Electric Motorcycles are Making Inroads Off-Road in Africa

There’s a buzz around e-motorcycles, and it’s not just from the electric motor. It’s because they’re being found on gritty urban streets, on the savannahs of Africa, and maybe someday on the battlefield. If that’s not an indication that electric motorcycles are here to stay, then I don’t know what is.

Electric motorcycles are touted as being kind to the environment, and that’s true in another way as well.

The Southern African Wildlife College is now using electric off-road motorcycles to help with anti-poaching initiatives. They look like some sort of lightweight motocross project bike and are called the Kalk AP (for anti-poaching, of course.)

It’s much easier to catch poachers when you can sneak up on them, and that’s the niche these bikes intend to fill. They are also expected to have much lower operating costs because the sun is free to use while gas just ain’t.

These machines made by Swedish company CAKE (not to be confused by the band of the same name or tasty dessert) are taking the renewable approach to extremes. According to the website, they’re solar-powered and feature components made from a “biocomposite” that is fibre-reinforced plastic. It’s used for the fenders, fork protectors, and motor side panel.

The specs are fairly decent for a utility bike. The premium lithium battery has a capacity of 50Ah. There are three riding modes: excite, excel, and explore, with battery duration that ranges from four hours down to one.  It has 18” wheels and 220mm discs with 200mm of travel in the front. Seat height is 910mm with 300mm of ground clearance.

If you’re feeling particularly magnanimous and have $25,000 US laying around, you can get one bike for yourself and one to donate to the college as a package deal. Get out your credit card now and expect delivery in March.

While they’re not likely chasing poachers, police in cities as diverse as Los Angeles and Janesville, Wisconsin are using electric motorcycles, too. ZERO Motorcycles are one of the big names in electric bike policing. But now that I write that, I can’t help but think of the battery-powered toy police bike I lusted after as a kid.  I hope the ones they’re using now have more power.

Down in New Zealand, the defence force uses the two-wheel-drive (yes, that’s right) UBCO 2X2.

Russian military rifle maker Kalashnikov, of AK-47 fame, has also been in on the act for a while and has released models for military and civilian use and another one just last year.

So, you never know where you’ll find electric motorcycles these days—maybe riding the long way up from South America or sneaking up on you if you’re up to no good in the forests or back alleys.