at $3,495, so we assume the Booom Bee will cost around twice that. 

Evoke’s Updated Ebike Enters Production 

Beijing-based firm, Evoke Motorcycles also made headlines this week upon announcing that an updated version of its Urban ebike model is on the way for 2020, having entered production last month. While it’s incredibly similar in appearance to the outgoing model, the 2020 Urban boasts a bevy of upgrades. Throttle response has been improved, the user interface has gone from a touch-screen to a handlebar-mounted control setup, and the Sine Wave Inverter (controller) is twice as powerful as the 2019 model’s, now with 800 phase amps. 

Top-speed is a claimed 81mph (130km/h), range is 125-miles (200km), and batteries can be charged in as little as 90-minutes. While an hour-and-a-half is nothing to write home about, Evoke says the batteries in its aluminum billet-framed “6061” e-cruiser prototype from earlier this year can receive an 85% recharge in only 15-minutes. Now we just have to wait and see if Evoke can make their battery a reality. 

Blacksmith Unveils All-New E-Scooter Concept 

Just two-months after pulling the cover off its B2 e-cruiser concept, Blacksmith Electric is showing off yet another fully-electric concept, this time in the former of an e-scooter. The vintage-themed concept is called the “B3”, and it features a 5kW (6.7hp) continuous electric motor with a peak power rating of 14.5kW (19.4hp). The torquey motor is good for hauling over 440lbs (200kgs) up a 25-degree gradient, and a top speed of 75mph (120km/h), though it can be electronically limited. 

Powering the B3 is Blacksmith’s “High Energy Density NMC battery pack with Intelligent Bluetooth BMS”. Blacksmith has yet to announce capacity, and though it didn’t say at what speed, the B3’s reportedly capable of traversing 75-miles (120km) on a single charge. Like its cruiser concept sibling, the B3’s batteries can be swapped out. Blacksmith also holds the only Indian patent for Gogoro-style battery swapping stations, which the B2 and B3 will benefit from, should the Chennai-based outfit bring said stations to market. The B3 will also sport integrated GPS, blindspot detection, and like the battery’s name implies, it will offer some kind of smartphone connectivity/interfacing. With an elegant, retro-European appearance and a slew of modern tech under the hood, the Blacksmith Electric B3 will make for a competitive product, should it enter production. 

Italian Outfit Unveils Bold Off-Road eBike

This week we were also treated to the ultra swanky Moto Parilla electric bicycle. Designed for hardcore trail-riding, the Italian two-wheeler is offered in a number of different specs, ranging from 250 up to 750W. The mid-drive motor is linked to an Enviolo CVT and draws from a 650Wh battery. The Moto Parilla doesn’t use a throttle and instead employs a boosted pedal-powered setup. The frame is a hybrid aluminum and carbon fiber structure paired with a top-shelf mono-shock and a modern girder-inspired front-end.  Produced in small numbers, the Moto Parilla also gets Formula Cura-E Custom line hydraulic disc brakes clamping down on a 380mm disc up front and a 210mm unit out back. There’s also integrated LED lighting, hand-stitched leather seat, and thick beefy spoked rims wrapped in rugged 4.8-inch Maxxis tires. The highlight of the entire thing is undoubtedly the design, resembling what might happen if Confederate or Curtiss penned an electric bicycle. 

The Moto Parilla starts at just under $7,300, though only 130 units will be produced this year. The company is also building 15 Anniversary Edition bikes, which will feature a 1,000W motor and a $10,900 price-tag. It’s unclear if the Moto Parilla of today has any connection to the Italian motorcycle marque founded back in 1946, but either way, they’ve built one seriously interesting ebike. 

Rad Power Bikes Launches New Electric Utilitarian Two-Wheeler

The Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes unveiled a new utilitarian model this week with the all-new “Rad Runner”. The cargo-bike is capable of schlepping around up to 300lbs of goods and constructed around a rigid frame.  The Rad Runner is powered by one of three geared hub motors; a 750W for the US market; a 500W for Canada; and a 250W for Europe. The motor — which is operated via a twist grip and boasts four power modes — sucks energy from a 48V 14aH Lithium-ion battery that’s good for a range of somewhere between 25-45-miles. 

The manufacturer is also offering supplementary kits for the bike, such as the “passenger package” which is comprised of a rear pillion, folding foot-pegs, and transparent protective rear-wheel side covers. There’s also a center console package, which like the passenger pack retails for an extra $99. Slated to hit the market sometime in late September of 2019, the Rad Runner starts at $1,299 in America, $1,799 CAD for our brothers and sisters to the north, and €1.199 for the European market. 

Hyundai Introduces Foldable E-Scooter

This week the Hyundai Motor Company became the latest car-maker to show off a Bird/Lime-style last-mile scooter. Weighing less than 17lbs (7.7kgs), scooter offers a range and top speed of 12.4-miles (20km). The e-scooter’s regenerative braking is also said to be good for as much as a 7% recycle charge. A 10.5aH Lithium-ion battery is nicely built into the bodywork, as are LED lights, front and back. 

