Electric motorcycles have been getting pretty wild lately. Some can go as fast as proper four-cylinder sports bikes. Some can take on trails better than the best enduros. Some focus on dirt-cheap accessibility.
And then there’s this one whose party trick is modularity.
The bike comes from a new player in the electric two-wheeler space called ANY Mobility from Belgium. Its online configurator lets you customize the LUV1 e-moto in more ways than a Subway sandwich – pick a base, pile on the extras, and keep clicking until you've created something that looks suspiciously unlike the bike you started with.
LUV actually stands for Life Utility Vehicle – no kidding. ANY Mobility markets it as a combination of an electric motorcycle, a scooter, and a small-sized cargo vehicle.
It’s built on a two-piece aluminum platform that can fit into a storage space of 31.7 gallons (120 L). An 11-kW rear-hub motor powers the bike, enabling a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h).
The battery setup is made up of swappable 6.5-kWh units that offer between 62 and 87 miles (100 to 132 km) of WMTC range. These take around 2.5 to 4 hours to go from 0 to full.
Four ride modes come as standard: Eco, Normal, Curb Assist, and Reverse. You get all-LED lighting, keyless start, a single-channel ABS, and traction control, which comes as optional.
Seat height is listed at 31 inches (786 mm); braking comes in the form of single discs front and back. It can handle a payload of 110 lb (50 kg) plus two riders, while the whole thing weighs 1352 lb (60 kg) with batteries.
But those numbers are not why I’d see people buying this thing. It’s the design. It doesn't look like a conventional cargo bike that someone has bolted a motor onto.
The surfaces are clean, the proportions are deliberately chunky around the cargo area, and there isn't a fake air intake or angry-looking crease in sight. It's practical without looking like a delivery vehicle, which is quite a trick when you're trying to package more than 30 gallons of stuff into something that still needs to lean around corners.
The design comes from Lowie Vermeersch, the former design director at Pininfarina, and you can see that influence in the restraint. The LUV1 doesn't appear to have been styled simply for the sake of being different; the body panels, open frame sections, and modular cargo area all serve a purpose. Even better, the whole thing can change character depending on how you configure it – from a relatively clean commuter to a weather-protected family hauler or an open, gear-carrying adventure machine.
And that modularity is what separates it from a herd of e-motos. For instance, you can choose between an Urban or Cross front setup, Street or All-Road tires, a number of seat designs, and three windshield settings. You can also add more stuff for passengers, extras like top and side racks, trays, baskets, bags, and hooks in the storage space.
The choice of side panels is also varied. You can choose between a standard closed panel, cargo panels with hinges, open frames, or even pet cage panels.
Too good to be true, right? Here’s the catch: ANY Mobility states that the configuration on its website is only indicative and may change. That’s because LUV1 has not entered the production stage yet. And it’s not scheduled to kick off until late 2027.
The company is taking reservations, though, with the first 200 production slots available for a €499 deposit and an expected starting price of around €8,500. That’s roughly US$9,750 per direct conversion.
That would put the LUV1 in some interesting company. The Maeving RM1S, for example, offers a 68-mph (110-km/h) top speed and up to 81 miles (130 km) of range, although it's a much more conventional motorcycle. Meanwhile, Zero's tiny XB is almost half LUV1's cost, but its 28-mph (45-km/h) top speed puts it in an entirely different category.
That's ultimately where the LUV1 gets interesting. It isn't trying to be the cheapest electric two-wheeler around, nor is it chasing the performance of something like a Stark Varg.
It's selling the idea of a single electric machine that can be configured around how you actually intend to use it – commuter, cargo hauler, family transport or something a little more recreational. Of course, saying it’ll probably replace your car is an overstretch.
If ANY can get from this beautifully configurable prototype-like proposition to a production bike without the price ballooning, the LUV1 could be one of the more intriguing new electric two-wheelers to emerge from Europe.
Until then, however, I'm keeping my wallet firmly in my pocket and my configurator tab open.
Source: ANY Mobility
