Electric motorcycles are an enticing way to get around. No exhaust fumes, no emissions, and dirt cheap running costs. But the prices of some electric bikes are so expensive that you could buy a whole car for the cost of just one. Kollter is one of the brands changing that with an electric motorcycle that tops out at 72 mph for only $5,990.
Kollter is a newcomer that silently entered the American market, reports Electrek. Its ES1 joins the Sondors Metacycle in being an electric motorcycle that can go highway speeds for a tantalizing price. You can’t buy a Sondors yet, and when you can, they’re already sold out until next year, but you can buy a Kollter.
For the price of $5,990, you get what sounds like a decent commuting machine. That’s cheaper than even Zero’s cheapest machine, the $9,495 FXS.
Onboard is space for two removable 2.3 kWh batteries. The base price gets you one, and you can get the second for another $990. Those batteries power a 15 hp electric motor. That puts it in the same ballpark as a 150cc ICE.
The Kollter ES1 tops out at 72 mph, making it able to handle short jaunts down a highway without getting you killed. There’s even an off-road version and what appears to be performance version with 16 hp.
Range is rated at up to 85 miles in a city, mixed range of 62 miles, or 37 miles on the highway. This is not a road trip motorcycle, but it has more than enough juice to get you to the office. Our Bradley Brownell notes that the average commute is only 12 miles, and even at full-tilt highway speed, this covers a round trip.
There is no onboard charger and nothing in the way of storage, so you’re definitely wearing a backpack with the charger in it if you need more juice out on the go.
But I will say that Kollter’s marketing can feel a little misleading.
Kollter’s U.S. site boldly proclaims “German design build to perfection Kollter ES1 [sic]” and at the top left is a completely different brand name, Tinbot, with some German text that translates roughly to “we drive electrically.”
Tinbot is the brand name that these motorcycles fall under in much of Europe. And if you go to the about page you’ll see a story about how the company’s first bike, which launched in Italy. You may think that this must be some kind of European startup, then.
If you find Kollter’s main website you’ll learn that it was launched by Jiangsu Keyroad Transportation Technology Co. in China.
This will be a bummer for some riders, but I think it’s still worth a chance. Even with the confusing and maybe misleading website, I’d still love to swing a leg over this and see how good it is on a commute.