Another new prototype electric motorcycle is taking shape and, according to the company, will debut at the Montreal F1 Grand Prix on June 12th. It’s called the Sora and combines, in the company’s words, the best design elements of Bobber and Café Racer/Street Fighter. It does look pretty good and if the actual performance matches the look, they’ll have an impressive bike.
There’s a multi position electric seat you can adjust from a low highway setting to a higher city/street fighter position. The Sora is said to have a 185 mile range. The liquid-cooled 3-phase AC induction electric motor and CVT combination provides a clutchless stream of acceleration from zero to the top speed of 120 mph. 12 kWh lithium-polymer battery modules recharge in 8 hours. The frame is aluminum and the body work is carbon fiber. Total weight is 529 pounds.
Plus this:
A patented Safe Range Systemâ„¢. With this revolutionary application you will never experience range anxiety. Just set your destination the Sora will manage the amount of energy to get you there
Interesting, but that might drop your performance a bit as the bike keeps you from splurging precious battery charge on a fast getaway. There’s also an “eco” mode, probably to get max range and a performance mode when you frankly just don’t care.
The Canadian company says it will be $44,080 U.S. at today’s exchange with deliveries beginning in October.
Looks good, performance very nice, priced where you would expect with lots of batteries, but the 8 hour recharge is the usual fly in the ointment. We’ll see what they have when it comes out later this year.
Link: Lito Green Motion via Autobloggreen
Stats says
I dunno about you, but I’d sure want to take an 8-hour nap after riding 185 miles with those ergonomics.
Yeti B. says
185 miles gets me to work and back all week. Since I have more than 1 bike already all I need to see is the price drop.
B50 Jim says
We’re beginning to see the Electro-bike style take hold. As always, it’s battery range and cost that limits the machine. But with current battery technology it runs an easy 150 miles; double that and you’re talking serious competition for IC. The e-vehicle world is holding its breath, waiting for the high-capacity, fast-charge, lower-cost batteries that will make the industry take off. I believe it will happen. If a 200-mile battery pack can be produced for the cost of an IC engine, we’ll be there. Maybe it’s all the science fiction I read as a kid, but I think we’re seeing the future peeking under the door. The keys to the door are being cut right now.
todd says
I wish them all the best of luck but I can’t imagine too many people wanting to drop $50 G’s on a E-streetfighter / E-bobber. Most people I see with streetfighters and bobbers have hacked off mufflers (loud) and look like they have very little money tied up in their bike – maybe a few bucks for flat-black spray paint or some “59” stickers. Money is saved for tattoos and piercings. A guy showing up at a gathering on this will fit in for sure.
Too bad the seat isn”t a bit longer to move around on and there’s no place to mount a license plate or turn signals. Maybe add some storage options. Then it might make a decent commuter.
-todd
Prestons says
Seems a shame for it to be so wide between the foot pegs. It should not be given the design flexibility a compact electric drive. $45K in today’s market? A huge electric vehicle subsidy is needed for me to consider it.
fluke says
95% of new bikes announced nowadays seem to get stuck at the CAD/vapour-ware stage. It ain’t real till they have a working production prototype with all the bugs ironed out IMO. not just more computer renderings with made up performance numbers sufficient to do no more that garner venture capital.
Besides, is there a record of any car or bike maker actually turning a profit from an all electric vehicle?
Tom says
As some others have said, 8 hours? I SLEEP for about 8 hours a day. Perfect coincidence. $44,000 grand? Might as well be $4.4 Million. I’ll never see one at that price. But hopefully someone somewhere will buy enough to get them making cheaper tech.
The last of the old tech is always better than the first of the new though. It’ll get cheaper/better/faster eventually.
GenWaylaid says
It’s worth noting that recharging 12 kWh in 8 hours requires only 1500 W, which is typical for a good Level 1 110 V connection. A Level 2 220 V charger could cut that time down to an hour and a half, maybe less.
I find the range claim suspicious for a 12 kWh battery, though. Typical, tested electric motorcycle consumption numbers are rarely below 100 Wh/mi, suggesting at best 120 miles of range (probably more like 90 to avoid damaging the battery). The article does say “12 kWh…battery modules,” though, so maybe there are two? That would mean this bike is packing as much battery as a Nissan Leaf and is nearly 100% battery by weight. Yes, something isn’t adding up here.
Stan says
The most important question is, can it do a decent wheelie/burnout? otherwise it’s not a streetfighter sorry. even it can, with an electric seat and safe range system it’s a bike for poofs.
Nicolas says
right, it doesn’t matter how it accelerates, brakes and handles … all that is for poofs, right ? A real “streetfighter” likes to get stranded on the side of the road, too.
kim says
With the torque some of the more powerful e-bikes seem to have, doing relatively quiet burnouts should be easy. As for the wheelie; seeing that a six-pot Honda Goldwing or the Triumph Rocket III cruiser can do it, surely this one can too. Just a question of tecnique and the size of your balls.
rohorn says
Want wheelies? Get a BMX bicycle. Want burnouts? Set it on fire.
Seriously – burnouts and wheelies are about as exciting as popping zits.
Carl says
While I’m not going to argue that Stan may be a moron, and burnouts are a waste of money, my bandit does power wheelie through third, and it’s definitely exciting, you must ride a cruiser, sorry. We’re a few years away from a “sporty” e-bike like this being very affordable, the cost of high torque/light weight motors and a decent battery system is far greater than IC engines.