What sets the scooter apart is its unique folding design, which enables it to break into thirds that can be folded up into a neat rectangular cube. The South Korean auto company actually unveiled a similar e-scooter at CES in 2017, though they’ve clearly made some major headway in the last two years. As of right now, the Hyundai scooter is still just a concept vehicle, so there’s no word on whether it will see production, or if it does, what its pricing might look like. 

Harley-Davidson Reveals New Balance Bike and Pedal-Assist Concepts

This week Harley-Davidson released images of three new electric bicycle prototypes on its “Future Vehicles” section on its website. Harley doesn’t give any specs on the trio of two-wheelers, or really any information for that matter. The photos, however, reveal a group of pedal-assist models with different frame setups — two of which look a lot like the chassis on H-D’s flat-track-inspired ebike concept. There’s no word if or when these will see production, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that we’ll be seeing some decidedly unHarley Harley offerings in the very near future. 

Harley’s electric protobikes weren’t the only news out of Milwaukee this week. Back in March news broke that Harley-Davidson had purchased STACYC, an electric balance bike company. Fast forward to today and we’re getting our first look at Harley’s new balance bikes, which are essentially rebranded STACYC offerings. Built to teach 3-7-year-old riders the fundamentals of throttle control and balance, Harley is offering two models; the 17lb IRONe12; and the larger 19lb IRONe16. 

The MoCo’s balance bikes feature aluminum TIG-welded frames adorned in Harley-Davidson branding and compact Lithium-ion batteries that offer between 30-60-minutes of ride time. Top-speed is adjustable — as is seat height — though on the highest setting they top out at about 10mph. While this isn’t really a new product, so much as its a reskinned version of an existing one, it’s still great to see Harley making moves to establish a greater presence in the EV market, and diversify its ware, while hopefully establishing some brand loyalty with the next generation of riders. 

Rwanda Approves Electric Motorcycle Taxi Rollout 

Another major first happened in the electric vehicle realm this week when Rwanda approved the rollout of an electric motorcycle taxi service. Just like rickshaws in India or tuk-tuks in Thailand, moto-taxis are a huge part of daily life for people in Rwanda where the capital city of Kigali is home to over 30,000 two-wheeled taxis.  Initial trials began toward the tail-end of 2018, but the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame has just now officially approved the program. Kigali, Rwanda-based electric motorcycle outfit, Ampersand, stepped up as an early provider for electric moto-taxis. Ampersand’s e-scoot is roughly comparable to a traditional gas-powered 125cc bike, offering a top speed of just over 50mph (about 85km/h) and a range of 40-miles (65km). In addition to saving taxi operators a marked amount on petrol, the electric bikes are expected to lessen greenhouse gas emissions in Rwanda by a staggering 70%. 

Rwanda is the latest in a growing number of nations that are attempting to make major shifts to usher in an era of green technology. The new e-moto taxi initiative is backed by the UK’s Department for International Development (or DfID) which is using the republic in Africa — where the continent’s motorcycle taxi market is worth an estimated $4B — as something of a guinea pig to see how a similar program might work in a city like London where traffic crawls at an average speed of under 8mph. 

Emflux Announces High-Performance Electric Naked Model

Bangalore’s Emflux Motors gave a sneak peek at its second model which it’s touting as its more affordable offering than the Emflux One halo bike. Simply dubbed the “Emflux Two”, the new model appears to be a sporty naked model being offered in two versions; the base model; and a +-spec.  

The base model’s top-speed will reportedly be 90mph (160km/h), and range is said to be 90-miles (160km) as well. The Emflux Two+ will boast a top speed of around 112mph (180km/h) and a range of 124-miles (200km). The + will also be capable of clocking a 3.6-second 0-60mph time — the same as a Ferrari F50, a Lotus Evora GT430, or Mercedes SLR McLaren — while the standard Emflux Two takes a still respectable 4.5-seconds. 

Emflux has been promoting its “Emflux One” electric superbike since early 2018, and despite plans to have it on the road by the end of 2019, the Indian firm is now stating delays —primarily due to a lack of funding which has slowed some aspects of development— have pushed the planned date back another year to the end of 2020. The Emflux One’s pricing is estimated to be in the $9K ballpark, so the Two’s pricing should be extremely competitive. 

The Čezeta Scooter Goes Electric 

Despite not having seen production in over half-a-century, the Čezeta has recently been revived, and the company is now offering fully-electric scooters, styled after the Torpedo-esque two-wheelers built from ’57 through ’64. Born out of a four-year development process, the new electric Čezeta scoots have just received some $660K in crowd-funding. Half-a-dozen dealerships throughout Europe have already signed on to carry the proton-powered runners.

The classic appearance is juxtaposed by modern adaptive headlights and a high-tech powertrain. Of the handful of new Čezeta models, the highest-spec — the Model 506/02– has a top speed of around 75mph and a range of over 90-miles. The models start at around $15,000, though they come with top-of-the-line parts from names like Rizoma and Beringer. The company appears to be starting small, however, with plans of only producing 50 of the 506 units this year.