Austin, Texas-based Bonnell is a new-ish electric two-wheeler brand with a foundation in all-terrain racing. With a distributed team across the US, Australia, Hong Kong, and China, it's been making electric mountain bikes for a bit, and now, it wants to muscle in on dirt bike territory with two models slated to arrive later this year.
The simply named 805 and 902 bikes are designed with off-road performance in mind. The 805 is the more approachable of the two, with 40 hp on tap, a 3.1-kWh swappable battery pack, and 245 mm of travel from its Sirris forks. It sits atop a 21-inch front wheel, and an 18-incher at the rear. The company says this will be plenty light, and fun to ride for folks who aren't only about hardcore off-roading.
The 902, meanwhile, is all business. It's entirely custom built, meaning there are no off-the-shelf components, and it's got plenty of juice to blast through trails. Its powertrain delivers 62 hp and a ridiculous 664 ft-lb (900 Nm) of torque, and its tall frame affords 285 mm of front and rear travel using Sirris suspension kit developed specifically for this model.
You can opt for a 6.6-kWh swappable battery, or a lighter 4.6-kWh Race pack depending on how and where you intend to ride the 902. For reference, that's 20 hp less power than the ultra-fast US$11,000 Stark Varg MX, but the torque is nearly the same.
Both models get the same suite of nifty electronics. You can switch between Precision, Performance, and Race display modes on the handlebar-mounted screen for the right data layout to suit your riding scenario, and engage a lap timer at a moment's notice.
Speaking of buttons, there's a 'Joy-con' controller on the handlebar to help you navigate through on-screen options, adjust the five customizable ride modes, and access ride stats. There's also a trigger finger lever that you can set to activate regenerative braking, or simulate an electronic clutch. A 6-axis IMU enables rider aids like wheelie control and multi-mode traction control.
Bonnell hasn't yet revealed pricing or a launch date for these mean machines; my guess is the 902 will likely land somewhere around the Varg's $11,000 MSRP (though the US-bound EX variant costs $12,900), while the 805 should come in a couple of grand below that. We'll keep an ear to the ground for their battery-powered whine to alert us to more details.
Source: Bonnell
