The Sondors Metacycle Is The Inexpensive Electric Commuter Motorcycle I've Been Waiting For
By: Bradley Brownell Jalopnik
The average American commute is a paltry 12 miles.
The average American drives no more than 25 miles per day. A small electric motorcycle isn't for everyone, but more than half of Americans could benefit from zipping around town on something like this. Imagine how much better your commute could be if you could hop on something that not only looks cool and futuristic like the Sondors Metacycle, but also cuts your fuel budget to practically nothing.
My son lives in Houston and owns a motherly BMW sport-bike that he doesn't often have the opportunity to ride as it should be ridden.
His immediate reaction to this was, "If I still lived in New York, I'd buy it in a heartbeat."
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The average American commute is a paltry 12 miles. The average American drives no more than 25 miles per day. A small electric motorcycle isn't for everyone, but more than half of Americans could benefit from zipping around town on something like this. Imagine how much better your commute could be if you could hop on something that not only looks cool and futuristic like the Sondors Metacycle, but also cuts your fuel budget to practically nothing. I'm seriously considering buying one of these for myself!
The specs on this new moto from an e-bike company sound truly impressive. With 20 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque on tap, this compact 200-lbs bike can zip up to 80 miles per hour and has a max range of 80 miles. Most impressive, however, is that you can get all of that from a $5,000 price tag. There are e-bicycles that cost more than that.
Prior to this, I had been looking at buying a Vespa Elettrica scooter, but with a max speed of 30 miles per hour and a price tag a couple of thousand dollars more, I'm not sure that would be a wise move anymore. Even for short journeys in a largely suburban setting like my neighborhood, the ability to go a little faster, plus the lighter weight and slimmer profile of the Sondors make it quite appealing to me.
"The SONDORS Metacycle is the newest extension of our mantra of 'Electric For Everyone,'" said company founder Storm Sondors. "It was a clean sheet of paper design where we considered how to make the best electric motorcycle for people who need an affordable, attractive transportation solution. We didn't design this bike for enthusiasts, or racers, or people who want a third or fourth toy in the garage. It's a fun, easy solution for real people who want to enjoy getting on the road every day."
There are two features on this little electric motorcycle that really appeal to me. The first is that the 4 kWh battery can be pulled out of the bike for hot swapping, or simply to charge it indoors in an urban environment without on-street charging. You can either pull the battery out for charging where it'll get back to full in 4 hours on 110v electric, or you can quickly charge it through public charging infrastructure. The second intriguing aspect is that the bike has a place for your cell phone to charge with QI wireless charging, as well as a clear door over that so you can pull up your favorite map app and still be able to see the phone while it's charging. Genius!
Sondors is traditionally an e-bike company, and this is its first motorcycle, but it looks quite promising at first glance. The hub motor has a nominal power of 8 kW and 14.5 kWh peak, while torque is nominally 80 ft-lbs with 200 available at peak. The frame and swingarm are all aluminum and look pretty sweet if you ask me. Add in some 17" Michelin tires and Brembo ByBre branded brakes (say that ten times fast) and you've got what looks like a decent package. Like it arrived straight out of the future.
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As an in-town runabout? It is genius!
(Jeez, it takes a lot of time to post a seed like this, with lots of images...
)
Except for the seat, I think it is cool.
I thought the same thing.
I suppose it's supposed to make better photos, but it looks awful for the stated "runabout" role.
I could see using it for the daily commute and other small tasks (at least during the summer)
If they maintain a price around five thousand... it's a no-brainer.
I ride a Yamaha Zuma 125. It has a comfy seat, can hit 65mg (maybe more but I am not that brave), a trunk, and a cup holder that I designed myself, It holds 1.3 gallons of gas which is about 120 mi/tank...So far, I spend about 10 bucks a month for gas. It ran me around 4 grand. As cute as the one in the seed is, although I like that removal battery feature very much, I will stick with my scooter....for now.
An electric bike has the same problem as an electric car. Under current circumstances, a cheap gasoline-powered machine is cheaper than the electric.
Still... machines like this are headed in the right direction.
Pretty cool looking, but it isn't a Indian Chief.
Oh well, at my age I need training wheels on my SUV.
Your comment reminded me of something that happened years ago. I had picked up a 8 foot statue of Chief Pontiac from my parent's house. My dad had it loaded in my truck for me, but I had no one here to help me offload it because my husband was away on Army Training. I got the idea to go to my local bar and trade drinks for assistance. This place was a semi biker bar and when I announced "Who wants beer for helping me offload an Indian Chief?". Ten guys quickly volunteered and rushed out to see the "Indian Chief". Their expressions when they saw it was a statue and not a motorcycle was priceless and totally worth the beer tab.
LOL, good one.
I like having a car around me, so I don’t get as hurt when that texting driver next to me runs into me.
Lol on the other hand on a motorcycle you have a much larger, clearer field of vision and are also much more agile
Electric power is cool, but the vehicles are practically silent. If I didn't have to worry about getting hit by cars, I might consider an electric motorcycle. But having ridden for years and been in several accidents, I would say the last thing I want my motorcycle to be is quiet.
I wonder what their source for that is. I Googled average commute distance and it was almost 20 miles. In Southern California, where I live, the commute time is almost an hour - and that's the average.