If you’ve followed my writings for any period of time, you’ll know there are two things I love: electric motorcycles and finding weird EVs on Alibaba. And when those two things overlap, well, then you’ve found my happy place.
Sometimes the result is weirder than others, and that’s the case with this four-wheeled electric motorcycle that has earned the dubious title of Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week.
With a straight-up Batman-like design, this four-wheeled electric motorcycle is a sight to behold.
It also leaves me with more questions than answers.
For example, the (somewhat anemic-sounding) 1,500W motor is listed as a hub motor. That’s all fine and good, but there are theoretically four hubs in this bike. Which one is it in?!
Then there’s the 60V 20Ah battery. That’s a mere 1.2 kWh of capacity. We’ve seen electric bicycles with more battery than that! What’s going on here?
With a 130-kilogram (287-pound) curb weight, this thing doesn’t seem like it’s going to be shooting off the line – though, with a bike like this, perhaps it’s worth more sitting still so you can get a good look at it.
It claims a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph), but I’m not sure how comfortable I’d feel at those speeds.
In fact, as much as I enjoy riding electric motorcycles, this one would take some careful consideration before throwing a leg over.
Don’t get me wrong – it looks pretty awesome. But it also seems more like a life-size kids’ toy than a real vehicle that I’d take up to highway speeds.
It also uses a much less common form of steering known as hub steering, which requires a complicated bit of engineering to work properly.
I’m not saying these guys haven’t figured it out. I’m just saying that the sticker price doesn’t inspire the same confidence in me that they have.
And that’s the real kicker here: the four-wheeled electric motorcycle is amazingly affordable at just US $1,160. I don’t mean to be overly skeptical, but there’s something that doesn’t feel right about an electric motorcycle with twice the wheels but half the price tag of a decent electric bicycle.
I’m even fairly open to weird electric vehicles from China. I did recently put my life on the line testing a $1,080 electric boat on the water, life jacket conveniently forgotten on the bank of the lake. But I’m not going to be first in line to try out this rolling bad idea.
I don’t know, folks. I love that this thing exists, but I’m not sure I’ll be the right test rider for it.
But since some of my readers have ignored my advice about not buying these weird things I find, anyone who decides to take the scary plunge on this thing should absolutely let me know what shows up.
I won’t take the first ride, but I’ll gladly watch it happen!
For me, I’ll have to remain content with my own growing stable of awesomely weird EVs, even if none of them are quite as weird as this one.