Van Eko’s New Bio-composite Electric Scooter is GORGEOUS - VIDEO

The Van.Eko Be.e is the somewhat pretentious name of the sexy scooter you see above, and it might just be the greenest thing you’ve seen on these pages. For starters, the design features a composite monocoque that serves as the bike’s frame, and holds the electric motor, batteries, suspension, and instruments in place. That composite body looks great, in my opinion, but it’s objectively great for the planet, too: it’s made from the same sort of plant-based plastics as Coca-Cola’s new Plantbottle, which I became more familiar with at this year’s Further with Ford trend conference.

The rest of the spec sheet on Van.Eko’s electric scooter reads like a scooterist’s wet dream, with a MASSIVE 70 lb-ft of torque (!!?) coming from the Be.e’s 4 KW electric motor and high-end components like telescoping front forks and disc brakes front and rear (With that much power, you’ll certainly need them!). You can get a better sense of the electric scooter’s specs, below …

… and then join me in wondering what, precisely, a nano-coated windscreen can do for you. I have no idea.

Van.Eko’s Be.e joins the electric scooter ranks along with 2-wheeled industry giants like Mercedes’ Smart brand, BMW, KTM, and Indian manufacturing giant Matra, who are all vying for electric scooter supremacy. I’ll say this, though: the Be.e has them all beat on style and – with 70 lb-ft of torque available at 0 rpm! – performance, too. We’ll see whether any of that helps get the Be.e to market soon enough – until then, you can see the first Be.es on the street in the photos and video, below. Enjoy!

Source: TechVehi

KTM Readies New E-SPEED Electric Scooter - VIDEO

Before they became the de-facto European streetbike for guys who wear flat-brimmed hats bbut can’t afford a Ducati, KTM motorcycles were the stuff of off-road legend. With the introduction of the first Duke, they practically invented the idea of a roadworthy stunt bike. Now, KTM is going back to its crazy, road-terror roots with their new-for-2014 E-speed electric scooter concept.

I know that sounds strange, but hear me out. Some of the most terrifying, death-defying riding I’ve done has been at about 25-40 mph, dicing in between cars, trucks, and busses in the densely packed urban traffic nightmare that is rush-hour Chicago. It’s a thing, and the little scooters I was riding had a few advantages over the bigger crotch-rockets other 2-wheeled commuters were bombing down Western Ave on. To wit: the quick reflexes of the CVT transmission, the relative quiet of the scooters meant that I could sneak by slow-moving/unresponsive cars without giving them enough notice to willfully (read: murderously) turn into my center lane, and – every now and then – I was able to sneak into the bike lane without too much protest or attention from the local constabulary. If I had tried any number of aggressive moves I pulled off without a hitch on a scooter on a GSX-R or my own Honda Interstate? I’d have been road pizza.

Worse! I could have gotten a ticket!

KTM gets it, and this new scooty plug-in just the thing to zip through heavy urban traffic un-noticed and un-bothered … and it’s just the first of many upcoming e-bikes from the company that pretty much defined 2-wheeled hooniganism in the 1990s. KTM CEO, Stefan Pierer explains that KTM “are completely convinced of electric mobility as a perfect complement to conventional powertrains. In the long term, the electric drive will come out on top for short distances – particularly in areas which are highly sensitive from an environmental perspective, like open nature and densely populated metropolitan areas! Vehicles like the ‘E-SPEED’ and FREERIDE E can help powered two-wheelers win back more acceptance in society. Not just because of their environmental credits, but because they are easy to use, quick, and simply great fun.”

Easy, quick, and fun? Sounds ideal … and, because the electric scooter has no ICE, it should be technically legal to cut through some of the local parks now. 

Source: Hell for Leather.

Update on the KTM Electric Off-Road Bike

KTM has been promising an electric off-road bike for ages. It’s been in
development in Austria, but KTM now claims that it’s actually almost
ready. They’ve even got some numbers to go with their claim.


The Freeride E is theoretically prepared to handle the most demanding
 off-road use, says KTM. Extra batteries are available upon request (not
 getting stuck in the middle of nowhere is always a plus). The batteries
 – as well as the drive unit, with its electric motor and also the rest of the power electronics – are also supposed to be totally water- and dust-proof.

The bike’s rated power output is 7.4 kW, with peak performance of up to 22 kW. 

It’s got 31 ft-lbs of torque, and charge time for the lithium ion batteries is 

approximately thirty minutes. The batteries will then proceed to last all of 

about an hour of off-road riding, but at least they’ll charge quickly again.  

It should also be noted that the Freeride E is a master of silent off-roading, 

which is good if you want to not aggravate the local residents with a lot of 

noise. There’s also the whole zero emission thing, which is (I think everyone 

can agree) pretty awesome.  

The first bikes are already complete, but nobody can actually buy them yet. 

There’s a process going on involving several hundred of the bikes and strenuous

testing at the KTM facility. (If you live in the general area, by the way, 

they have been recruiting test drivers since June.) When they’re satisfied that 

everything works properly (the plan is 2013), the bike will go on sale. It will 

not, however, be street-legal.

Rest assured, the street version is coming – in 2014.

Source: Gas2.0