Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review
Posted: 11 Aug 2017, 10:41
So this morning I did something strange, I went to a bike dealer by my work to take a test ride. Whats so strange about that I hear you say, well for one thing the bike I was testing didn't have an engine, the second being its only limited to 28mph (you can get 32 out of it though at a push ) How did I end up in this predicament, well.....
Yesterday I was browsing the world wide webs for mopeds (thats a different story involving a week off in the future) and I came across this website for electric bikes/moped
http://supersoco.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Had a look and initial thoughts were that it looks quite interesting, its not a bad looking bike, I quite like it to be fair, had a look at dealers mainly coz I wanted to see the price and saw that the bike dealer 30 seconds from work is a stockist, quick call later and Ive booked a testride. Now I know its only a moped but I figured what the hell, be interesting to try an electric bike see what the future may bring.
So first impressions are its a really really smart little bike, it looks good, the front has an almost KTM duke vibe to it. The brake reservoirs almost look, dare I say it, rizoma-ish. Its tiny, this thing is gunna disappear between my fat ass cheeks, its exceptionally narrow not having any cylinders in it, no exhaust sticking out, and no shaft or belt or chain drive, its a hub motor, Rear sets are 3 position adjustable and look smart even if they are missing pedals, very very neat I think.
So the guys wheels it out side and plugs in the battery, Now this thing has a range of about 30-40 miles per charge (7-8 hours full charge) but you can fit a double battery for twice the range, but lets be honest this thing was designed to be used around towns so that's probably not too bad, but range is a big issue with electric bikes, and he switches it on. Its all keyless and has a fancy push start and.....nothing, not even a whisper to let you know its started, it has a safety isolator switch on the handlebars where the killswitch would normally be that you have to push to engage the motor and like a normal bike it wont switch to live mode with the side stand down. but the lack of noise is a bit odd.
The dash is pretty neat actually, a few big bikes could learn from that, its clear and has all the information I need, all digital and shiney, Speed in the middle, an energy consumption meter runs round similar to a rev range showing you how much power you are using as you ride, it shows me current battery charge, current range, very nice. Strangely it has 3 power modes, not sure why.....its a ped, it doesn't need a rain mode but still, nice touches make it feel like a proper bike.
So onto the ride itself, so I pull away after kicking the Sidestand up and engaging the motor, twist the throttle and off I go, words cannot explain how strange it is moving along on a bike with no engine noise, it takes a good amount of time to sorta get used to it, and I'm not entirely sure I fully would, but so far so good, throttle response is immaculate, pulls away nicely up to top speed no problem. funnily enough I don't find myself trying to feed it gears, that is very natural, what I do realise very quickly is that the lack of rear foot brake has thrown me going for a tight U turn, obviously its there on the handlebar but instinct makes you go for a foot lever, takes some getting used to but its ok. Brakes are surprisingly good, its perky enough, its not bad, just a little odd really. So had it back and discuss electric bikes a bit, Theres bigger ones due next year, but money starts to get a little steep he says.
So why did I bother test riding a moped, well to be honest I wanted to see what an electric bike was like really, even just a small capacity one, see what this mysterious future may bring. I'm not convinced yet, but I see the potential, IF I can get over the lack of noise. Interesting fact this little moped has more Nm of torque than my MT09, Enjoyable for something different to do.
Oh btw price....£2,500 ish......
Yesterday I was browsing the world wide webs for mopeds (thats a different story involving a week off in the future) and I came across this website for electric bikes/moped
http://supersoco.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Had a look and initial thoughts were that it looks quite interesting, its not a bad looking bike, I quite like it to be fair, had a look at dealers mainly coz I wanted to see the price and saw that the bike dealer 30 seconds from work is a stockist, quick call later and Ive booked a testride. Now I know its only a moped but I figured what the hell, be interesting to try an electric bike see what the future may bring.
So first impressions are its a really really smart little bike, it looks good, the front has an almost KTM duke vibe to it. The brake reservoirs almost look, dare I say it, rizoma-ish. Its tiny, this thing is gunna disappear between my fat ass cheeks, its exceptionally narrow not having any cylinders in it, no exhaust sticking out, and no shaft or belt or chain drive, its a hub motor, Rear sets are 3 position adjustable and look smart even if they are missing pedals, very very neat I think.
So the guys wheels it out side and plugs in the battery, Now this thing has a range of about 30-40 miles per charge (7-8 hours full charge) but you can fit a double battery for twice the range, but lets be honest this thing was designed to be used around towns so that's probably not too bad, but range is a big issue with electric bikes, and he switches it on. Its all keyless and has a fancy push start and.....nothing, not even a whisper to let you know its started, it has a safety isolator switch on the handlebars where the killswitch would normally be that you have to push to engage the motor and like a normal bike it wont switch to live mode with the side stand down. but the lack of noise is a bit odd.
The dash is pretty neat actually, a few big bikes could learn from that, its clear and has all the information I need, all digital and shiney, Speed in the middle, an energy consumption meter runs round similar to a rev range showing you how much power you are using as you ride, it shows me current battery charge, current range, very nice. Strangely it has 3 power modes, not sure why.....its a ped, it doesn't need a rain mode but still, nice touches make it feel like a proper bike.
So onto the ride itself, so I pull away after kicking the Sidestand up and engaging the motor, twist the throttle and off I go, words cannot explain how strange it is moving along on a bike with no engine noise, it takes a good amount of time to sorta get used to it, and I'm not entirely sure I fully would, but so far so good, throttle response is immaculate, pulls away nicely up to top speed no problem. funnily enough I don't find myself trying to feed it gears, that is very natural, what I do realise very quickly is that the lack of rear foot brake has thrown me going for a tight U turn, obviously its there on the handlebar but instinct makes you go for a foot lever, takes some getting used to but its ok. Brakes are surprisingly good, its perky enough, its not bad, just a little odd really. So had it back and discuss electric bikes a bit, Theres bigger ones due next year, but money starts to get a little steep he says.
So why did I bother test riding a moped, well to be honest I wanted to see what an electric bike was like really, even just a small capacity one, see what this mysterious future may bring. I'm not convinced yet, but I see the potential, IF I can get over the lack of noise. Interesting fact this little moped has more Nm of torque than my MT09, Enjoyable for something different to do.
Oh btw price....£2,500 ish......