Back in 2018, Germany's Sol Motors revealed plans to roll a new two-wheeled entry into the electric mobility space called the Pocket Rocket. Now we have full production specs as the two flavors of the e-commuter go up for pre-order.
Not quite a full-blown motorcycle and not an ebike either, the Pocket Rocket grabbed our attention thanks to its striking minimalist design, where the motor is integrated into the rear wheel – like the equally head-turning Metacycle from Sondors – and pretty much everything else gets hidden away in the bulky top tube.
Much of what was on the spec sheet in 2018 appears to be making it through to production. Two flavors are being released. The base model offers a top throttle-only speed of 45 km/h (32 mph) and up to 80 km (50 miles) of range. The S model benefits from a higher top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph), but offers the same per-charge range. Either way, the Pocket Rocket weighs in at a fairly lightweight 55 kg (121 lb).
We now know that both models are 1,720 mm (67.7 in) in length, have a ground clearance of 150 mm (5.9 in) and the single seat atop the main tube is set at 820 mm (32 in). The rear light can flip up for access to the removable 2.5-kWh Li-ion battery inside the tube, and a full top up with a standard charger is reported to be five hours, but that can be cut to two hours using a fast charger.
The fork suspension offers 60 mm of travel, while the adjustable rear shock gives 50 mm, both models ride on 16-inch wheels wrapped in Heidenau tires, and stopping power comes from hydraulic disc brakes front and back.
A Tracker connectivity package includes tracking/location, anti-theft alarm and a smartphone app, but riders can also subscribe to a Connect package with extras like remote battery status info, remote maintenance and emergency contact setup.
Riders will need a licence for the two models going into production, but each will fall under a different vehicle category. The base Pocket Rocket has a 3,000-W hub motor (5 kW peak) for 120 Nm (88.5 lb.ft) of torque and comes under L1e vehicle class and will require an AM, A1 or B permit in its native Germany, and the Pocket Rocket S version rocks a 4,000-W hub motor (6.5 kW peak) for 160 Nm (118 lb-ft) of torque and is a L3e vehicle and will need a B196 licence.
The pre-order window is open now for riders in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Austria, with shipping estimated to start in the local spring/summer of 2022. The Pocket Rocket is priced at €5,980 (~US$6,950), the Pocket Rocket S comes in at €1k more.
Source: Sol Motors
