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Kubo – A Two Wheel Electric Pickup Truck

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Kubo, the 2 wheel electric pickup truck / scooter
Kubo, the 2 wheel electric pickup truck / scooter

You remember the Lit Motors guys, they’re the ones doing the gyro stabilized enclosed two wheeler that sits still without any side stands because of the gyros in the base of the bike. Well, if you were paying attention to the other projects they had in motion at the time, you might have noticed Kubo. It’s what they call a 2 wheel electric pickup truck because of the big cargo area right in the center of an electric scooter. They’ve decided to put this project out on Kickstarter to see if there’s enough interest to produce it.

This is definitely a city scooter with a 50 mile range and 45 mph top speed, but the cargo area is pretty sweet and for a short beer run or parts trip in the middle of your project, it might be just the ticket. I’m sure there are other uses, it does seem to have a pretty practical side to it and the more creative riders who are in no particular hurry may find it very useful. The combined weight capacity, rider and cargo, is 300 pounds, so it will be an even better hauler for smaller folks, skinny hipsters are probably ready to order one on their iPhone right now.

I really like Kickstarter funding for projects like this. All of those folks who keep saying “I’d buy that,” can step right up and be first in line putting their money up front. It takes a lot of the risk out of the equation for the company because they have orders in hand from the bigger backers and real interest from the smaller investors, all they have to do is produce the product. Since, in this case, they have a running prototype, the initial investors can feel more confident things will go forward, which is an incentive to jump in right away.

If you’re sufficiently hip, head on over and put your money down.

Link: Kickstarter

Posted on Filed Under: Electric motorcycles

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Comments

  1. I’m just wondering how to strap some 2×4’s onto that “pickup truck”. Do I have to put a red flag on each end of the boards?

    • Looks like you can fit two! Just make sure they’re lashed tightly so they don’t go rolling down the road; they’d blow like geysers when you tapped ’em!

    • haha ok this bike is officially the “keg transfer vehicle” for every hipster scooter rider out there.

  5. Handling seems pretty questionable, can’t be much weight on that front wheel.

    Fortunately I am most assuredly not ‘sufficiently hip’.

  6. where to begin, looks cute but an innovative bike rack over a 2nd seat would be more practical , id also be concerned about rear bias weight distribution
    its an awful lot of prime real estate given to something really big that fits that space you may only carry occasionally

  7. This will be a hit in third world countries… if the price is right. Maybe Japan, China. Can’t see much sales happening in the US, though.

    While it certinaly would not hold a lift of lumber, I think it would be just right for manycompanies that deliver in the city, such as office supply, pizza… whoa, there’s a thought! This thing would be just right for cutting through traffic with a stack of pizzas in the cargo hold. You’d have to have two of them, on back at the store charging while one is out making the rounds.

  9. Cute little thing. Can’t say I agree that it deserves the title of pickup, but eh I guess it works for hipsters. I remember seeing this thing a while back… I think it was here if I’m not mistaken. Looks like it would make an excellent mail scooter for downtown Seattle.

  10. Just needs a curry hook – as invented by Rover Cars in Birmingham (on the glovebox handle) – so that as you go round the corners your curry stays upright and doesn’t slop over!!!

    • Why not? It’s not like The first world hasn’t got transport and traffic issues. Small, electric and highly versatile vehicles could help us a lot. Some 1st world company will probably make this for twice the cost and sue the originator as that is how the West deals with Eastern innovation.

  13. Freeman hit the nail fairly square on the head I think. As an ex postie ( very long time ago) this is THE perfect postie bike. It would reduce the number of dropoff points considerably . The wheels would HAVE to be bigger diameter though. Considering the number of net purchased parcels of small to intermediate postal size with a properly designed bin for both sides and a top area for “current delivery” it would be perfect.
    Range and speed are ok. vertical stability at low speeds is exactly what you want for letterbox delivery. It is quiet and wouldn’t attract dogs ( stealth always good). Price will be the only real decider.

  14. Looks like they took the Panigale out of the elevator for the open shot in the video. Also, does the scooter no longer fold up in the middle like the earlier prototypes?

    -todd

    • Don’t know that I’d put one of my grandkids in the cargo hold, but I think it would be a great parts chaser for the building (maintenance) where I work. A job currently held by a Kaw 250cc dual sport. Most of our vendors are within four miles and I Iive eight miles away and would be able to charge it between runs.

  16. Would one of those P-Ayr Products plastic mock-up Hemi V8s, complete with headers, fit in the middle?

  19. Pretty cool transporter.The weight would be central and low,no dought it would need a load capacity sticker.

  20. I spent a month in Taiwan once. There were hundreds of kamikaze scooters screaming around with up to 3 stove-fuel tanks balanced on the back seat (they looked just like propane fork-lift tanks). I constantly looked for mushroom clouds on the skyline, to indicate where a fearless jockey may have failed to negotiate a tight corner at full speed. I hope this scooter was designed to accommodate those tanks.

  21. Does the front wheel actually steer? Looks like it doesn’t and it’ll handle like crap in a city…

  22. Found something similar, hacked from an old scooter:
    https://www.scooter-and-service.de/custom-scooter/1085/rusty-nail?c=308

    In Seattle, I occasionally see bakfiets (Dutch long wheelbase cargo bicycles typically with a cargo box ahead of the handlebars and behind the small diameter front wheel). I had thought something similar could be done with an old scooter. It would be handy for grocery runs, trips to the hardware store, or picking up takeout.

  23. They must have made that commercial in Chicago.
    I never saw brake lights or blinkers used in the video.
    Does it not have any or was it because nobody in Chicago would know a blinker if they tripped over it?In Illinois,apparently it’s against the law to have working brake lights or any knowledge of actually operating a blinker.
    Looks like a moving target in traffic.Or a rolling road block.Moving Chicane?
    Wouldn’t this be fun the first time that battery goes dead on the way home with a carton of ice cream,or those pizzas you’re delivering, or when stuck in traffic and the battery goes dead?Longer life batteries and/or charging stations on every parking meter would need to be in place before these could become practical.
    Good luck pushing it with a dead battery…no thanks!
    I notice there was almost no traffic in the video.Did they film this on Sunday morning?