EICMA 2018: Ducati MIG-RR Electric Moped

It happens just about every year around this time. I make my top ten or eleven or thirteen “best” motorcycles list, I name the Honda-based Motoped the best moped, and people send me emails bitching that it’s not electric. Well, this year’s list might just feature something a little bit different — meet the Ducati MIG-RR electric mountain bike.

Launched earlier today at the EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show in Italy, the MIG-RR is a joint venture between Ducati and Thok E-bikes. It’s more than a re-painted Thok, though. The MIG-RR features a 250 W Shimano Steps E8000 mid-drive that delivers more than 70 Nm (51 lb-ft!!) of torque to the bike’s gearset. More than enough, in other words, to tear up just about any hill at serious, pants-s***ting speeds!

“E-mountain bikes let cyclists take on climbs that, without the motor boost, wouldn’t be possible,” said Ducati, in a statement. “At the same time, they allow everyone to live off-road on two wheels in total freedom. E-mountain bike sales are booming worldwide. Ducati has now entered this market segment relying on the experience of a specialized company, Thok Ebikes, born from the passion of the BMX and Down Hill champion Stefano Migliorini.”

The new electric Ducati will be available to European buyers first, and will start to trickle out into other markets early next year. No word, yet, on pricing– or on whether they’ll be available in the US– but we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for this one. Stay tuned!

Source | More Photos: Ducati, via Electrek.

Motoped Launches Off-road Survival Moped

Part extreme dirt bike, part motocross racer, the original Motoped was one of my favorite discoveries of 2013. In 155cc form, the ultra-lightweight motoped could break every speed law in the book, and its narrow form, upright seating position, and excellent brake/suspension bits conspired to make it one of the best urban road missiles money could buy. Now, however, Motoped is going off road.

Like, way off road. “Where we’re going, we don’t need. Roads.” off road.

Meet the Motoped survival bike. Like the Cogburn CB4 hunting bike we talked about a while back, this bike promises to take you and your gear way out into the woods with silent, zero-emission pedal power. Where the Motoped is different, however, is that it has a motor- so you’ll be able to drag back that dear/pig/turkey you shot without excessively taxing your muscles. Granted, that gasoline engine won’t do you much good if there’s a real apocalypse (gas goes bad after a few months), but with nearly 100 MPG fuel economy on offer, it’s not like you’ll burn up what little gas you may have too quickly, you know?

In any event, what you’re buying when you pick up a Motoped is actually a kit. It’s a frame, in other words, with all the difficult engineering like mounting points, swingarm, and the Motoped’s patented pedal-drive system already in place. From there, you can build the bike you see here using the bodywork, seat, and engine/transmission from a Honda XR50 mated to high-end dirtbike components, or you can go completely psycho and build your own Motoped from the company’s ever-expanding list of parts and accessories.

So, check out the photos of Motoped’s off-road adventure/survival moped, below, then let us know how you’d spec yours for ultimate survival in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Motoped Survival Moped

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Originally published on Insteading.