This year, we’ve been on a constant search for electric motorcycles that don’t break the bank. Expensive machines like the LiveWire are certainly awesome, but not everyone can afford something like that. It has been awesome watching what companies are coming up with towards the inexpensive-end of the market, and now America is soon to get another pick that looks like a stunner.
What Is A Velocifero?
If you’ve never heard of Velocifero before, you’re not alone. Velocifero is the work of Alessandro Tartarini, son of Leopoldo Tartarini, and grandchild of Egisto Tartarini. The Italian Tartarini men are known for their love of two wheels. Egisto was a Moto Guzzi racer before opening up a dealership. Leopoldo raced on Ducatis and Benellis before founding Italjet. That’s to say that motorcycling is definitely in this family’s blood. Italjet is in itself noteworthy because it makes probably the coolest-looking scooter on the planet, the Dragster: Following in his family’s footsteps, Alessandro has a long career in motorcycles. His notable works include the aforementioned Dragster as well as the Italjet Formula. And in 2001, he opened his own design studio. Alessandro’s portfolio is full of designs from a compact car to a go kart and even a mobility scooter. In that portfolio is the 1993 Velocifero, a retro-style scooter for the modern day. This is the scooter that launched the Velocifero brand. Headquartered in China, Velocifero has grown to sell a line of kick scooters, ebikes, electric dirt bikes for kids, and now, electric motorcycles. Some of the vehicles, like the huge Velocifero Mad scooter, are more Alessandro designs. The Jump, first reported by Motorrad Online, is the latest Alessandro design to come from the Velocifero brand, and it seems pretty neat.
A Fun-Size City Bike
The Jump’s prominent feature is its open frame. This is made out of steel and like other electric motorcycles, becomes a striking design element thanks to the lack of a gas tank or other panels. Located inside of this frame is a 780 Wh battery. That’s backed up with an electric hub motor rated at 4.8 HP continuous power with a 6.7 HP peak. Torque comes out to 23.6 lb-ft. Complete, the motorcycle weighs in at 198 pounds. Despite the little battery (it’s smaller than the 882 Wh battery in my EcoFlow Delta Mini power station) and motor, the Jump can hit a top speed of about 50 mph and has a range of up to 53 miles. Velocifero says that the battery charges in four hours from a household outlet. And supporting all of this is an inverted telescopic fork up front and a monoshock in back. Earlier, I compared the Jump to the Honda Grom. This little motorcycle makes about five fewer horsepower than a Grom, but it has about 16 more lb-ft of torque. It’s just a touch longer than a Grom at 72 inches to the Grom’s 69 inches. And it’s 198 pounds to the Grom’s current minimum of 227 pounds. It’s also about the same width of a Grom, too. Here’s a 2023 Grom, for comparison: To me, it sounds like this thing should be even more of a wheelie machine than a Grom is. And Groms already spend like half of their miles with a front tire in the air. While these specs mean that you won’t be getting anywhere near a highway, if you’re a city dweller, this could be a fun commuter. And that said, if you’re looking for high-technology, you aren’t going to find it here. While you get a 5-inch screen serving as your instrument cluster, don’t expect ABS and it doesn’t appear to have any regenerative braking, either. There is nothing here that’s earth-shattering or breaking the mold. And that’s fine! This is a simple machine that looks like a bit of fun. Velocifero has more details about the motorcycle coming, and I hope one of those details is a removable battery. Pricing details haven’t been announced yet, but the motorcycle is set to be showcased during EICMA 2022. These are built in China, and Velocifero says that they will be sold in China, Europe, the United States, and other, unnamed locales. If I have to wager a guess, I bet this thing will cost about $3,500. If the price stays low and it comes with a removable battery, I could see this being a cool little machine for local trips. Motorcycles tend to have poor aerodynamics, with an overall CdA comparable to a small car. Because the power to overcome drag is a cubic function of the velocity, its low weight won’t save it. That claimed 50 mile range is very likely at speeds around 20 mph, which would place it in line with a much lighter e-bicycle in terms of efficiency, about 15 Wh/mile. So the assumption would be this motorcycle has significantly cleaner aerodynamics than a bicycle, and looking at it, it is plausible that it does, but can’t reliably be assumed. The electric “bicycle” I built, shown in my profile, uses 7 Wh/mile plus 150W of pedaling effort to hold 30 mph on flat ground, 9 Wh/mile plus pedaling to hold 35 mph, and 12 Wh/mile to hold 40 mph. Get rid of the pedaling, and using throttle only, I can hold 30 mph with 400W power draw from the battery, or about 13 Wh/mile. I have a CdA of 0.20 m^2, which is about 1/4 that or a normal ebike or motorcycle, and it weighs 91 lbs ready to ride. I get a 150-200 mile range on a meagre 1.5 kWh battery pack, and at 30-35 mph, but that does include light pedaling effort adding thrust into that equation, and my pedaling accounts for 1/3 to 1/2 of the vehicle’s motive force at those speeds. Aerodynamics makes a HUGE difference folks, way more than mass. But, you’re probably right, and it’ll cost more. I hope not! Nowadays, I just take my Triumph, which has three hard cases. But I still have the backpack for the rare times I take something else. Maybe I’m alone in taking motorcycles without storage to stores? My current 2-wheeler is an ’08 Genuine Buddy 150. It has underseat storage where I can lock my helmet while I’m in the store, and carry stuff home (with the weight just where you want it) when I put my helmet back on for the ride home. I also have a top box on the rear rack, and a flat floor and a bag hook if I need more space. This bike has none of that. But hey, it looks cool! Anyway, in regard to your concerns:
- I haven’t noticed much of a difference with a backpack of food. I am a bigger person, so maybe that has something to do with it.
- Ah, so I have encountered a few stores with that kind of rule. Usually, the stores around me don’t care. For the stores that don’t want backpacks, I leave it outside tied up to the bike alongside the helmet. Then the bags of food get tossed in when I come outside. Admittedly, I still haven’t figured out the best way to secure gear when going into a store. I don’t want to carry a helmet with me when I shop, but not even my Triumph has big enough cases to fit a whole helmet. I lock the helmet to the bike and hope for the best. 3-4 bags of groceries AND a 30lb box of cat litter!! All in a weather tight trunk!
