Motorcycles

Tubular Pocket Rocket electric motorcycle goes up for pre-order

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The eye-catching Pocket Rocket is available in two versions, one with a top speed of 45 km/h and the other tops out at 80 km/h
Sol Motors
The Pocket Rocket e-moto is up for pre-order, with shipping estimated to start early-to-mid 2022
Sol Motors
The eye-catching Pocket Rocket is available in two versions, one with a top speed of 45 km/h and the other tops out at 80 km/h
Sol Motors
The Pocket Rocket rides on 16-inch wheel with Heidenau tires, and can motor along for up to 80 km per charge
Sol Motors
The headlight is integrated into the chunky tube to the top, which is also home to the removable Li-ion battery
Sol Motors
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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 Pocket Rocket e-moto is up for pre-order, with shipping estimated to start early-to-mid 2022
Sol Motors

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

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8 comments
paul314
Are there any provisions for carrying cargo, or is this entirely recreational?
Grunchy
Reminds me of fashion designers, they put the most cockamamie bull** outfits together you can imagine and see if people are stupid enough to applaud them or >shock< buy them.
On the other hand, what choice do people have, really...
vince
Perhaps buyers can just hollow out the big upper tube and make a cannon out of it.
Adrian Akau
Ugly.
LiamKoot
My fence post would get jealous if I parked that near by! Totally agree with Grunchy. Also, what a stupid name, its not a rocket in any sense or form, it cant even do motorway speeds and by no means would this fit in my pocket. If it is designed to be a low speed city commuter, then I would rather save a few grand and get an electric scooter.
bytheway
And this is an improvement over Ebikes?
Anthony Bescoby
What were they thinking, the design is awful. Looks like a giant bike lock.I hope for the company, only I think this, as I'm sure a lot of thought and effort has gone into its production, I wish them well.
ReservoirPup
It catches the eye, but will it open the pockets?