Bob says
The Mission R has already set the aesthetic bar high for these electric bikes and this is way under – it looks like a stack of boxes with wheels.
Victor says
I think the same of fluke about the loads of CAD bikes announced as real: much better to make the solid bike, then announce it…
Anyway, any serious project is worth of attention, so, I sincerely wish them to really be ready at the Montreal F1 Grand Prix on June 12th.
Just, living in Rome, Italy, I could not to suppress a little laugh reading the name of their bike: it means “nun” (moreover, disparaging) here, not so ideal for a “streetfighter”, even if electric.
Nicolas says
they should a “C” then … 🙂
leston says
“Dude, check out my $50,000 bobber, streetfighter, cafe cruiser! its got this cool a$$ mode where i put it in eco and i can go like 15 mph to make sure i make it home!” totally rad for $50k.
Like many companies are doing with this market: Good intentions bad execution.
Sportster Mike says
Will it come with the ‘potato potato’ sound?
Toyota Pruises(?) in the UK have a small horn on the front so that pedestrians can hear them coming – doesn’t always work down the little lanes in sleepy Dorset with my friends car
You could have different sound modes- Harley, Ducati etc…
Papasan says
Mass produce this bike and you got a winner for all on your hands, with mass production will come a huge price reduction.
OUT!
Paulinator says
YUP, that’s what the world needs is an electric Hellcat. Everyone will want one…or maybe two…especially if the cost free-falls down to, say, $30 000 USD. I, like everyone else who has some concept of power-conversion and the capabilities of CAD, would’ve rather seen an actual prototype.
Yawn.
rob says
If this is the future of electric bikes we’re in for an exciting ride. 120mph and 185 mile range should keep smiles on dials for most. Not my style of bike, I prefer some wind protection and think going fast is doing more than 70mph so they can drop the top speed and increase the range for me. Well done to the guys at Lito if wasn’t for dreamers no-one would have invented the wheel.
Mel Beaty says
Sportstermike. Just a little snarky giggle. Shouldn’t the English Leaf go: AHEM, or HARRUMPH or I SAY or something? A wanky little horn? My word.
Sportster Mike says
@ Mel
Like the ‘I say’ followed by a little cough
or to go downmarket a loud horn and ‘sod off!’
Dr Robert Harms says
My vote is with poster Fluke also.There is way way too much cad vapor passing as real products.
In my experiance, my associates in Birmingham are the sole ” rendering to real metal” people in the specialty motorcycle business.
Im STILL waiting for my ordered electric bike with no realistic idea on delivery . Nothing is going to happen in the electric bike world until the major Japanese manufacturers produce and market one that people can actually buy.
leston says
For $50,000 anyone with decent hands on skills and a couple buddies ,could buy a wrecked sport bike or one with a blown engine. Scrap all the parts, sell off what they can, and do an EV swap. Motor, controller, batteries, charging systems, and you’d be in the whole project less than $20k. I’d bet with time and effort you could meet the range of this bike with similar performance. Sorry, i wouldnt know how to go about that cool adjustable seat profile lol
Phoebe says
I think it’s really cool except for the bobber seat. I’m not really into bobber-style fighters.
wbkr says
“95% of new bikes announced nowadays seem to get stuck at the CAD/vapour-ware stage”
Exactly. Plus what is with these myriads of “bikes of the future” that actually do not work as practical motorcycles. If it’s just a design study as this one don’t go pretending that it makes any difference what the imagenery power plant with it’s imagenary specs would be.
Dr Robert Harms says
LOOK !! Theres a street scene of one of these parked on Bikepost.ru. I am by no means a photoshop expert but it looks like the the shadow is directly below the bike (aka noon) while the sky and other things in the shot would indicate (to me) that the staging photo was taken in the afternoon. Perhaps the write up explains this, perhaps not.
DnA says
It’s good to see the technology being explored and applied. Price reductions usually happen with mass production. (Anyone remember $50,000 plasma TVs?) I can imagine having two: one on the charger and one being driven, and each receiving charging power from a home solar or wind array. One thing though, a more practical riding position and cargo configuration would appeal to a wider segment of the population – something along the lines of a Honda NT700 / Deauville.
OMMAG says
As long as gasoline is available … things like this are irrelevant …. gimmiks and oddities.
Motorcycles already ARE economical and available and reliable and fun.
Chris R says
At the current price, it is very prohibitive and considering there is no “real” working prototype, it seems the electric market is more of a ponzi scheem to get their hands on peoples money. If they spent as much money in actual development and show an actual product as opposed to time spend working on CAD-rendered models for marketing, there is a more plausable feedback for future sales. It remains to be seen what the actual bike will look like at the upcoming show, that will be the true indication of future sucess.
Also, every electric I have seen has been set up on a sportbike platform. It would be good to see something in a cruiser platform.
Thom says
If these guys actually build this bike, it’s cool. I really like the way it looks. But I won’t hold my breath. And if I can’t afford a Confederate, I certainly won’t buy one of these. But someone will. Assuming the above posters are wrong and it’s not just some money-making scheme.
nortley says
Isn’t a sora plump little shore bird, of the group commonly known as mudhens?
Ric Taylor says
Greetings! I concur with the previous statements: will this new model actually make it to production? If so, great! Can the price be lowered to justify purchasing it for a viable means of transportation? If so, great! The people at Brammo have developed similar products, that too are schedulled for production in the very near future. Could there be some sort of collaboration to reach a wider purchasing market. Just a few thoughts. Ride safe! GOD Bless!